He was very... annoyed. To put it lightly.

Perhaps it would be nice if someone on this island was feeling even the slightest amount of fatigue he was currently feeling. Yet, that would mean losing money and time if someone else in the base felt the same.

No, he couldn't afford to lose anyone on sleep. Every moment that passed, he could feel the facade of the calm and levelheaded genius slipping as he felt like wasting the resources that walked around him uselessly. Not like they were managing their time well.

Maybe that facade was already gone, and there was a high likelihood they already knew what he really was like without it. It would be one thing he could take his attention off of if he did decide to stop after all, doing this 24/7 facade was tiring.

It had been exactly 3 weeks since he began this operation. The bags under his eyes have only darkened since then.

Reports had come in over the globe about the attacks from other evil geniuses. To make things worse, half were already likely already ahead of the race, having started even earlier than he.

Which was quite aggravating. Still, it was nothing to get worked up about...

It was only one of the ten reasons why he was about to blow this entire world sky high, along with going insane.

One of the other reasons was the fact that the base was currently on fire.

Victor ran and turned the corner into the power station as he saw another one of his generators on fire as it began to spread its flames to the other generators around it. He tried to suppress the rage that was boiling inside as he quickly got his wits about.

Where the hell were the technicians!? Weren't they supposed to repair this before it bursts into flames!? What was he paying them for if they couldn't even do their blasted job!?

He quickly took out and spoke into the microphone device that was in his pocket, as his voice was heard throughout the base as he almost yell— he yelled into the device due to not thinking straight because of the fatigue.

"Technicians. Come to the power station. NOW!" His voice echoed throughout the base as all the technicians who were in the cafeteria or were in the barracks stopped what they were doing and quickly scrambled to get their stuff.

Victor couldn't help himself and cursed under his breath. He seemed like he couldn't rely on them; once again, he had to do this all by himself! He looked around to see there were no minions in the power station. They were all a minute away enjoying their lunch, which pissed him off. There was supposed to be a fire suppressant system installed after he deemed the fire extinguishers to be too slow if there was a fire, but unfortunately that wasn't in his budget!

Since he had to build more damn generatorsto power the rooms in the base since he had to create more rooms since he needed more minions in the base, which resulted in him having to pay even more.

He had to establish more criminal networks with him actually placing them in PATRIOT this time so he could get even more money only for him to flood the gold to its max, resulting in him having to finally create a vault, which took up a large space and didn't exactly add the maximum capacity that much but definitely drained his money.

This made him have to tell his scientists to research an easy way to store the money, which cost more gold.

In short, it was all the generators fault. The generators, which were currently on fire, were quickly spreading to the other generators, causing more fires.

He bit his tongue, watching the chaos of flames in front of him quickly spreading. The flame's heat licked his face as he felt like just breaking down. Three sleepless weeks with the pressure of the base falling, the other possible evil geniuses getting ahead of him. The agents from "The Forces of Justice" were always trying to get in that would only become higher in rank and would eventually grow in numbers, making him have to increase the prison, wasting even more money on generators to power it.

It was just too much for someone like him. He couldn't be everywhere at once. He wished he could, though. Then maybe he might get some proper rest.

He just couldn't lose his cool, no matter how fatigued he got. He needed a composed image. He had to keep it up to keep them in line and their morale up. To keep the illusion of complete control and seem like he had already planned 100 steps for all their enemies. He can barely even plan a day ahead.

Victor heard the door behind him as he saw Edward come rushing in with a fire extinguisher while coming through in a panic state seeing him.

At least that was one person he could relay on... he guessed as he watched him struggle to use the fire extinguisher before getting the hang of it as he began to put out the first fire. Edward was the guard he decided to keep and also cure his mental illness. It turns out it was caused by a crime lord who decided to experiment on one of their subordinates. It took a couple of days for the scientists to find the cure, but it was fine.

It was fine.

It really was.

Not like he felt he had wasted time or anything when he could have gotten another guard if it wasn't for his laziness acting up at the time he got Edward. Now he just had to do more work. It was fine.

A couple of workers entered with fire extinguishers to help put out the fire as well.

Seeing this made him less stressed and mad for a moment... that was until Conner and the rest of the technicians entered.

Conner froze in place as he saw Victor just looking at him. Not screaming or yelling. Just giving him the disappointed looks in the world. He managed to deliver everything just by the silence he was giving him as the other technicians watched on as he just walked past them before standing right outside the door before turning around and pointing at the generators as he looked at all of them without saying a word. He was too tired to say anything.

They understood the basics of what he was saying. 'Don't let this happen again, otherwise the next time someone finds you, you will be a skeleton.'

He left the power station as the workers then had to replace the generators lost as the technicians quickly went to work on fixing the generators that haven't been lost or have run out of some durability.

Failure like this would not be tolerated again and would probably lead to someone getting put at the bottom of the ocean for JAWS to find.

Victor was unsure how he ended up in the laboratory. He held a hand to his head. There seemed to be a lapse in his memory. It appeared the fatigue was making him get too tired to remember.

Nevertheless, he tried his best. Eventually he did remember why he came here. He wanted to see how the research for the safe racks was going.

With this in mind, it confused him to see that no one was there. Why wasn't anyone here? He swore he had at least 4 scientists.

He waited there as he proceeded to lean against the wall to get some rest in, until he saw Wilson walking into the laboratory, who immediately froze upon seeing him.

"O-oh. Hey boss!" He quickly stammered as Victor tilted his head at this.

He just looked at him for a couple of seconds as Wilson looked a bit tense. Gathering his words, he finally spoke. "Why aren't you and the rest working on the task I had assigned you?"

Seeing the tired and blank look of his boss, Wilson swallowed the salvia building up in his throat. He stammered under Victor's gaze. "Well! We—uhm, we were just! Taking break! Yeah! Just a short break to quickly clear our heads for a bit! I swear that we were just about to get back to it."

They were... taking a break!? Victor's patience was already paper thin, and the excuse Wilson had just given him was not helping at all. He felt his fists clench as he felt his blood boil. A break? While the base was falling apart? While the other geniuses were getting more and more ahead. The lack of sleep, along with the stress and pressure from outside forces, were starting to make him snap.

He took a long, deep breath, with Wilson's breath hitching from seeing this. "You four... took a break? While the base was burning, our resources were stretched thin, and completion was steps ahead of us. You took a break during all of this? Correct?"

Wilson paled as his eyes widened as he opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted as Victor began to chuckle as it then turned into laughter. This laughter then devolved into a full-blown cackle.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Wilson just watched, frightened and concerned for his life, yet not just his. Because, despite the risk he was currently in, it seemed like the boss wasn't taking care of himself. He could see that Victor was on the verge of snapping, and from what he just saw, he was really under pressure, probably much more than him.

Unfortunately, these thoughts came to an end as Victor stopped laughing and instantly appeared in front of him before gripping his shirt and lifting him up, finally snapping.

His grip on his shirt was iron as Wilson was face to face with the wide bloodshot eyes of his boss. The breaths Victor let out seemed to be ragged bursts as he glared into the eyes of his minion.

"YOU! You... think you deserve a break!?" Victor's normally calm tone till now had turned into a yell of fury. Victor shook Wilson hard enough to make his neck snap back and forth as Victor then stopped shaking him to continue to vent. "While I had to carry this damn base on my back, having to burn through every last drop of my strength just so we don't fail and your TAKING BREAK!?"

Wilson was trembling. Not just because he was scared for his life, but also since he felt guilty for taking a break when his boss had been working day in and day out to keep this operation going. "B-boss, I-"

"NO!" Victor shouted over him as his voice could be heard even outside the laboratory as the minions outside got curious about what they just heard as some walked to one of the laboratory's walls to listen in. "You don't deserve to speak! While I have been busting my ass off having to hold this entire operation together through sheer force of will, while everything is falling apart! You're just sitting back and relaxing like every other incompetent subordinate in this damn place! I THOUGHT you were supposed to be smart, but it appears I misjudged you severely." Victor's hands tightened as his knuckles turned white, and his face turned into a deadly expression as he pulled him closer, so close that their faces were only inches apart.

"We aren't on vacation. We are on the constant brink of collapse; we can't afford to waste time on things such as breaks. If you fail, we will all fail. Understand. If a single card falters, then the rest shall come crumbling down with them. Do you understand? Every single one of us will be left to rot because of your break." Victor knew it wasn't just him, but all of the scientists. He was just too angry to care about the specifics.

Hearing this, Wilson nodded frantically. Seeing Victor's bloodshot glare made his chest beat quickly as he felt the blood in his body freeze. It was clear Victor was on the edge of murdering him. Any concern Wilson felt quickly turned back into the fear that grew heavier and heavier with every passing second since he still valued his life.

The atmosphere grew nearly unbearable, until... something shifted as Wilson no longer felt the glare come from Victor. His grip on his shirt loosened as he put him back on the ground, still holding on. The Evil Genius's expression faltered as the exhaustion finally began to win. Victor's voice was no longer filled with anger so much as just tiredness of everything. Tired of constantly being… stressed? Tired of the pressure of possibly being a failure and disappointing the only one who had shown him true kindness in this dreaded world.

"Just…. please. I can't be everywhere. I can't… fix this all by myself. I..." He didn't finish his next sentence as his head tilted forward as his eye shut without his consent. The fatigue he had let build for the past weeks finally hit him all at once as his body finally gave out.

Victor stepped forward as his knees buckled. Wilson was confused on what was happening until he saw his boss fall forward as he quickly caught him before he hit the floor in alarm. The breaths he let out were shallow but steady. The fatigue had mothered him to unconsciousness.

"Umm, Boss?" He called out as he gently shook him. "Sir?... Victor?"

There was no response even when he said his name with it still failing. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Victor had passed out from exhaustion. A sinking feeling was felt in his chest. He heard the doors open as he looked to see other workers, scientists, and minions staring at him holding Victor.

"What th- What happened?" One of the scientists asked as he rushed forward to see their boss in such a state. "Is he alright?"

Wilson finally found his voice. "He... passed out. He just got... too tired."

The workers exchanged looks, with some looking guilty. They all had a vague feeling Victor was putting up a facade of a calm leader in order to hide any fatigue he might be feeling, but they didn't know it was this bad.

Edward, who had been standing with the other minions, finally made a decision as he pushed past a couple of the minions before going to Victor's side, taking him out of Wilson's hands and carefully hosting him over his shoulder. "I'll take him to his inner sanctum. It's time he got rest. Proper rest. We can't continue if this keeps happening." Edward turned around as the minions parted as he left with the unconscious form of their leader.

They all stood awkwardly in silence as the situation hit them, making them all think. Victor, compared to what they heard, was much more of a better leader than they could have hoped, which was odd. Since from what they heard, Evil Genius's would kill their subordinates without second thought if they failed once or just for the thrills.

One of the scientists decided to break it. "He is right. We can't let this happen again." His voice dropped to a mutter. "If this happens again, I doubt he will be as kind to us as he has been." No doubt, his personality might warp with the pressure.

There were murmurs, but overall, they agreed. They weren't going to let him down again.

Victor blinked his eyes as he slowly got up. He was still half asleep as he looked around to see a gray room with a large desk with an assortment of items on it and a white chair.

Looking down, he saw he had slept on a brown leather couch he had installed in his inner sanctum. He let out a small hum, not really thinking about it.

That was until his memories quickly hit him all at once as he realized what had happened and also realizing he had passed out as he quickly got up while trying to shake his tiredness.

A million thoughts rushed to his mind.

Number one, what happened after he passed out?

Next was, how long has he been passed out for?

He glanced around the Inner Sanctum. The space was made for strategic planning yet also relaxation, not that he would ever admit it even though he installed a couch in here. Not like his minions would question him.

Before he fully finished gathering his thoughts, Edward had come in as he paused to see his boss finally awake.

A look of relief graced his face as he rushed forward before greeting awkwardly as he stood in front of him while giving a small bow. "Hello boss! Great to see your finally awake... uh, how are you feeling?"

He rubbed his eyes. "Just fine... what happened after I passed out? Is the base"

Edward looked away as he rubbed his head with him, not sure if he should tell him what happened. "The base is alright. We made sure to keep it stable while you were asleep..."

Hearing this, Victor quickly asked, "How long was I asleep for?"

This made Edward thankful since he guessed Victor wasn't going to ask what happened. "You have been asleep for 25 hours."

Victor's eyes widened at this as he repeated what he just heard as his heart skipped a beat. "25 hours?"

Twenty-five hours. A full night and day had passed. How much had he missed? What had happened in that time frame? He could already feel the stress from before returning as he made the movement to get up, only for him to be stopped by Edward.

Edward quickly decided to ease any worries he might have. "No worries boss. The scientists have already completed the safe rack, and the base is working at max efficiency. We even captured a couple of agents all by ourselves."

Hearing this, the stress he felt went away, filled with relief and some pride. The scientists had finished the safe rack, and the base wasn't falling apart.

"Good." Victor nodded as he truly smiled. "Make sure everyone knows that their efforts are appreciated. We just need to avoid any more setbacks like this. Also... I've learnt something valuable from this experience."

Edward tried to guess what he was going to say. "Was it to take breaks and not compare yourself to other people's success?"

Victor thought about what he had just said before shaking his head. "No... what I learnt is that I need someone else to-" He was about to say suffer, but that wouldn't leave a good image, if he had any good image left. He decided to recontextualize his words to not appear like a complete maniac. "...carry the burden of running this place with me. Someone who's wit can match my own and be able to help me in my takeover."

"Like a right-hand boss?" Edward seemed to perk up hearing this as Victor nodded. He quickly auditioned for the role. "What about me?"

Seeing Edward's enthusiasm, Victor decided to let him down easy since he was a good minion in his books.

"Look, you have the strength, but you're not exactly the brightest bulb. I need someone who is smooth and fights better than any muscle. There are plenty of criminal masterminds out there in the world. Why not get one the payroll?"

Hearing this, Edward understood. The boss needed someone better than him. He doubted he could run a criminal empire like this, and he wasn't as smart as the boss.

"Right!"

Victor stretched out his hand with a grin. "Alright then! Go tell the others to get me files on possible crime lords I can recruit!"

Edward saluted as he quickly left the Inner Sanctum. As soon as he left, Victor fell onto the couch as he put a hand on his face, trying to gather his thoughts.

Victor sat at with his thoughts, looking at the small TV he had placed on his desk. It was showing the news in S.A.B.R.E.'s territory, or more specifically, in the places where he had set up two criminal networks.

A small laugh escaped his mouth hearing the news. It seemed like PATRIOT was trying to keep his existence as well as his organization confidential and secret in order to not elicit panic.

"In response to recent disturbances in two major cities, P.A.T.R.I.O.T. has increased their presence in those locations and will conduct further investigation. Although P.A.T.R.I.O.T. has refused to release any details at this stage."

It was amusing to see PATRIOT try and downplay him so that the public wouldn't freak out. He wondered how ANVIL was holding up, seeing as he had been attacking them the longest.

The door to his Inner Sanctum suddenly opened as he quickly lifted his head off the table while turning the small TV off as he looked to see Wilson coming in with files in his hands.

He had expected Edward as he raised a brow at Wilson, who was currently going through a mix of apprehension and guilt. "Hey Boss. I heard you wanted files on possible crime lords, and I, uh, I have some." He cleared his throat. "I also came to say... sorry and check up on you?" They sounded unsure of themselves.

"What? To see if I am still in the mood to rip someone's head off?" Wilson flinched hearing this as Victor sighed. "Look, I was just a bit tired, and don't say sorry. I want actions, not words, alright?"

Wilson looked away while anxiously handing over the files. "Right... actions, not words." Wilson kept muttering to himself as Victor took the files while scheming them over.

Recruit The Swordsman
Recruit The Fan
Recruit Your Computer
Recruit The Son

He tossed them onto his desk without another glance. "I'll look at them soon. Tell me how the base is holding up?"

Wilson shifted slightly. "Well, the base is working as best as it can be. We have moved onto the next project; the technicians are doing their job since I haven't seen anything blow up that needs to blow up, and the criminal networks are doing just fine."

Victor nodded as he put a hand to his forehead while trying to rub away the lingering aches of exhaustion. "Right... good, I mean." Everything was progressing well, but he knew it was just a small moment of silence before the storms began to hit again. The others won't slow down; he couldn't either.

"I also... wanted to thank you for not... you know...?" He shifted awkwardly.

He looked at him with a bored expression. "Killing you? Look, just try not to push your luck. There will be actual consequences next time, IF you do. So, try not to screw up. Ok?"

Wilson nodded as he shook slightly. "Understood, boss."

Picking up the files, he leaned back on his chair as he began to read them. He started with "The Son."

Victor's eyes read more and more of the file as his eyes quickly widen in realization as well as recognition.

"This one!" Wilson jumped back as Victor quickly stood up while shouting in excitement.

Wilson looked at the other files. "What abo-?"

He was quickly cut off as Victor suddenly appeared in front of him with an interestingly positive expression that he hasn't seen until now. "You really don't understand, do you? Let's just say I know this person. Now go get him!"

The file was put in his hands before he found himself outside the Inner Sanctum since Victor pushed him out. He responded off at the top of his head. "Y-yes boss! Right away!" He quickly ran off with the file.

Victor waited at the landing pad along with workers that were wondering why he was waiting here with them for the henchmen.

They guessed it was because it would be his first henchman, and he wanted to make the experience special. It wasn't that far off, but it was also because he had already known this henchman.

After all, he had trained alongside him during his travels around the world.

The helicopter carrying them came closer and closer to the island as Victor put his hands behind his back while putting on his best smile for one of his old and few friends.

When it finally landed and the doors of it slid open, he was greeted by an older version of the person of whom he remembered.

A tall, dark-skinned man stepped out with a beige suit and black tie. He was larger and taller than Victor even when removing the large bushy Afro hairstyle he had.

He instantly recognized Victor as he stepped forward; he was towering over him as he put his hands on sides. "Well, if it isn't the devil himself? How has it been, Victor?"

"Oh, you know-." Victor took out a gun from his side as Eli took out his silver revolve as both suddenly put guns to both of their foreheads as the minions around suddenly tensed and shocked, seeing their boss in danger.

Victor began laughing as he did too as they both lowered their guns. "Great to see you again! Eli." They then did the secret handshake.

Now what did the secret handshake look like? Well, that would ruin the secret, wouldn't it? Just imagine the most over-the-top handshake you can think of.

After doing the secret handshake, Victor continued. "It's been going... alright for the most part. It turns out being an evil genius is a lot more work than I thought."

"Well, that's what you get when you try and follow in the steps of giants. A lot of work." He responded with a casual shrug.

This response amused him slightly as he began to walk with Eli past the minions who were confused and didn't understand what they just saw. "Nah, work's never been a problem for me." 'Until now.' "More of just sheer incompetence." Victor hoped into the elevator as Eli stood next to him.

Eli grinned hearing this. "Well, that does explain why you look like shit. No offence."

A tick appeared on Victor's forehead, putting on a forced smile. "Heh. None taken. Yet, I would love to see you run an evil organization this incompetent."

He chuckled before patting him on the back a little too hard. "No need to look like hell, Vic. I'm just pushing your buttons."

"Right..." 'That's the problem.' Maybe he should have picked one of the other henchmen instead of giving personal bias a win.

No matter. He could work with this. After all, Eli is still a good pick with his silver tongue and firing skills. He knows he can. Nothing can go bad. He isn't jinking himself. He can do this. Nothing but up from here.

"So, why is your inner sanctum so..." Eli looks around the gray sanctum that had a couch, a giant table with an assortment of items on it, along with a large gray chair, and in front of it was a large table with a gray large globe in the middle with more silver chairs aligned. Nearly everything in the room was gray besides a plastic chair and table in the corner, which Eli found odd on why those things were there.

Victor put a hand on his chest while closing his eyes while beaming in pride. "Beautiful? Perfect? Eloquent?"

Eli just looked at him before looking back at the room while raising an eyebrow. "I was going to say... lacking a woman's touch. It honestly looks more like a prison cell with some fancy chairs thrown in."

His face twitched upon hearing this as he froze in place before looking down at the ground, trying to keep his cool in check. Unfortunately, Eli noticed Victor looking at the ground while his eye twitched. Which in his mind only meant one obvious thing as he grinned like the cheshire cat.

"Heh, don't tell me," Eli chuckled as Victor looked him directly in the face as Eli placed a hand on Victor's shoulder while leaning in as if he were sharing a secret. "Still no love life?"

Victor was ready to kick Eli right in the teeth as he gave a large fake smile, which didn't stop how pissed he felt. "I'm sorry. But why is that any of your concern?"

After hearing this, Eli made an exaggerated, mock-sympathetic face. "Ah, poor Victor. So hellbent on becoming on his dream, he will never understand love or how to woo a lady."

His eyebrows twitched as he was exactly half a second away from kicking Eli right in the jewels, but he decided to still play as cool and professionally as he could. "Wooing isn't exactly on the top of my list of priorities, Barracuda."

Eli simply shook his head in mock dismay while folding his arms hearing him get addressed by his last name. "And that's your problem, Vic. Always wanting to take over the world for some reason or wanting to fight a super-agent yet never slowing down to want to actually learn how to charm people yet trying to act charming all the same."

He simply rolled his eyes. "You know, I didn't hire you to dissect my character. Besides, I really doubt Charm will help me when I build devices and take over the world."

"First of all, it will help you take over the world. Second, it's not about the charm; it's about who it can bring in." He shot back smoothly while sitting down on the desk as if he owned the place. "A lady of your own could possibly keep this place from looking like a soulless concrete box, for one. Second, you might stop looking like a constipated tyrant."

Now he really wanted to upcut this smug piece of shit. The only thing holding him back is his possible fall of reputation if he did. He could never really understand jokes because they don't feel like jokes and felt more like attacks on his character.

"You REALLY don't understand the concept of boundaries. Do you?"

Eli put a palm to where his heart is while speaking in a fake somber and overly dramatic tone while looking away while clenching his other fist in front of him. "Oh Victor, boundaries are of the prison walls of a dull life. I see now that you, old friend, have dragged me here to break them down since you saw how plan your life is and was going to continue to be without my help."

Hearing this, Victor wasn't even angry, simply more annoyed than he has these past three weeks. There was no point; Eli seemed to just have this silver tongue he couldn't win against, despite how idiotic he made it.

'Ugh, this is going to be a LONNNNG partnership.' Victor thought while trying to tune out his newly acquired asset's constant prattle.