Vaudevillain

The moon shone down on Haven City, blocked partially by the large alien mothership in the sky. Quli patrolled about on the wall below, guns at the ready. This wall had been erected at the onset of the Quli invasion, severing the city's government district from the others. The alien commander Q'ran sat inside the conquered town hall, monitoring activity.

Given the task of invasion, Q'ran had wasted no time in ousting the heroes guild. But the pesky supers were made of stronger stuff than he imagined. Q'ran could only force the heroes to retreat. So he had the wall built to serve as an early warning system.

The walls weren't the only defense. The Quli had made sure that all avenues of entry were locked down. Seismic readers picked up any tunneling while the mothership used its laser defense system to stop any fliers. For the more esoteric powers, Q'ran made sure patrols held multiple scanners to detect all types of energy.

Q'ran was not out on the walls when the Quli saw it. He sat safely inside a reinforced town hall. No, it was the rank and file that saw the thing lumbering toward them. None of the patrols could determine the figure's exact nature, but it was definitely moving towards them. With disciplined movements, groups of the aliens converged to deal with the threat coming their way.

"Prepare to fire!" Shouted an officer. Quli kneeled down on digitigrade legs and settled their ray guns onto the wall crenellations.

Before the aliens released a shot, a voice spoke. "Good evening! My name is Dr. Zlo, criminal mastermind. I have come to inform you that Earth is not yours to invade. I have claimed ownership of it, and while the simple masses have yet to accept my rule, I will not tolerate another muscling in on my turf."

The dark figure stepped into the light of a streetlamp to reveal a gentleman standing on a giant teddy bear's shoulder. It lumbered forward on cloth legs, shaking loose stones as the feet came down. The patchwork cloth covered the entire bear, save for its right arm. Instead of fabric, the arm glinted with an epoxy sheen.

"Fire!" A Quli yelled. Rays lanced out, each one aiming straight for the giant figure in the distance. They impacted against a forcefield, one similar to the Quli's own.

"They're using our tech!" Yelled a Quli.

The soldiers obeyed and continued their assault.

Dr. Zlo shouted over the din, "I see this will not be a peaceful talk! Very well! Minions! Attack!"

From behind the bear came a stream of Jacques. The front line held riot forceshields scavenged from Quli assault squads. Jacques held them high as they charged, blocking the incoming fire. Behind the front lines sat the mermaid, still carried around on a palanquin.

"That's right, men," she said. "Keep those shields high as you run forward."

Riptide and Sweet Dream stood behind the Jacques with Mabel and Cass, waiting for the action to start. Dr. Zlo hopped off Roosevelt after the Jacques were almost at the walls. Activating his rocket shoes, the doctor made his way back to his companions. Jawbreaker and the others moved forward when the first wave of Jacques collided with the wall.

"Poor things," the mermaid said. "They're so simple-minded. Can't seem to hold more than three ideas in their head."

"At least there's a lot of them," Sweet Dream said.

The mermaid nodded, "True."

"I think this is going well," Dr. Zlo said, interrupting the two's conversation.

"For now," Sweet Dream said. She pulled a piece of candy out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth.

"When do we get to see some action?" Riptide asked.

"Come now, Riptide. Attacking the compound gates is for minions."

"Dude, I'm here to wreck sh*t."

Dr. Zlo sighed. "Fine, go out and, 'wreck sh*t.'"

"H*ll yeah, dude!" Riptide pulled out his board and surfed toward the wall, firing lasers and disintegration beams at the Quli on the wall.

"That man knows nothing about class," Dr. Zlo muttered.

"There's always one," Sweet Dream admitted.

They watched as the Jacques scrambled up the wall by forming a human ladder. Riptide surfed above, distracting the Quli with his own attacks. The two's combined chaos at the wall forced the Quli to stop their assault on Roosevelt. This left the plush monster free to walk directly up to the wall's edge.

In one slow movement, Roosevelt reared back with its right fist and brought it down in an arc on the wall. Aliens scattered as the fist slammed into the wall, breaking chunks off both Roosevelt's fist and the wall's crenellations. Roosevelt brought its fist down again, cracking more of the wall. A few more fragments of the bear's fist snapped off, spearing through one of the aliens unlucky enough to be in range.

Dr. Zlo winced. "Perhaps I should have made Roosevelt a tad stronger."

Sweet Dream popped another candy into her mouth. "He's getting the job done. Besides, it's only a machine."

Dr. Zlo nodded. "True."

"The bear's bringing down the wall!" shouted a Quli.

"We can't deal with all these and it! How long until reinforcements?" cried another.

"Soon! Hold out for thirty seconds!"

"Can your creation break the wall in thirty seconds?" Asked Sweet Dream.

"Unlikely," Dr. Zlo answered.

Sweet Dream cupped her hands and yelled. "Riptide! Help out the bear!"

"You got it, dude!" Riptide cut back with his surfboard and jumped off to tackle a Quli aiming at Roosevelt. His fist addled the alien's brain, and he watched it fall to the ground, stunned. Riptide then fired his new gun over at the cracked piece of the wall. Sea-blue bubbles ate into the brown material, creating a small pit. Roosevelt's fist crashed down, breaking more of the wall.

Riptide followed up with another shot, widening the cracks. Soon, the sturdy wall could no longer take the combined assault and fell apart. The Jacques spilled inside like water from a broken dam, charging into Quli with windmilling arms. Jawbreaker and the others stepped inside after, looking to target any leadership.

"Jaws, with me!" Shouted Riptide. His shark minion turned, jellyfish dreads swinging around as the minion moved through the tide to reach their leader.

"Time to go," Dr. Zlo said.

"After you," Sweet Dream replied.

The two strolled along towards the wall without a care in the world. Dr. Zlo spoke into his cufflink communicator, "Mabel, we've breached the wall. Are you ready?"

"Of course, Zlo hon."

"Excellent."

The group made their way through the broken wall and into the government district. Riptide joined the others as they walked past the fight and into the government district.

"So where's Mabel at, dude?"

"With the others. Her control has a limited range. We're finding a spot out of the way and getting her to pick us up."

"Cool."

"That seems like a good spot," Sweet Dream pointed to a small alleyway, slightly hidden by a large dumpster.

"A bit smelly, but it will do," Dr. Zlo said.

"I could make a drink if it'll help, boss."

"Later, Cass. After we celebrate our victory." Dr. Zlo turned spoke into his communicator again. "Mabel, we're at," he checked his map with a glance, "66 North G street."

"Got it hon."

In a few minutes, Mabel appeared with her twenty aliens. "Okay everyone!" Dr. Zlo said. "Remember, we've been captured by the aliens. I don't want anything ruining the plan!"

Nodding, the group walked out into the street, storing their weapons or handing them to the aliens. Mabel directed the Quli to surround them, and they made off towards the mothership. Dr. Zlo raised a hand to cup the image of the spaceship then clenched his fist. "Soon."

_____________________________________________

HOURS EARLIER

Dextra Black made their way inside the Kirby Reserve. Nodding to the two guards, they stepped over to the front desk. Hans had been forced to stay in the car, his character unable to remove the villain tag.

"I have a message for the mayor," Dextra said matter-of-factly.

The receptionist didn't bother to look up. "Ma'am, this is a reserve. The mayor isn't here."

"He is if aliens have invaded and the town hall is no longer available."

The receptionist looked up. "Look, I don't know what you've been told--"

"No," Dextra interrupted, "I know for a fact that the mayor is here, along with many of the heroes guild."

The receptionist stuttered, "I-I assure you miss, that is not the case."

"Oh, please. I have personally funded and donated to many of the mayor's causes. I believe it is quite alright to let me know." Dextra procured an ID, showing the receptionist.

"M-my sincerest apologies, Ms. Black. I will let the mayor know you are here."

"See that you do."

The receptionist directed Dextra to sit on a long couch while he called the mayor. A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened at the end of the hall, revealing a weary man in a grey suit.

"Ah, Dextra," he started. "I was wondering who had rattled my receptionist. Though, I do wonder how you found out I was here."

"A simple matter," Dextra said. "All I needed to do was ask someone in the heroes guild."

"I see. Well, I hope you haven't come to make small talk. There is an alien invasion going on after all."

"Precisely why I'm here, mayor. I've come across some information that could be helpful."

The mayor's eyes filled with faint hope. "Truly?"

"I have learned that a cadre of villains is on their way to assault the aliens."

The mayor's eyes widened and then shrunk to a squint. "How did you come by this information?"

"Mr. mayor, a woman of my standing must always be on guard. I have countless contacts around the city; all prepared to feed me information should I need it."

"I see. And what do you want me to do with this information? Unless, of course, you were bringing the news to lift my spirits."

Dextra lounged back on the couch. "I fail to see how this news would be good."

The mayor raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't it be? Two forces that threaten the peace of this fair city are fighting each other."

"Think of the bigger picture, mayor. If the aliens win you lose a bit of the fighting force, your guild already has a problem breaching the aliens. Getting past the wall is fine, but the guild gets stuck on the more advanced aliens. And if the villains somehow win, you have another problem. I'm sure there are plenty of files in the town hall that villains shouldn't see."

The mayor paled at the thought. "I see your point. What do you suggest I do?"

"Send the guild to assist the villains. Then, when everything is done, your guild can finish the remaining villains."

"Yes… Yes, I see," said the mayor thoughtfully. "Very well, we'll try it your way."

The mayor walked over to the receptionist. "Charlie, I want you to issue a quest to all the available heroes. The villains are making an assault on the Quli wall. We're going to follow in after them to take advantage of the chaos. Those orange freaks won't know what hit them."

Dextra smiled as the call went out. "Mr. mayor?"

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if I joined you here waiting? I'm afraid the journey to the reserve was a tad dangerous."

"Of course, Dextra."

The villainess followed the mayor into the elevator, her smile twisting higher as the doors closed.

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