Hello everybody, and welcome to the sixth installment of my exciting seven-part Wander over Yonder Epic. Before we get started I just want to clear one little thing up to avoid any confusion. The meat of this story takes place approximately one month after the events of The Weekend Getaway. However, this chapter takes place two weeks prior to that. So in other words, Chapter One takes place sometime between the end of The Weekend Getaway and the true beginning of The Breakup. With that said, Wander over Yonder is owned by Disney. Nefarious and everything else is owned by Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Enjoy.

The Breakup: Chapter 1.

(Two Weeks Earlier)

Mal-Fax 214.

A dismal little sandpit of a planet just south of the Disraeli Asteroid Belt.

So in other words, it was about two million lightyears away from anything even close to resembling civilization.

Which is why the Jaxxon Corporation decided to build their Robot Factory there; so they would be free to build whatever kinds of unholy war machines they wanted without fear of government restrictions.

Regrettably, the company went belly-up about fifty years ago, and the factory was soundly abandoned; leaving behind only a few crates of spare parts and the pungent stench of decay.

However, despite being little more than a broken-down wreck, the old Robot Factory still had its uses. For example, it was the ideal location for a top-secret meeting.

Case in point.

Deep within the hulking structure, in what had once been some sort of boardroom, a most unusual gathering was taking place. Villains from all across the galaxy were there, sitting at what appeared to be a large, slightly moldy, boardroom table; impatiently awaiting the arrival of their mysterious host.

Most notable among them were Lord Hater and his faithful #2 Commander Peepers; both of whom were looking quite irritable, albeit for entirely different reasons.

"PSSST! Peepers!" whispered the dark lord in a feeble attempt to act inconspicuous.

"What?" replied his cycloptic sidekick annoyedly.

"She's doing it again."

"Who's doing what?"

"That girl over there. She keeps staring at me whenever she thinks I'm not looking."

Slightly curious as to what his master was talking about, Peepers turned his gaze toward the other end of the table, where he found someone he did not recognize; a purple skinned humanoid with bushy black hair, dressed in camo and covered in battle scars. A tough customer, to be sure, but still the question remained; who was she?

"UGH! Did you see that? She just did it again!"

"So what?"

"So what? So what! Peepers, she's purple!"

"And?"

"And I hate purple! This is hardly news, Peepers!"

"Sir, I know you like to fixate on things like this, but now is not the time. Our host could be here at any minute, and for all we know this could just be a…"

Whatever Peepers had meant to say died in his throat, as he was instantly cut off by the sound of an automatic door whooshing open.

Suddenly, all eyes were on the far side of the room, as their mysterious host stepped through the open passage. To everyone's surprise, he turned out to be a tall, lanky, one-armed robot-man with a see-through cranium, glowing red eyes, and a long, jagged scar running down the side of his face. However, what really got a reaction, was who was following the enigmatic automaton.

"Is that Sylvia?"

"What's she doing here?"

"What's going on?"

"Is that furry little weirdo behind this?"

"Oh yeah! Now it's a party!"

"I wonder if it's too late to go to law school."

CRACK!

Instantly, the whole room fell silent as the blue Zbornak gave her knuckles a mighty crack; all the while shooting everyone a scowl that would scare the buckteeth off a beaver.

"Thank you, my dear." Said the strange robot to his accomplice, before shifting his focus back on the odd assembly before him. "Now then, I suppose you're all wondering why you're here."

"No duh, Poindexter." Said Emperor Awesome rudely. "Your invite said this was gonna be a rave."

"Mine said this was a singles mixer."

"I was promised a free portable TV!"

"WHA! What's happening? Am I still here?"

"SILENCE!" roared the scarred automaton; once again taking control of the conversation. "Now then, as I was saying. I am Doctor Nefarious, Master of Evil. This is my associate Ms. Sylvia Petrillo, whom I'm sure you're all familiar with. And you are here because we all share a common enemy. Dominator!"

Nefarious paused for a moment to increase the dramatic effect, before continuing.

"For too long, that vile witch has toyed with our lives. Destroying our worlds. Decimating our armies. Humiliating us at every turn. But no more! The time has come, my fellow miscreants, to take our revenge! To strike at the heart of her whole operation, and bathe the cosmos in her blood!"

Another short pause soon followed, this time presumably so the irate robot could calm down just a bit.

"Now, I know what you're all thinking. Dominator's been inactive these last few months. Perhaps she's grown bored of the whole thing and will soon move on. Perhaps we should just let sleeping dogs lie."

"That's not what I'm thinking."

"Well you're wrong! This lull is nothing more than a clever ruse. A ploy to lure us all into a false sense of security so she can begin her endgame. But it's one that we can use to our advantage. Separately, none of us stand a chance against that mad harlot, but by banding together, under my leadership, we can hit her when she least expects it, and end her reign of terror once and for all!"

Yet again, Nefarious paused, this time for applause. But alas, no one clapped. A fact that was clearly not lost on him.

"So… any questions?" the scarred automaton asked awkwardly.

"Yes, I have one." Said Sourdough the Evil Sandwich, his tone as bitter and caustic as ever. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Come again?"

"I mean, seriously, did you really think we'd all just fall in line if you started yelling loud enough? Who the heck are you anyway?"

"I… I told you, I'm Doctor Nefarious, Master of…"

"Master of longwinded introductions." The Evil Sandwich said cuttingly. "Look pal, I don't know who you think you are, but I've been at this villain game for over sixty thousand years. And in that time, I've seen a million guys just like you. All loud talk and no teeth. So don't you come waltzing into my galaxy and start barking orders. Because I see right through you."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're too weak to go after Dominator yourself, so you're trying to sucker all of us into doing it for you so you can take all the credit. Well, I don't work with losers who stand on other people's shoulders and call themselves tall."

Nefarious clearly did not take very kindly to this harsh criticism, as he began to grind his metallic 'teeth' in frustration. Fortunately, someone stepped in to defuse the situation before he could explode.

"Now hold on there, Sourdough." Said Grand Admiral Gazooks, supreme leader of the Schmartian Battle Fleet, his tone both passive and genial. "I'm not usually one to just go blindly trusting strangers, but this Doctor obviously went through a lot of trouble to bring us all here. And since none of us have a plan for dealing with Dominator, I say the least we can do is hear him out."

Sourdough gave no reply; he just sat there on his plate and muttered some inaudible curse. None of the other villains said anything either, although a few of them did nod in agreement. Clearly, the Admiral's voice still carried a little weight within the community.

"Thank you, Admiral." The scarred automaton said with just the slightest hint of sincerity. "Now then, are there any real questions?"

"Yeah, I got one." Said Emperor Awesome suddenly. "Why do you keep talkin' about Dominator like he's a chick?"

"Uh, because she is one." Nefarious replied bitingly.

"No way."

"Yes way."

"You're kidding."

"Oh my Grop, did you seriously not know?" asked Sourdough mockingly. "It's like the worst kept secret in the galaxy. Everyone in the Villain Community knows that."

"B-But that's impossible! I can sense a hot babe from nine parsecs away, and I got nothin' from old lava-butt. You must be wrong."

"And you must've been dropped on your head as a baby." Replied the Evil Sandwich cuttingly. "I've never seen her face, but my ship ran a full bio-scan on her during our first encounter, and I can say with one hundred percent certainty that Dominator is a woman."

"I had my tech boys remotely hack her helmet so we could hear her voice without the filter."

"I could just smell it on her."

"Wait, were we supposed to think she was a man?"

"You see, Awesome." Sourdough chimed in again. "It was so blatantly obvious even a moron could figure it out."

"Yeah, Awesome." Hater cut in boastfully. "I was like the first one to figure out she was a chick."

"I rest my case."

"People, please! We're veering off topic here!" Nefarious said suddenly; in a clear and desperate attempt to regain control of the conversation. "Who cares what Dominator's gender is? We're going to kill her! Remember? That's the whole point of this stupid meeting! So you people can hear my brilliant plan and then pledge your undying loyalty to…."

"WILL YOU STOP STARING AT ME!" Lord Hater roared viciously at the purple woman sitting across from him; once again derailing the whole proceedings.

"What?" asked the camo clad female with a sort of offhanded innocence.

"Don't you what me!" the cloaked skeleton said venomously. "You've been cutting your eyes at me since I got here. What? You got some kinda problem with me or something?"

"People! This is hardly the time for…."

"It's your scar." The purple woman replied; blatantly ignoring the Doctor's plea. "The one on your chin. You got that from an arachnomorph didn't you."

"H-How did you know?"

"Oh my god! Who cares!"

"I know because it's my job to know. I hunt the little monsters for a living." She replied casually; once again ignoring the angry third party. "I also know that most guys with a mark like that are also missing at least three vital organs. So if you're still breathing after an ordeal like that, then that's got me thinkin' you must be one tough hombre."

"Really?" the dark lord asked disbelievingly; only to catch himself and adopt a more characteristically arrogant tone. "I mean, obviously, I know I'm amazing. But… it's nice to know that you know it too."

"I'll bet." Replied the purple woman with a strange sort of smirk. "Name's Ripov, by the way."

"Hater. Lord Hater"

"Am I the only one taking this seriously?" Nefarious asked in a loud and almost acidic tone. "Because I'm starting to think that I am, and I don't like it!"

"Whatever, bro. I'm over this whole thing anyway." Said Awesome abruptly as he suddenly got up from the table. "Laters. Awesome out."

And with that, the preening man-shark made his way for the exit. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far; for the good Doctor quickly steeped in to block his progress.

"Hold it!" the enraged robot roared furiously. "I did not dismiss you!"

"Yeah, listen Dr. Nerd-icon or whatever your name is, for me this doesn't get better. So… I'm gonna split."

"No, you listen, Emperor Jackass. I put a lot of time and energy into this little gettogether, and I'm not about to let some musclebound meathead shoot all my hard work straight down the tubes. So you are gonna shut your damn mouth and get back in your seat. Or else!"

"Or else what, Dr. Dorkinstien." The vain shark-man said mockingly.

But alas, Nefarious gave him no reply.

Instead, he just put his one good arm around the back of his neck and began to forcibly drag him towards the nearest window.

"Whoa! Hey! Hands off the merchandise! Easy! This cape is velvet, dude! Velvet!"

CRASH!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

And before anyone could even try to move, the once great Emperor Awesome made a sickening SPLAT as he collided with the scalding hot sea of sand and scorpion piss ten stories below.

Then, all was silence.

No one dared to make a sound. Most of them were still struggling to process what they had just witnessed. But alas, this silence was short-lived, as the Doctor turned to face his audience.

"Well then, now that we've established who's in charge, let's just skip right to the bottom-line." Said the scarred automaton; his tone unnervingly calm and even. "We all want Dominator dead. I have the plan. You have the means. And if we all work together, we all get what we want. That sound good to all of you?"

Everyone quickly nodded their heads in agreement; some more fearfully than others.

"Good. Because from this moment on, there will be no move to takeover my command. There will be no mistakes. There will be none of your CRAP! NONE OF IT!"

The walls of the ancient structure gave a mighty shudder, as did nearly everyone else in the room.

"Work with me, and I will give you Dominator's head on a plate. Cross me, and I will gut you like a fish. Is that understood?"

Once again, everyone nodded in frightened agreement.

"Good. Now then, let's get to work."

End Notes:

For those of you wondering how a scrawny little nerd like Nefarious could overpower someone like Awesome, chalk it up to a combination of rage induced strength, the element of surprise, and the fact that Awesome only works on his glamor muscles while neglecting his core. That being said, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and I'll see you in the next one. Peace.