Episode 2: What the Shadow Syndicate Was Doing Right Then
The unknown caverns under Metro City were wide and expansive just as much as they were dark and damp. They were a place that few would dare to venture which made it the perfect headquarters for Metro City's most notorious villain organization–the Shadow Syndicate. For years now, the Shadow Syndicate pulled their nefarious strings behind the scenes of many different heinous crimes around the world from this very cave system.
Today was a special day. Lord Dread, the Master of the Syndicate, called together his Shadow Council, his most trusted and loyal servants, to unveil his newest master plan. The council room decor was an interesting mix of cave stalactites and high-tech computers. At the head of the table of course rested the largest, grandest, and darkest chair–a throne–reserved for Lord Dread. He always entered last. Before the meeting began, the other villains slowly trickled into their places at the table.
A glowing blue circle appeared in the air above one of the chairs and Warlock dropped out of it to land in his chair perfectly with his arms behind his head and his feet on the table. He was a teleporter and manipulator of mystic energy.
"How nice of you to drop in," Madame Hex said. "Now, get your feet off the table! I raised you better than that!" She used her magic to take control of Warlock's feet and pushed them off the table.
Warlock sat up in his chair properly but looked over at his mother, Madame Hex, with daggers in his eyes. "You didn't raise me at all. You left me with that circus troop until I got my powers."
"And thank your lucky stars I didn't go with my first plan…Hippies!"
"Enough with the mommy issues," A talking Coyote walked up to the table and then shapeshifted back into a human being. The villain known as Coyote Trickster tried to itch his ear by biting it for a moment until his human ways caught back up with him.
"Says the man with cousin issues." Baron Blitz zoomed into his chair like a blue and copper blur before his image settled.
"I've told you, War Eagle is a second-cousin," Coyote Trickster hissed. "He grew up on the other side of the Reservation!"
"Still, if I had a relative in the Masters of the Realm, I'd think I'd have to call the police on myself for being such a loser," The Baron chuckled. He elbowed the large woman dressed in a scorpion costume next to him. "Am I right, or am I right?"
The Red Scorpion, towering at a whopping 6 feet, with a deadly stinger and claws on her hands looked less than amused with the conversation.
"Enough," Called a firm voice. Two more villains walked into the room. The others at the table sat up straight in attention as Lord Dread's commanders, his "Right and Left Hand", took their seats on each side of the large throne. The "Right Hand of Dread" was Maelstrom–a master of cosmic radiation and shooting fiery meteorites. He was the General of Lord Dread's armies and one of his most trusted advisors. The "Left Hand of Dread" looked graceful and beautiful, but anyone fooled by that would be deeply sorry. Nightshade served as the head of Dread's Intelligence Network. She truly put the shadow in Shadow Syndicate.
It wasn't much longer until Lord Dread himself slowly walked into the room. He was a mass of black robes and a skull mask that seemed to float where his face should be. Some likened him to the Grim Reaper while others thought he looked like Charon of the river Styx in Greek Mythology. The room grew even more quieter, if that were possible. The already cool cave air seemed to plummet another ten degrees as Dread spread out his hands on the table. Everything he did was slow and dramatic so it was no surprise that his underlings waited a few moments for him to speak.
"I have called you here today to announce the second phase of my master plan." Dread placed his fingers together into a pyramid as he spoke. Maelstrom and Nightshade have been preparing the first stages of my plan for months, and now we are ready to move forward. When this plan is completed, the Shadow Syndicate will seize its rightful place in the world for good." He slammed his fist down on the table.
The other villains perked up in interest.
Maelstrom pointed a remote near the ceiling and a large projector screen came down. Nightshade started tapping on her tablet to prepare the slideshow. Suddenly, the buffering wheel appeared on the screen. The villains awkwardly waited in silence for a few moments.
"What's wrong?" Maelstrom hissed over at Nightshade.
"I don't know," She hissed back. "The presentation's fine. The internet's just…"
"You should have prepared for this!" Maelstrom snapped.
"Maybe you should have prepared for this!"
Lord Dread raised a dark hand, silencing them. "I'll just wing it."
"Are you sure?" Malestrom asked.
Dread waved his hand flippantly. "I can manage."
Nightshade sighed as she set her tablet down while Maelstrom shot her a smug look across the table.
Dread stood up from his throne and started pacing around the room. "My intelligence network has kept a close eye on the League of Villains for quite some time now."
"Those freaks," Warlock sneered.
"Indeed," Dread agreed. "And we've discovered a most excellent opportunity to crush them once and for all."
"So we're considering breaking the truce," The Red Scorpion spoke with an atypically deep voice. "It could mean a war."
"Exactly," Dread said. "The time is now. The League of Villains has been severely weakened over the past year, and it is the perfect time to strike!"
The buffering wheel on the screen stopped and Nightshade's presentation popped up. She smirked over at Maelstrom who looked disappointed.
Nightshade skipped ahead to an organizational flow-chart of the League of Villains power structure. Baron Blitz yawned at what looked like business graphics. "As you can see here, Syndicate Intelligence reports that Onyx has been defeated and no longer rules the League."
Coyote Trickster's jaw dropped. "How?"
"Now that is the billion-dollar question, isn't it?" Nightshade smiled. She swiped to the next slide and a picture of supervillain Havoc appeared before everyone. It was a close-up of her face, fierce and passionate.
"Who's she?" Baron Blitz asked.
"This is Havoc," Nightshade said. "Former member of the League of Villains, daughter of Surge and Kranaic, and apparently the new leader."
"She's just a kid," Warlock said.
"So are you!" Madame Hex said.
"I'm 37! But of course, you wouldn't remember that since you didn't actually raise me!"
Baron Blitz studied the picture of Havoc for a few moments. "So you're telling us that this little twerp is now leading the League of Villains?"
"No, not exactly," Nightshade said. She went on to explain the information their intelligence operations gathered–the falling out between Surge and Onyx, the supervillain family going on the run, and Havoc and Flashform working together to destroy Onyx. "Though Havoc has a claim as rightful leader, she has seemingly abandoned that position."
Information like this did make this plan a lot more feasible. Red Scorpion looked convinced as she put her claws on the table. "So what do you have in mind?"
Dread began to give a dry chuckle. "From this moment, two different operation teams will commence." He motioned to Maelstrom. "Maelstrom will be building an army from our ranks to attack Centropolis and the League of Villains head-on."
The Baron rubbed his hands together excitedly at the prospect of war.
"And the other operational team–the most crucial operational team–will be led by Nightshade."
Nightshade shot another smug look over at Maelstrom after Dread called her team crucial. "That's right," She smiled wickedly. "I'm putting together an infiltration team to take care of Havoc and her family."
"Why are they so important?" Warlock asked. "You said they're on the run hiding out in some po-dunk Texas town or something. What trouble are they going to be?"
Maelstrom looked pleased with the direction of the conversation, but Nightshade was unfazed by the questions. She raised her head and answered confidently. "As Left Hand to the Lord Dread himself, I leave no loose threads. Leaving Havoc and her family untouched could have dangerous consequences for our plans. First, Havoc has a rightful claim to leadership over the League of Villains because she defeated Onyx. Second, the youngest of the family is rumored to have multiple powers. It gives him a strong claim to leadership as well."
"A chosen one," Madame Hex said in awe. "Wish he were my son."
Warlock sneered at her.
If we're going to take over the League and absorb it into the Shadow Syndicate, we need to remove any other potential claims to leadership to legitimize our own takeover."
"How will you do this?" Red Scorpion inquired.
Nightshade put her hands on the table and leaned down. "Oh, we'll be creating a fake family and going to Valley View, Texas to take over the town," She grinned in wicked delight. "Two can play at that domestic game." She laughed maniacally.
"No, you can't," Coyote Trickster said. "You're not even married! You don't even have any kids! Or pets! And you never pay your taxes!"
Nightshade looked pointedly at him. "That's why I have you..hubby."
Coyote Trickster groaned, realizing that he'd been roped into the plan. "Oh, great."
"That's right, baby! Honeymoon in Texas!" She continued to laugh.
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Red Scorpion used a claw to wipe her watering eye. "A proposal at a meeting, how romantic…I know Lord Dread said this was an extra special day, but I never imagined…and you two…I never imagined…"
Baron Blitz turned to her. "You know they aren't actually getting married right? It's all part of the plan to take out Havoc and her family."
"Oh." She dried up her tears. She looked around the room, embarrassed. "I knew that."
"Anyway," Lord Dread himself breathed. "Let the plans…COMMENENCE!"
Everyone awkwardly glanced around the room at each other.
"Now!" Dread waved his hands. "Get to work!"
The villains jumped out of their seats to obey their master's commands.
Underneath a large section of Metro City, there was a large cavern about the size of a football stadium. It served as the central hub for all Metro City's villains. Secret passageways led up to the surface, wicked subway trains carried villains back and forth to different parts of the city, and vendors of all kinds sold black-market goods in their shops and stands.
An elderly man, dirty and messing a few teeth, held up a brake caliper for an old motorcycle from his seat on the ground. "Freshly stolen this week," He claimed. "Great condition."
The teen boy standing eyed the part skeptically. "Looks like a rusty piece of junk."
"Oh, don't say that," The old man tried to rub off some of the rust. "Look, I'll give you a special price today…40 bucks!"
"You've got to be joking me," The teen didn't know whether to be angry or amused.
"No, you've got to be joking me!"
The teen turned and looked behind him. Another young teen stood with her hands on her hips and her right foot tapping. Her platinum-blonde hair contrasted with her dark blue eye mask and similarly colored villain suit. The suit was sleek and smooth like a surfing wetsuit. She marched over and took ahold of the teen boy's arm. "I told you, we're not here to buy motorcycle parts! We're here to get that job!"
The teen boy rolled his brown eyes as the girl pulled him away. It was useless to try and argue with her so he just kept his mouth shut.
"If we don't hurry, we could miss our call!" She fretted, pulling the boy through the crowds of mingling villains.
"Bea," The boy sighed. That made the girl instantly stop and glare at him. They weren't supposed to use their civilian names around others. "Riptide," He corrected.
She looked a little less angry but still crossed her arms.
"Why are we even bothering with this?" The boy asked. "You know they're just going to pick the usuals. Let it go."
"No," Riptide snapped back. "I'm not letting an opportunity like this go by without a fight! I'm getting you and I on that team no matter what I have to do!"
The boy looked away.
"Firefall," The girl gently put a hand on the boy's arm. "We have to do this. We have to do this for Mom and Dad."
The boy sighed. He started to kick at the ground with his dark combat boots. "I just don't know what difference it's going to make."
"Hey! Stop that!" Riptide gave her brother a shake with her arm. "I'm tired of everyone treating us the way they do! I'm tired of everyone calling Mom and Dad failures! I'm tired of everyone…" She paused for a moment, frustrated, then looked up at her brother. "I'm tired of being underestimated and overlooked all the time." She took her hand off his arm and held it up. Water emerged from her palm and started swirling around her hand. "I want our family's name to mean something again."
Firefall stared at her for a moment. He wanted those things too even if he wouldn't allow himself to hope for them very often. "Alright," He gave in to his sister's pleas. "I'm with you."
"Finally," She flicked the sphere of water she created at her brother's face. "Now, let's go!" She charged off through the crowd again.
"Great," Firefall mumbled, annoyed with being wet.
The room was dark save for a few overhead lights that dimly lit up the darkness. At the back of the small room was a long table raised up on a platform so that the three villains could interview their prospects with maximum intimidation. Not that it was completely necessary to intimidate their candidates, but it sure was a lot of fun.
Nightshade sat in the middle of the tablet while her second-in-command for the mission, Coyote Trickster, sat beside her. On her other side though, a young teen girl sat typing furiously on her laptop, seemingly lost in her own little world.
In the middle of the room stood a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, under the scrutiny of the overhead lamp above him. It was all very crime show-esque. He fidgeted a bit under the heat of the lamp above him by fiddling with the bushy striped tail on his villain suit.
Nightshade looked through her paperwork. "Has the ability to communicate to and control raccoons, self-reported skills in thievery and stealth," She looked up at the young man dressed like a furry little trash panda. "Anything else to add, Raccoon Bandit?" Nightshade asked apathetically.
"I also possess a heightened sense of smell and hearing due to my raccoon powers," He said. "I can smell trash from up to a quarter mile away."
"Uh huh," Nightshade said. "That'll be all. We'll contact you if we decide to pursue your application further." The Raccoon Bandit nodded his head and turned to leave the room. Nightshade could swear she heard a raccoon chitter as he left. Once he was out of the room, she released a deep sigh. "What a loser!"
"I didn't think he was so bad," Coyote Trickster said.
"Because you're practically the same species," She said flatly.
"Ha," He snorted while putting his feet up on the table to stretch his legs.
"The raccoon and the coyote are part of the same scientific order, not species," The teenage girl spoke up without looking up from her computer.
"Lighten up, Cypher," Trickster said. "Even I know it's just a joke."
The girl paused for a moment and thought about it. "Ah, I see," She let out one forced chuckle then continued to type again. Though she didn't look it with her baby face, short stature, thick curly hair, and overly large headphones, Cypher was a technopath–an expert in electronics, invention, and teleknetic abilities with technology. She was indeed young, barely 14, but she had a vital role to play in the operation against Havoc's family. Dubbed Operation Pot Roast, Cypher would primarily serve as the team's logistics officer and intelligence gatherer. Now, she and her other two "family members" would have to find some "siblings" to join the team.
Nightshade pushed a button on a small panel resting on the table. "Send in the next one," She said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.
A few moments later, two teens stepped into the light in the middle of the room. They stood side by side quietly with their hands at their sides. Cypher handed folders over to both Nightshade and Trickster.
"We interview one at a time…" Nightshade began, clearly annoyed. "Ah, twins," She said looking over the file Cypher gave her. She looked up from the stack of papers with an amused smile.
Firefire and Riptide glanced at one another.
Nightshade's grin grew wider as she tapped her pen against the stack of papers on the table. "How interesting."
"Beg your pardon?" Riptide spoke up.
Nightshade tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and leaned back in her chair. "You look like your mother, you know."
Riptide frowned. With a deep breath and a small nostril flare she said, "We're here for the interview. Nothing else."
This only made Nightshade's smirk grow. "Still sensitive I see. Oh, what's it been now…three, four years?"
"Five," Riptide said barely above a whisper.
"I suppose one never does get over having traitors for parents." Nightshade gently spun back and forth in her swivel chair.
"Traitors and failures," Coyote added, not able to resist the carnage of the conversation.
Nightshade looked over at Coyote. "Too true. Too true."
"What were their names again?" Coyote pondered with a grin. "Crybaby and Vagabond?"
"Chronos and Vandal!" Firefall snapped. "Their names were Chronos and Vandal!" He felt a sharp elbow in the ribs.
"What my brother is trying to say," Riptide turned her attention back to the panel of villain judges. "Is that we we're here today on our own merits as villains. We have nothing to do with our parents."
"I suppose that's true," Nightshade said, "They're dead." She smirked swearing she could see fire dance in the boy's eyes before her.
"Dead is dead," Coyote said. He picked up one of the file reports and started reading aloud. "Beatrice Jane Vitale, alias Ripide. Mark Anthony Vitale, alias Firefall. Water manipulation, fire manipulation…" He trailed off.
Nightshade decided to be professional again and leaned forward in her chair. "Are your abilities fairly standard or are there any special deviations?"
"They're standard," Riptide answered for the both of them. "My brother and I each have classic kinetic powers over our element."
"Well, that's too bad," Nightshade tisked. "We're looking for something all little more…unique." She waved his hand flippantly. "And besides, your hydrokinetic powers are more likely to be a liability in our situation."
Riptide's nose wrinkled angrily until she heard that Havoc's mother, Surge, had lightning powers. That would make her own powers more of a liability than a help, and she knew it. Still, there was no way she could give up an opportunity like this. "There are other members of the family I can be an asset against," Riptide stated much more confidently than she felt.
"Hmm, I doubt it," Trickster said. "Maybe your brother, but not you. Anyway, I think we've seen enough."
"Oh, no, I don't think so," Nightshade smirked like a cat torturing a little mouse. "You have the Siren's Song, don't you, little girl?"
Firefall glanced over at his sister wondering if she'd keep her cool.
"Don't you?" Nightshade asked again after Riptide didn't speak up.
"Yes," Riptide admitted.
"Now that might be something we can work with," Nightshade's smirk grew wider, "We'll see though."
"Now you're dismissed," Coyote waved his hand dismissively for them to leave.
The twins each crossed their right arms over their chests with a fist–the salute of the Shadow Syndicate then turned to leave the room.
After they were gone, Nightshade nearly burst out in tears laughing. "Oh, this is too poetic!"
Coyote smirked along with her. "If Chronos and Vandal could see their little orphans now–begging the very same woman who set them up to give them a chance."
Cypher glanced over at the laughing pair out of the side of her eye but she continued to type away at her computer.
A few days passed and with nothing in particular to do, Riptide and Firefall mainly stayed around their small apartment–if it could even be called an apartment–in a rundown Metro-City neighborhood. The day was hot, and the bootleg air conditioning unit they had wasn't cutting it. Firefall had the box torn apart on the kitchen table trying to fix the thing.
"What is taking so long?" Riptide groaned while waving a paper fan to cool herself. "If it weren't so hot, I'd suggest going out and stealing another one."
"I'm trying the best I can," Firefall said, using a small flame coming out of his finger to solder some wires together.
Riptide rolled over cringing at the sweaty feeling and sound that came from the vinyl couch. She looked at her brother pointedly. "You can build motorcycles from scratch, but you can't fix the air conditioner?"
He shot a dirty look in her direction. "I don't see you doing anything to help, like usual."
She turned back over on the couch. "Whatever. You're just not motivated because you don't ever get hot."
"Well, you're certainly not helping me feel motivated."
The two sat mostly in silence for a while save for an occasional sigh from Riptide or the clinks and clanks from Firefall's repair work. That silence was interrupted by the small screen on the wall of their makeshift living room. It flickered for a second–for it was another bootleg device they owned–then the image appeared crystal clear.
"This is Nightshade from Syndicate Intelligence."
Riptide flew up out of her seat and Firefall quietly put down his tools. "Yes, Nightshade, we're listening."
"Firefall, Riptide, you both are to report to Sector 7-G tomorrow at 700 hours. Pack only your essential equipment for your villain duties. All else will be provided for you. A dossier has been uploaded to further brief you."
"Wait," Riptide grabbed a hold of the small screen on the wall. "Are you saying we've been selected for the mission?"
Nightshade paused for a moment, noticing Riptide's face awkwardly growing rather large on her end of the screen. "That is correct. You and your brother have been selected for Operation Pot Roast. You will report to the team at 700 hours tomorrow, and after a logistical meeting, we will immediately depart for Texas."
"Yes, Ma'am." Riptide nodded. "We'll be there."
"And you may want to consider removing the pore cleanse strip over your nose before then," Nightshade said abruptly before signing off the Syndicate network. The screen went black.
Riptide reached up and touched her nose, remember she still had the beautiful product on her face. She ripped it off and let out a small scream.
"I'll never get why you do that to yourself."
"Unlike you, I care about my appearance." She snubbed him for a moment and looked over at the mirror to fix her hair. "Anyway, looks like I did do something to help," She turned back from the mirror and smirked.
"You do know it's hot in Texas, right?"
Riptide only glared at her brother for a moment before returning back to her good mood. "We've got to pack!" She looked around the sketchy apartment at their meager possessions. "Ugh, why bother? We don't need anything from this dump." She waved her hand flippantly.
Firefall glanced over to the plant stand by the window. There was a small picture frame with two villains and two children smiling. He reached out and studied the same picture he had looked over a thousand times before–his father's gold and black suit villain suit, his mother's sword and round shield, the missing baby teeth in his young smile, his sister clutching her toy shark tightly. Those were different times.