14 Chapter 14: Preparations

Helena

"Take our unwanted guests to the holding cells, I'll be down to deal with them later." Midas said, his guards grabbing them both and dragging them deeper into the base.

She knew this seemed bad, but hopefully 'later' meant after the other villains left so they'd have less people to deal with when escaping. Turning to Shadow Stalker, she shook her head at the inquisitive look she saw on her counterpart's face.

She recognised some of the villains here and she knew they were hopelessly outgunned.

They were then taken deeper into the underground base, one of many if what she knew about Midas was accurate, led to a small prison, and placed into separate cells facing each other.

The guards left, having taken their weapons but she knew they wouldn't go far, and she could see the red blinking light of the camera aimed at the cells as she sat down on the provided bed.

Her mask had a tiny camera that was broadcasting to Oracle, so perhaps help was on the way. It wasn't transmitting now, as deep underground as they were, but she'd know they'd been captured even if her phone and earpiece had been taken away.

She just had to wait for a rescue, or come up with a new plan to get them out of here.

If not, well Midas seemed more reasonable than most villains and perhaps she could talk her way out of this mess.

Spotting Shadow Stalker pacing, she sighed. She shouldn't have brought her on this, not because she wasn't skilled enough but because she shouldn't have put a ward in this kind of danger.

Ugh, she sounded like the PRT people, she left in the first place, because they wouldn't let her put herself in danger when she was a ward, now she was the one trying to stop someone very much like her younger self from taking risks.

"Don't worry, Shadow. Midas can't risk holding you for long, kidnapping a ward is the kind of thing that gets far more attention than he wants." Helena said, getting her attention. "He'll let you go, I'm sure of it."

"And what about you?" Shadow asked after a moment, making her sigh.

"Well, we'll have to wait and see, I can't see a way to unlock my cell and I can't use my power without something to imbue it into." Helena said, plus they were still cuffed.

A scream of pain drew her attention from her cuffed hands as she saw Shadow twitching on the floor, having tried to shift and slip out of her cuffs.

"Fuck." Shadow Stalker said bluntly, making her laugh slightly at the bluntness.

Jin

"My apologies for the interruption, but it was necessary for the eventual success of the League." I say calmly, making Copperhead's eyes narrow.

"Wouldn't it work better for us to stay under the radar?" Copperhead asked, getting some support as she asked my pre-written question.

"Of course, and in a world without Thinkers I'd definitely prefer that. Unfortunately, we don't live in that imaginary world, and since we were going to be discovered either way, I'd rather control the initial information leak. Prophet alone would have discovered and exposed us within the week, this way we start with a victory." I explain, making Copperhead pause before she shrugged and relaxed. "Now, to finalise the services the League can offer, and those that I intend to arrange later on, I have access to healing tinkertech, those paying attention to my territory have probably already heard the rumours of my pods, and I intend to provide League members access to them at far lower costs than I'll be charging other people."

"So that's true? Quite the money maker, if they're as good as you say." Roulette says, the mention of money getting her attention.

"They are, think of Panacea but slower acting." I assure her, generating impressed looks around the table. Even Deathstroke who has seemed mostly uninterested is paying attention now. "I also intend to arrange for the League to provide money laundering, banking, and auctions for any stolen goods the thieves among us may acquire, allowing them to get better prices than they'd get from a fence. Transportation and smuggling services, lawyers for if the worst should happen. I am even willing to rent out my own minions to your schemes for those of you who don't have your own forces, for a cut of course." I say easily, we are all villains and we don't work for free.

"I plan to also provide neutral meeting grounds for us to use, and a contracting agency, allowing members to find clients easier. I have hopes to be able to provide quite a bit more as well, but I'd prefer to secure a Cape I'm working on collecting first."

If I can get Panacea to join Midas full-time, she could provide more than a few services, but it's going to be a challenge.

Honestly I could probably get her to leave New Wave tomorrow, but the jump into villainy would be a very different story.

"So, for anyone who isn't interested in joining, you're free to leave now. I assure you that there will be no hard feelings and I understand if you'd prefer to remain entirely independent." I say, looking through the room as the villains loom around, each waiting for someone else to be the first to leave.

After a minute passes, I smile to myself and lean back.

"In that case, it's my honour to call an end to the first formal meeting of the League of Villains, and I look forward to working with you all. May we all retire unbelievably rich." I say with a chuckle.

"Now you're speaking my language, because I definitely believe in a lot of wealth." Roulette says as she raises the drink she brought from the bar in a mock salute.

"With the meeting ended, you're all free to leave whenever you wish, the bar has been restocked and there are rooms prepared on the top floor for any who wish to rest, I only ask that you leave a method for you to be contacted so I can inform you when other services or branches are up and running." I say, bringing the meeting to an end, a great success worth celebrating, not that my work is over. "I also have a token for each of you, to mark your membership to the League, it grants you access to the hotel's less public sections."

As I speak, one of my valet minions (the first minion from the Covert branch) hands out the small golden membership cards.

"They are made of a golden alloy only I can make, meaning that they can't be easily forged, though please report to the League if yours is lost or stolen."

I had my fabricators make them out of plastic, then turned them to the golden alloy myself.

Mingling among the various villains as I get a drink for myself, I chuckle as I see Catwoman approaching me.

Rabbit has already vanished, Jaina calling her back to stop her from causing any trouble, and as I scan the room I see Scarecrow get a whisky and head out.

I hope he drinks in moderation because drinking and tinkering sounds like a recipe for disaster.

"You know, its impressive that you can sit there and talk about Independents working together when you had your pet fuck-bunny rob me not a day before you invited me here." Selina says as she leans against the bar.

"Rabbit is rather independent, I gave her permission to go out and steal, trusting her to choose her own target, I wasn't aware of your rivalry with her at the time." I say, making her smirk.

"Aww, is the big bad thinker admitting he didn't know something?" Selina asks, her tone taunting as she looks up at me.

"Of course, the only thing I know is that I don't know enough, only a fool thinks he knows everything there is to know." I say calmly, causing her to scowl as I fail to rise to her bait.

"I could walk, let the rest know you robbed me while playing the role of this gentle king." Selina says, pausing as I openly laugh.

"Catwoman, we are all villains. A few days ago we had no agreement to not target each other, so why would you getting robbed bother the rest of them?" I ask, making her scowl again as she realised that I'm right. "And you could walk, you're free to do so if you hand over the membership card, you're a good thief but far from the best and you're easily replaced. You'll just be making things more difficult for yourself, at no cost to me."

"Oh fuck you." Selina scoffed, making me laugh again. "I want my treasures back."

"Then stop being such a pussy and steal them back, I can promise you right here and now that if you manage to get into my vault and retrieve them all, there will be no repercussions." I say idly, making her pause as she narrows her eyes.

"Oh you are a bastard, you want me to test your defences don't you." Selina realises, watching as I reach into my pocket and pull out a tiny emerald figurine of a cat, tossing it over to her. "Fine, challenge accepted, you're still a bastard though."

"I'm the leader of a gang of villains, of course I'm a bastard. I take it you'll be able to find my base without directions? It's the one that had a mountain of Merchant corpses outside it a few days ago." I deadpan, the threat clear as she scowls up at me.

"And if I get caught?" Selina asks, making me chuckle.

"As a member of the League, I won't be too harsh on you, I'm sure we can come to an agreement if you're incompetent enough to get captured on your way in. Oh, as a small note, Rabbit successfully broke into my vault when I asked her to test it, surely you can do better, right?" I taunt, I can hear Dusty Ash giggling as she listens in to our conversation.

"You're gonna regret giving me a free pass to rob you, I'm taking everything I can carry and then some." Selina threatens, my smile not changing.

That vault literally just has her stuff in it, the rest has been moved to my main base.

"Perhaps, good luck kitty-cat." I say, waving at her mockingly as she stalks away.

"There's nothing in your vault, is there?" Dusty asks, swirling her drink.

"Not a thing, other than her 'treasures'." I admit, making her giggle again.

"Then I'm glad I'm on your side, more or less." Dusty says, giving me a mock toast with her drink as she takes a sip. "So, power upgrading… I wondered why you'd bother inviting me, I'm a discount Grue after all, hanging the offer for a better power in front of me is cruel you know, especially now that I don't have a team." Dusty says, her lips quirking playfully. "This is why people are scared of Thinkers, I can't help feeling like a puppet, dancing to your strings."

"We all have to work with the skills we have, it just happens that predicting how people will react is one of mine, should I take that to mean you're interested in an upgrade?" I ask, equally playfully.

"Like you need me to say it. And you probably also know I'm basically broke at this point, the PRT confiscated our stash, so what's a girl got to do to get you to put those magic hands to use?" Dusty asks, sitting down facing me, as she gives me a sultry smirk. Reaching forwards, I place my hand on her bare leg and smile as I slowly run it up her leg.

Her shard immediately allowed me access, all but throwing the options at me as it waited excitedly like an overeager puppy seeing a treat.

"Hmm, first, what are you looking for? I could make your dust incredibly hot, letting you burn people trapped inside it… or maybe you'd prefer to be able to mentally control your dust?" I ask, still rubbing her leg as my hand slips into her inner thigh, her legs parting slightly.

I can feel the power to change into a dust form, but she'd need the telekinetic control first, some powers are like that, you need something else to be unlocked first.

"Control it, that's an easy one. Right now I have to produce loads of it for it to be of any use, and that makes my skin dry and painful. Being able to control it gives me more options, I'm not really a fighter anyway." Dusty admits, closing her legs down on my hand as she gives me a smirk. "So, what's it gonna cost me?"

"Five jobs, to be called in whenever I desire, you'll be paid a fair price, don't worry, but I get to call on you for whatever jobs I want." I say, making her narrow her eyes before she smiles.

"Four, and you have a deal." Dusty says, making me smirk.

I wanted her for three, but you should always start higher than your goal.

Without answering, I reach out and use my power on her shard, feeling a sensation of happiness from it as I work.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Miss Ash." I say with a smile, getting one back.

"Speaking of pleasure… I'm gonna take you up on that offer of a room for tonight, my room will be unlocked, if you wanna celebrate our new alliance a little more." Dusty says, the side of my finger pressing against her panties as she stands up, walking away with a sway to her hips.

Watching her hips as she leaves, I chuckle and rise, walking over to Rachel as she looks at me, still in her were-form.

Reaching down; I casually stroke her pets head, the dog hesitating before it lets me.

"Good work tonight Rachel, your demonstration was very useful." I say, reaching up and stroking her own furry head, scratching her ears fearlessly as she stares back at me, shifting to her human form after a moment, uncaring of her nudity.

According to Lisa, Rachel kinda gave up on wearing clothes most of the time because she didn't see the point after she ruined the third outfit in one day, not wanting to waste money on clothes when she could spend it on dogs.

My hand is still stroking her hair, and she's happily pushing her head against my hand, even if her face hasn't changed from her usual blank expression.

"It was nothing, boss." Rachel says calmly, uncaring of her complete nudity in such a public place. Rachel isn't a traditional beauty, quite muscled with smallish breasts, but she isn't unattractive either, her ass is definitely her best feature.

"Is that all? I had to leave Angelica and Judas behind." Rachel says simply, making me nod as I pull my hand away watching her frown for a split second.

"Of course, one of my men is waiting outside to drive you home. There's also something I'm arranging as a reward for your good work, but that will have to wait until we have more privacy." I say, making her nod as she immediately turns and walks out of the room, not bothering with goodbyes now that she's been dismissed.

I don't take it personally, she's a simple woman with simple needs, and she doesn't want to be away from her dogs. I can respect that.

Rachel

Sitting in the back of the fancy car with tinted windows, she paused as she sees her phone start to vibrate, she left it in the car because she didn't want to lose it when she turned, she normally just made Lisa carry it for her.

The message was from Midas, making her frown in confusion at why he didn't just tell her whatever he was messaging her before she left.

Seeing an address, she blinked in confusion before the second message came through.

Boss: The location of Hookwolf's dog fighting ring, it's still running even with him gone, Cricket seems to be handling it but she's very hands off, mostly unpowered gang members, talk to Lisa and make a plan. She's been told to support you.

Seeing Hookwolf as a slave was satisfying for her, but this?

The Boss understood her, probably some Thinker bullshit, but she didn't care about the how, all that mattered was that he knew what she wanted perhaps better than she did.

Lisa: Already looked into it, it should be an easy job for us. Get your dogs ready and we can hit it tonight, Brian is being a pain but I'm in charge now so he'll listen.

Tonight, a lot of poor dogs would be freed and taken. to their new home, where she'd take care of them and train them and make sure they were safe and happy.

If Brian didn't want to help, she'd make him, she was pretty sure she was stronger than him now, her other form should be more than enough to handle him if she got him in a tight enclosed space. She wouldn't let his bitterness stop her from saving the dogs.

If Cricket wanted to stop her, she'd tear the bitch apart.

Every action he took convinced her that Midas was the right person to follow, and she nodded to herself as she reconfirmed her decision to obey him.

She'd do almost anything to repay him, as long as it didn't hurt her dogs.

Jin

"This has been enlightening King Midas, but I have places to be. I don't want the Empire getting any ideas about raiding my gardens while I'm gone, though I do thank you for the secret tunnel out." Ivy says, giving me a smile as she approaches and offers her hand which I take and kiss.

"It was nothing, thank you for agreeing to come. I did want to talk to you about a job, but we can always talk later." I say politely, making her pause.

"Well, that changes things… I have a few minutes to spare, what did you want from little old me?" Ivy asks, her tone seductive but I know better than to read into it.

Ivy is one of the original femme fatales from the comic books, seduction is one of her more dangerous weapons.

"It's nothing major, I was simply hoping to hire you to fix the dying parks around my territory, the Merchants left them in quite a state and my minions can only fix so much." I say, beautification is an important part of territory management.

"Consider me interested, I don't have time at the moment, but when the Empire is less… aggressive I'd be happy to help make those poor babies flourish." Ivy agrees happily before she pauses. "For a price, of course."

"Of course." I agree with a chuckle. If you're good at something, never do it for free.

"But as I said, I don't want the Neo-Nazi assholes to realise I'm not in my lair anymore. It has been a pleasure, your highness. Come along, pet." Ivy says idly to Hookwolf, making him perk up at being addressed.

What a sad state of affairs, but it couldn't have happened to a better asshole. Hookwolf was probably the most dangerous cape the Empire had, certainly the most unhinged, and having him stolen away somewhat exposed the Empire to attack.

The Undersiders attack on the dog fighting ring will help me get a better understanding of the situation they are in, specifically if they are in good enough shape to be able to protect themselves from small attacks on their territory. If they are I have plans to pull the Undersiders out of the fire and if they aren't I have plans to capitalise on their weakness.

The ABB are a threat because of Lung, he's the main cornerstone that holds the Azn Bad Boys together, the Empire are a threat because they are large, coordinated and powerful.

I know which one I want to weaken first.

Anything short of killing Lung would merely inconvenience the ABB, the rest of their capes are expendable as long as they have the fucker who 1v1'd an Endbringer, while any cape the Empire loses is a dangerous loss.

Lung can't be everywhere, and I can work around him if I need to. The Empire is far more widespread with their massive cape roster.

"So, we are about to leave ourselves, before Harley can pick a fight." Circus deadpans, making Harley pout to herself. "But I need to ask, are we going to have a problem with us having a hideout in your territory?" He… she asks.

I honestly have no idea which it is.

"You mean your ship?" I ask, making them all freeze. "…did you think I didn't know where you lived? Harley literally painted a picture of herself on the side, you have a pair of hyenas wandering around it, how could I possibly have missed it?" I ask, making Circus and Punchline both turn to glare at their sheepish teammate.

"I told you the hyenas attracted too much attention." Circus growled, making Harley shrug. "

"I ain't apologising." Harley says bluntly, her Brooklyn accent very noticeable. "Look, Mr M obviously don't mind us being there, ain't that right big guy?" Harley says, throwing her arm around my shoulder. "I was just joking about the whole overcompensating thing, Rabbit told me you're packing. I just like clownin around, heh get it?"

"Quite, if I ever need a jester for my royal court, I'll keep you in mind." I deadpan, making her beam as she moves away, giving me a slight spank on the ass.

"See, it's all good!" Harley reassures her team.

"As long as you don't cause trouble in my territory, I have no issues with you having your hideout here, so no we don't have a problem." I agree, making Circus grin.

"Good to know, now if you'll excuse me we need to have a talk about why secret hideouts shouldn't have our faces painted on the side." Circus deadpans, grabbing Harley by her headgear and dragging her out of the room.

"Hey! Lemme go!"

"…I can't believe I almost joined those three." A small voice says, attracting my attention to the short grey skinned girl as she looks at the retreating clowns.

"I can see why they'd want you Jinx." I say, making her look up at me in surprise.

"I do fit their theme… but I don't get why you'd invite me here, I'm kinda a nobody." Jinx admits, and she isn't wrong. She has a total of two small-time robberies under her name.

"I invited you because I saw your potential, and I didn't want to see you snapped up by some other villain group, or worse, the wards. It doesn't matter if you aren't anyone yet, you will be." I reassure her, making her blush, her grey cheeks turned a darker shade as she looks up at me.

"Oh… wow, Umm, thanks?" Jinx says awkwardly, blushing as she stares up at me.

"You're most welcome, it's the truth after all." I say, patting her on the shoulder, my hand brushing against her bare skin as I immediately jump to work, accessing her shard and making a change in the second I have skin contact.

She shuddered pleasurably as I do, staring up at me in shock and confusion

"Besides, I take pride in encouraging the success of new villains, and I look forward to seeing what you can do in the future." I say with a sly wink, her eyes widening as she realises she just got one hell of a freebie.

Sometimes, it's more profitable to give your product away for free, this is one of those times.

"T-thank you?!" Jinx half shouts, half questions as I give her another pat on the shoulder and move along leaving her with more questions than answers and an upgraded power.

All I did was give her the ability to absorb the good luck from people she jinxes, and she's so unknown at the moment that people won't even realise she's been upgraded.

But she will.

Moving around, I approach Waylon as he sits in the corner, drinking whiskey from a bottle.

"Nice place, is my room ready?" Waylon asks immediately, making me nod with a smile. "Then you've got a deal, as long as you keep paying I'll play bouncer for your little club house." he scoffs.

I thought it'd be good to have a permanent cape stationed at this branch as a guard, and Killer Croc is for hire so it seemed like a match made in heaven. He's intimidating enough that most troublemakers won't try anything and decently powerful enough to hold his own if they do.

"I'm glad to hear it." I start, making him scoff.

"Then we've got nothing more to talk about, so fuck off and let me drink in peace." Killer Croc says bluntly, several bottles on his table as I chuckle.

Not much of a people person, but as long as he does his job I don't care.

Most of the villains are getting ready to leave, either to take one of the offered rooms or head home, Deathstroke and Terra have already headed to one of the luxury rooms I had prepared… along with a considerable amount of alcohol.

Giganta has taken a room as well, so have Star Sapphire, Volcana and Copperhead. It is late after all.

Giganta has a special room, with a bigger bed for her larger size, because I want her to feel comfortable.

"I knew you'd make me rich, but I have to say I didn't see this coming." Roulette says, approaching me as I sit at the bar, getting another drink myself.

"Money is something we both hold close to our hearts, isn't it?" I ask with a smile as she giggles.

"Indeed, so the question is… what do you have planned to make us both filthy rich?" Roulette asks, making me smile at her.

"I plan to put your power to better use than the little schemes you've been pulling off." I deadpan, watching her eyes narrow slightly before she laughs.

"You know, I should have known you knew what my powers… we shook hands when I arrived, oh you are sneaky." Roulette says with a laugh, realising that she'd accidentally let me confirm my suspicions of her powers.

Roulette is a Thinker, but one similar to Accord where she can make plans… and her speciality? Money.

She's literally a financial thinker.

"Very well, what do you want me to do? I can almost smell the wealth it'll bring us all." Roulette says, still looking impressed.

"Your power is impressive, and who better to be in charge of the League's financial services than someone who takes money so very seriously?" I ask, making her pause as she stares at me, trying to work out how serious I am.

"Holy shit you actually mean it." Roulette says bluntly as I smile at her. "I don't know, baby, I'm not one for full time work like that." Roulette says hesitantly.

"One million dollars and a power upgrade, that's your signing bonus." I say idly, making her freeze. "Four million more if you can prove I'm right about your potential and set up the leagues fence and auction network." I continue, making her bite her lip.

She's run some pretty big schemes, but the problem Roulette has is that she is a big spender, which means she always needs more money.

"Fuck." Roulette says bluntly, knowing she's going to accept. "Do you want to put the collar and leash on me now or are you going to wait until later? This is why I avoid other Thinkers." Roulette sighs, even as she smiles.

There's practically flashing dollar signs in her eyes, and she clearly isn't too upset over being recruited as a 'staff member' for the League instead of a regular member, because Roulette puts wealth above almost everyone else.

"Later will be fine." I casually reply, making her grin at the blatant admission.

"Fine, I'm in. Not that you didn't already know my answer." Roulette says, saying nothing as I reach out and instead of grabbing her exposed shoulder, I slip my hand into the slit up the side of her dress and rest it on her ass instead, looking at her options and immediately picking one.

Her shard is the source of her wealth obsession, I can sense that immediately.

Giving her ass a little squeeze, I pull back as she gasps, not at my actions but at what she sees.

"How the fuck do you have that much money?!" Roulette asks, practically drooling as she stares at me.

The power upgrade I gave her just tells her how much wealth the person she is looking at has, and I've noticed that thinker powers I grant bypass Blank, something to watch out for.

Fun fact, it doesn't just count money, but possessions… like the massive pile of gold I have.

"King Midas, remember?" I deadpan. "Just remember, stick with me and you'll have more money than even you could ever spend, I believe in keeping my friends rich."

Blackfire

Watching Midas wander around, making the dumb villains eat out of the palm of his hands, she scoffed.

This place held a lot of potential, but unlike the rest of these weaklings she didn't need a League backing her up, she had a different purpose for coming here.

As the money obsessed woman practically drooled over Midas, she rolled her eyes as she sipped at her drink.

There were two things she wanted in Brockton.

One, to put Kori back in her place now that she'd gotten so uppity, she knew Midas thought he was being clever telling her about her sister becoming a hero, but he was just giving her free information.

Kori has always been the favourite, the precious little princess, and destroying her parents when she finally got her powers from that phial had been oh so satisfying, but she didn't settle for just killing them, not after she'd been treated as second rate compared to that brat.

Her father got to watch as a dozen ABB thugs had their way with his wife, while she stroked his cock and told him he'd die the second he came.

He was stronger willed than she realised, managing to hold back even as she skilfully stroked his cock, but she wasn't willing to let him win and he barely lasted five minutes when she escalated and took him into her mouth, she could remember looking up at the unwanted relief on his face as the salty taste flooded her mouth, and the look of horror on his face as her hand aimed up at him, a flash of pink ending his life.

She could also remember the muffled screams of horror from her mother through a dick in her mouth.

Then, Kori arrived home and she'd been too shocked to even put up a fight as she was grabbed, both her and her mother being sold off to an ABB brothel, where they'd spend the rest of their days taking cocks like the worthless whores they were.

Lung tried to force her to join of course, but while he'd never admit it, he was scared of her, why else would he back off when she refused, she could end him and the pathetic lizard knew it so she took her money and moved on.

She only came back occasionally to rent their services, because it gave her a special feeling of power to look down into the hate-filled eyes of her mother and sister as they reluctantly pleasured her.

Kori might be worthless, but at least she had a good tongue on her, and there was something hilarious about forcing them to put on a show for her.

And now the little bitch thought she could be a hero? She was a cock-sleeve, just a set of holes made to be used, and she thought she could be more than that?!

She'd put the little whore back in her place.

And the other thing she wanted was simple, the more she heard about King Midas the more she realised how much she liked the sound of Queen Blackfire.

But she didn't have the patience to build an empire like he had, to spend time building up this shithole of a city into something worth her attention.

So she'd let him do it, and take it from him once he was done, because what was a King without a Queen? She'd slither into his good graces, get him to make her already immense power even better, and when she had no use for him anymore, she'd destroy him entirely and take his place.

Or maybe she'd keep him around, not as her King but as a pet who could do the tedious things for her. She could picture it now, sitting on a golden throne with Kori and Midas in chains at her feet, maybe if he behaved she'd let him have the little slut.

But she wasn't easy, and she needed to bide her time. She couldn't rush with a thinker, and expose her true agenda.

She'd use the League, she'd use Midas, and at the end they'd all be calling her Queen.

Jin

She could be maniacally laughing while shouting 'you'll get yours' and it'd be less ominous than the looks Blackfire was giving me.

She's obviously going to be a problem, but with Starfire in the city it was only a matter of time before she came back, I just want to be able to have some measure of control over her actions.

Cheetah has unfortunately fled, but I've all but put the collar around her neck already so I can give her leash a tug later on if I need to, she owes me and I don't intend to let her forget that.

With everyone finally gone, I head upstairs to the room Dusty is in, knocking on the door before I enter, not waiting for her to call me in as I enter with a smirk, looking at her as she lays back on the bed, a sultry smirk on her face.

"I was wondering if you were going to come, I know you're a busy guy but it makes a girl feel self-conscious when she offers her body to a handsome older man and he doesn't show up, you know?" Dusty says as she rises from the bed, already naked except for her goggles, which really don't do anything to hide her identity.

That doesn't mean I can see anything, a thick cloud of dust is swirling around her, covering her pussy and breasts as she gives me a sultry grin, strutting towards me.

"It's so easy, almost like I should have been able to do this all along." Dusty says, moving the dust away as she exposes herself to me, the dust flying into the air and forming into a star, then a crescent moon as she makes shapes with it easily.

"I'm glad you're satisfied with your purchase." I say playfully as she lets it all fall to the floor and form a thin layer above the hotel floor, coming up to our ankles as I approach.

"Oh, I'm satisfied… but now it's time you are as well." Dusty growls, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me towards the bed, throwing me onto it and immediately mounting me.

Undoing my belt, she quickly pulls out my cock with a growing grin and she wastes no time, immediately sinking down on it.

Sometimes, it's good to be the King.

Sophia

She didn't know how long she'd been stuck in this cell, but the pain from her last attempt told her that trying to escape her cuffs again wasn't a good idea, so she'd just silently sat on the bed and waited.

The PRT had definitely noticed she was missing by now, and since she wasn't supposed to go on patrols without their permission that was going to lead to some uncomfortable questions but she could probably escape the worst of it by giving them the information she had gathered.

It had definitely been at least a single night, she was hungry, thirsty and tired, not that she'd sleep in a villain's base.

She hadn't even been able to talk to Huntress, the other heroine had nodded at the cameras and she understood immediately, Midas would hear everything they said and you never knew what would give Thinkers the information they needed.

As the doors finally opened, they both sat up quickly and stared at Midas himself as he entered the cells, looking from her to Huntress several times.

Moving over to her cell, he opened it and gestured for her to stand up.

"We'll start with you, come along Shadow Stalker, and don't try anything, I doubt you want to be shocked again." Midas deadpanned, turning and walking back out of the prison as he ignored Huntress.

Looking at the older heroine, she reluctantly nodded for her to go with him, making her scowl as she followed behind him.

She was a predator, a badass, she'd get out of this no matter what Midas tried, because she was a survivor.

Following behind the villain, she tried to memorise the path they took through the hallways but the plain dark grey walls and black floors made it hard as every corridor looked the same. Finally they turned into a room and she froze in the doorway as she saw what was inside.

She didn't know what she expected, but a comfortable looking lounge wasn't it, and as he sat down in the armchair, he gestured at the couch at the other side of the coffee table, making her reluctantly sit down.

She probably wasn't going to be tortured then, maybe raped though.

"I have to say, I might have made preparations to counter your powers, Shadow Stalker, but I didn't expect you to show up so quickly. Tell me, are you here with your handler's permission?" Midas asked calmly, making her scowl at his wording.

She didn't respond as he stared at her, making him chuckle.

"That's a no then, because they don't seem to be coming to your rescue, and even full Protectorate heroes don't do these kinds of missions with no warning." Midas continued, unconcerned by her lack of a response. "Which means you've been a naughty girl, sneaking out and breaking your probation like that."

His teasing tone cut at her pride, making her scowl even deeper at the way he was treating her, she wasn't a child sneaking out while grounded.

"Fuck you." Sophia said, not the best insult but that was more Emma's thing, physical intimidation was hers, and she wasn't in a position to do that.

"Is that an offer? Trying to barter your way out of this mess?" Midas taunted lazily, making her scoff even as she felt her body run cold at the very real possibility that she was going to get fucked by a villain.

This wasn't her, she wasn't a fucking victim.

"You can't keep me here, Huntress's allies know I was with her, they'll tell the PRT. You think you can handle the heat from kidnapping a ward?" Sophia bit back, making him laugh to himself.

"Oh, you seem to be misunderstanding something." Midas laughed, making her frown at him. "I have no intention of keeping you, that's not the mess I meant." Midas said, still chuckling. "I meant the mess you'll be in when I let you go, when you have to explain to your masters how you ended up being captured by the villain who is giving them so much bad PR. A ward out on a mission with no PRT oversight? I can hear the Youth Guards ranting already, you'll be put on a much stricter probation… especially when I hand these over along with you." Midas said, reaching under the desk and pulling out her crossbow bolts… the steel ones that she wasn't supposed to carry any more. Her knife went next to them on the table as she reconsidered her situation.

For a second she thought she could explain the knife away as just a utility thing, only she couldn't, because it had the tiniest amount of dried blood on it, as did some of her bolts. She knew Armsmaster would find it, and then she was metaphorically fucked.

Staying silent, she glared at him from under her mask as he smirked at her.

"I don't have to worry about you, Shadow Stalker, because once I give you back to the PRT I'll probably never see you again, I'll be surprised if you ever get to patrol again. You're the PRT's poster child of how dangerous vigilantes can be tamed, so when it's publicly revealed that you're still going back to your old ways? Oh, your owners aren't going to like that." Midas monologued as she glared at him.

"I am not tame." Sophia hissed, making him chuckle again.

"Perhaps not as tame as the PRT wishes, but you are tamed. You used to be a wolf, a predator that criminals feared would swoop down on them at night, but now? You're just a show dog, paraded around by your trainers, the fact that you occasionally sneak away and bite a few people doesn't make you any less of a show dog, it just means you're a disobedient one." Midas taunted, making her stand angrily as she glowered at him furiously.

"Shut the fuck up." Sophia shouted, Midas smiled, utterly unimpressed by her showing.

"Clearly this isn't going anywhere." Midas said, pulling out his phone and typing a number. "Hello, is this the number for the Parahuman Response Team? Ahh, it is, excellent. Yes, I'd like to report a captured ward, can you put me through to Armsmaster?" Midas said happily.

…was he calling the public number for the PRT?

"Who am I? Oh, sorry. I'm King Midas, Armsmaster and I met before. Yes, I have a Ward captive, that's what I just said." Midas said calmly, utterly unconcerned by the ridiculousness of his statement. "Director Piggot? Yes, that works just as well."

Oh, she was fucked.

Piggy was going to eat her alive.

"Ahh, hello Director. I'm impressed you were able to speak with me so soon. What? Oh no, I apologise, you've misunderstood. I haven't kidnapped anyone, Shadow Stalker decided to sneak into one of my bases last night, she was captured of course. I just want to arrange a drop off point where I can hand her over, she's taking up space you understand. No, I don't have a price, this isn't a ransom." Midas said calmly. "Well, you know how children are, so sure they know best. No, she hasn't been harmed, other than getting herself shocked when she tried to escape. Hmm, no, I'd prefer somewhere public, I'm sure you understand. You want to speak to her? Of course." Midas said calmly, moving over and sitting next to her as she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Sophia said, hating how hesitant she sounded.

"You had better have a damn good explanation for this." Piggot practically snarled over the line, the venom almost making her flinch. "Have you been hurt?"

"Uh, no. I got shocked trying to get the cuffs off but-"

"Tell Midas to take the phone back, I'll deal with you later." Piggot growled, making Midas pull the phone back as he moved back to his seat.

"I'm thinking the Boardwalk will be fine, oh I'm sure it will be, but surely us mature adults can deal with a simple handover without it resulting in violence? Midday should work best, Miss Militia? That works fine, it was a true pleasure speaking with you."

Even this far from the phone, she could have swore she heard an inarticulate scream of rage as the phone call ended.

"And if that's how upset she is that you've been captured, how is she going to react to these?" Midas asked, pulling out one of the bolts, casually tossing it to himself.

"They won't believe you, I'll say you planted them-"

"And Armsmaster will take all of five minutes to prove you're full of shit, Tinkers are bullshit like that." Midas said idly as she froze, the fucking robot would definitely do that, didn't Kid Win mention a fucking lie decector in his helmet? "Of course, I could keep your weapons as trophies, make that nasty evidence disappear so you're only mostly fucked." Midas offered as she stared at him. "With the information you 'managed to retrieve' you might even avoid the worth of your punishments."

So that was his game.

"Fuck you, and that wasn't an offer." Sophia growled, staring at him.

"Honestly it's a disappointment you joined the Wards, we aren't that different after all. We both are doing our part to clean the city up, you'd fit into my organisation well, a true hunter taking out the trash that infests this city. The PRT is wasting your potential, I'd have given you a couple of upgrades, and free reign to punish those who break the rules I enforce." Midas said idly.

"I'm not a fucking villain, we have nothing in common." Sophia said, her words sounding weak even to her ears.

Despite herself, she could picture it all too well, no more stupid rules or regulations, just her, her crossbow and a load of soon to be dead criminals.

"Hmm? If you say so, anyway… we have three hours before it's time for you to be handed back to your masters, sure you don't want to make these disappear?" Midas asked, waving her bolts at her playfully.

Later

As she got out of the black Mercedes Benz she immediately froze as she saw the utterly unamused look on Miss Militia's face, Midas getting out behind her and pushing her forwards towards the waiting PRT forces, Velocity and a dozen PRT troops were behind Miss Militia, a dozen feet back, as she walked towards them.

"Here you go, one naughty little Ward as promised. Do try and keep her on a shorter leash, I doubt Kaiser or Lung would be so understanding." Midas joked as he reached down and undid her cuffs. "But kids will be kids, I suppose that's why the Wards exist in the first place."

"It is, you have my thanks for returning Shadow Stalker, King Midas." Miss Militia said politely, her tone somewhat strained as she gave Sophia a very cold warning stare, making her quickly move over to the PRT Troops.

She was in so much trouble.

"It was nothing, I'm glad we could come to an agreement and get her out of my hands so quickly, I have more important things to deal with than a kid breaking and entering, now… if you'll excuse me, a King's work is never done. Shadow Stalker it's been… well, perhaps not a pleasure but it's been interesting all the same." Midas said as he calmly re-entered his car, closing the door as it immediately drove off.

"You're just gonna let him go?" Sophia asked, making Miss Militia turn to her with a look that could best be described as disgust.

"Yes, now get in the van and don't say a word until we get back, you have a lot of explaining to do." Miss Militia grumbled.

But she didn't have to explain away her bolts, so perhaps she could still get out of this.

Not completely, she'd seen Midas's minion holding the camera for the exchange, along with the curious audience.

But maybe she wasn't completely and utterly fucked just yet.

Jin

On the drive back, I looked over my quest options and picked one that I think will help me the most. The Cult Leader offers a trump and master power, along with a perk and that sounds helpful with all that's going on.

To my surprise, the quest completes the second I accept it leaving me staring at the box in confusion as I read through it.

[Cult Leader Unlock Quest]

Objective One: Gain a Worshipper

Objective Two: Form an organisation

…okay, I understand the organisation but who the fuck worships me?

Manami Aiba

Staring at the videos of her King handing over the dumb girl who thought she could sneak past him, she rubbed her thighs together as she started working to make sure everyone knew about his mercy.

Also to correct the idiots who just called him Midas, it was King Midas, damnit.

Behind her computer screen, a giant blown up poster of King Midas stared down at her, a playful smirk on his face as he looked towards the camera.

It was her favourite frame from his first appearance, and her room was covered in pictures and posters she'd made of him.

King Midas was her everything, and looking down she blushed as she looked down at the shiny golden underwear she'd ordered, it was so stupid but it made her feel like she was secretly supporting him even when she had to leave her house, maybe she should get a tattoo?

What if he didn't like tattoos? If they were a turn off- wait, what the hell was she thinking, King Midas would never have interest in a midget like her, would he?

But… what if he was? What if he didn't look down at her for her childish body?

As she typed furiously with one hand, her other slowly worked its way down her body, slipping under the golden panties.

Her King~

Jin

Heh

Thanks Neith, very helpful.

I'll take a free quest, I don't care.

Trump

[Pump it] - Cult Leader

You lift, so well in fact that by helping other people work out you can grant them a low level brute/mover rating, how does this work? Hell if I know, don't question it too much and just start pumping iron. Work those glutes or something, idk I never worked out.

Master

[Would you kindly?]- Cult Leader

By adding a specific phase to your requests, you can slowly train a person to respond to that phrase. "Would you kindly open the door for me?" can lead to "Would you kindly kill your family for me?" with enough time and subtly.

Cult Leader

[Err, do we attack now or…]

Ever wondered why the heroes just sit around and listen to the villain monologuing instead of just punching them in the face? Wonder no longer, because this perk does exactly that. If you monologue before or during combat, the heroes will be far more likely to just let you speak instead of attacking.

Well, well… I can definitely use these, and as we arrive back at one of the entrances to my base, I make my way down to a very specific room with a smile on my face as I enter it, looking at the woman strapped down to the interrogation chair, naked asides from her mask.

"My apologies, Huntress, I wanted to send the kids away before we got to the serious stuff, I'm sure you understand." I say calmly, looking over her body with a smile. "But now it's time for us grown-ups to talk, don't you think?"