1998

As Neo Cortex entered the building, a shiver of disgust at the sight of that colorful, luminous decor. All that space adorned with refined furniture, cloud-like couches, fluffy rugs and – the smell had pervaded his respiratory tract the moment he set foot in the lobby – incense. He inhaled again, quickly, as if to double check that his day was indeed placed under the sign of doomed fuckery. Freesias, perhaps. However the icing on the cake was the staff, all too jolly and welcoming, bouncing and giggling their way across the room. Even he, one of the most evil, sadistic minds of his time, was appalled at the sight of beings with (supposedly) reasonable mental capabilities reveling in gleeful servitude. Not that he was against exploitation in any way or form – what else had he invented the Evolvo Ray for ? – but no one ever said you had to be content about it. After a few painfully long seconds, one of the simpletons finally came to him.

"Good afternoon sir, and welcome to the Snowflake Tower! My name is Cedric. How can I brighten your day?"

"Erm… I think I'll pass, thanks." Hell, those were huge dimples, he thought when he set his gaze on the doorman/concierge/whatever's face. "Dr Cortex. I'm here to see Mr Cortex."

The man blinked twice, seemingly bewildered by the fact that a last name could be shared by multiple individuals.

"My brother. He's waiting for me."

"Ah yes, one of our newest residents. Moved in a few weeks ago with his lovely fam-"

Cortex cut him short by clearing his throat. "Alright then, I'll take you to the penthouse. If you would like to follow me..."

This time, he didn't bother to finish his sentence since Cortex had already reached, and called the elevator. The concierge followed on his heels, more oppressive than ever. As he was about to enter the elevator as well, Cortex threw his arm across the doorway to block him.

"I can take it from here, thank you very much," he said sharply, refusing to put any effort to contain his exasperation.

"But… don't you want me to escort you?" he asked, still smiling.

"Penthouse. Speaks pretty much for itself, does it not?"

In response, the concierge nodded spiritedly.

"Well then, have a good day sir."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied while rolling his eyes and pressing the button relentlessly. Alas, the doors wouldn't cooperate.

"And thank you for your generosity," the concierge then added as he extended his hand.

Cortex cringed and cocked an eyebrow. Tips, that's what this pathetic mummery was all about. At this point, how could he refuse?

"Why you're welcome!" Saying so, he spat the gum he'd been chewing off for the past couple of hours and stuck it into the concierge's palm.

The door finally closed on the poor lad's face, whose smile had been completely wiped off. Cortex let out a loud snicker as the storey numbers flashed up on the tiny screen. 63,64,65… 66. The elevator bell rang, and he immediately found himself in the middle of a large living room.

"Peri!" came a masculine voice behind his back. "You're early, I didn't expect you so soon."

Periwinkle, their late mother's favorite flower, to which he owed his middle name. To hear it in the mouth of that obnoxious twat made turned his blood into boiling lava. Sadly, he'd have to swallow his pride today. Thus he turned around. Though he was seven years his senior and five inches taller, Noa Cortex shared the same jet black hair (save for his temples which had gone entirely grey, much to Neo's satisfaction) and chiseled features as his sibling.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Nonsense! I took the day off," Noa took his small round glasses off and paused, as to emphasize the exceptional nature of such an event, "and I have the house all to myself."

"So you're… alone?"

"The girls went downtown. To do some shopping I guess," he said with a content shrug.

Cortex took a deep breath which he soon came to regret, fearing that his disappointment may start to show. She wasn't there. She wasn't there and he did it on purpose.

"I see…" was all he managed to utter. He looked around for a bit. "Anyway, you lot just moved in, I heard…"

"How much, Neo?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your vendetta against that giant squirrel is getting really hard to fund, am I right?"

"Bandicoot."

"Bless you."

"It's a bandicoot, not a bloody squirrel!"

"Tomayto, tomahto," he sighed with a dismissive wave of the hand as he escorted him to the kitchen. "Sit down while I write your check. Can I offer you some coffee or tea?"

"I'd rather something stronger, if you don't mind," Cortex mumbled.

"Kombucha?"

"Ugh, tea it is."

Such a shame, he thought. Flying the aircraft while being completely wasted could have been a lot of fun. Weave randomly between the clouds, obliterate one NGO headquarters or two on his way back home… Once his bubble of phantasmagorical chaos burst, he let his eyes wander around the room. In a deft move, Noa put the check and the cup in front of him.

"There's sugar in the cupboard next to you, and feel free to add a few zeros if you like. I would gladly give you some cash you know," he started with an exaggerated pout, "but this is New York, so we only have dollars. I mean, US Dollars. Nothing that could be of any use to you Down Under…" he chuckled.

Oh, to rip that smug off his face, ear to ear, with his bare hands… Cortex's mind then trailed off for a bit. He hadn't been sleeping very well lately.

"You're in luck, actually : the firm is doing better than ever, and Gemma just signed a new book deal."

Suddenly, among the endless camaieu of beige and state-of-the art appliances, something caught Cortex's attention : a garish leaflet stuck on the fridge which read 'Eureka Institute : where your little ones can think BIG!'

"What's this?"

He immediately got up and took the flyer in his hand.

"Well, as you know, your niece just turned six…"

"Oh, about that, did she like the present I sent her?"

"You mean 'My first electroshock kit'? Got lost in the mail, I'm afraid," Noa retorted with utter contempt.

"Wait, how…"

"In short, as of September, our precious Nina will join one of the most prestigious elementary schools in the world."

"Noa, you can't be serious…" His pounded harder than ever, to such an extent that his own words became inaudible. Yet for some reason, a tiny part of him wanted to give his dimwit of a brother the benefit of the doubt. "This is not what I wished for her, and you know it. Ever since her birth she's been enrolled in the Academy of Evil, where she belongs!"

"Yeah well, we all wish for things," Noa dropped as he snatched the leaflet out of his brother's hand to put it back on the fridge. "I, for one, wish that my family didn't die in a terrible explosion when I was twelve."

"So in order to punish me for my wrongdoings of the past, you'd take Nina's future away from her?"

"What future are we talking about exactly?" Noa chuckled darkly. "Growing up to become a neurotic loser and wage a ridiculous war on some mutant platypus?"

"Bandicoot," Cortex corrected for the second time while he tried to preserve what was left of his safe-control and not shoot the darn prick with a plasma blast right between the eyes. "My point is, when Nina was brought to you, you agreed to —"

"Or perhaps diving out the window once she realizes her two-bits life isn't worth it after all."

"Oh boy, you're so dead for that…"

But Noa wasn't listening anymore and continued, his eyes now glistening with sheer cruelty. "Just like her mo—"

The eldest surviving member of the Cortex family never got the chance to finish his sentence, for Neo had lost his temper once and for all. In a fit of rage, he drew his ray gun, jumped over the courter and pounced on his brother. He could hardly recognise his own yells, though he understood some fragments of it.

He took great relish in punctuating each word with a shot before he ran out of ammo. He then slowly propped himself up and sighed in relief. His contentement was however short lived when he noticed his brother was still breathing, for the gun was on Stun mode. A blessing in disguise, perhaps : he currently had a lot on his plate and very little time for an impromptu body disposal. Noa would wake up in a couple of hours, and the details of their conversation would be nothing more than a fever dream…unlike the obscene amount of money that would soon be debited from his bank account. Cortex grabbed the check, and activated his teleportation device to get back to his aircraft. While the outlines of the city became blurry, his determination grew stronger and stronger.

His daughter would join the Academy, at any cost. After all, this institution had shaped the man he was today, for better and for worse.