My Weekly Gag Villain Job is Pretty Fulfilling: Chapter 16

My Weekly Gag Villain Job is Pretty Fulfilling: Chapter 16

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Commissioned by Arksoul

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In the middle of a season, villains typically increase the stakes. With the recent introduction of a dark counterpart to the Sentinels, that was our signal to start escalating.

The question was how far.

“Titans are totally off the table. That’s season 3 or 4. Something that they’ll allude to in scrolling art frames to save budget or something. Maybe in the ending credits.” I was brainstorming with Ebb while Alex listened in. The darkness slowly enrobing the moon was also a great signal for a tone shift, in my opinion, but Ebb didn’t think it counted. No one was getting hurt by it, apparently. “Nothing that can wipe out a city or that needs an army.”

“Everything less than titans is de-escalation! Alex is already on the field. Simply adding slightly larger Imps nominally in command would degrade her position!” Ebb argued while settled on its custom seat/perch. It was a tall perch like you’d see a bird stand on in place of a branch, but we carved it out of stone and gave Ebb a cushion to settle on. It was so pleased with the new perch that there was now one in every room. “Alex, would you not like the ability to summon a giant creature and unleash it upon the Sentinels?”

“I’d rather beat them and win myself, but since that’s not happening… a giant monster sounds cool. It’d be fine to get a bunch of stronger mooks to come help me out, though.” Alex sat cross-legged on a beanbag. She chose it after a slew of offerings, and she ate snacks while watching some of my favorite shows on her smart pad. She had several Imps in the office going through dance and gymnastic routines to passively train her control. “Giant wolves or tigers. Tribal lizards. Maybe some trolls, or even corrupted robots. If they get the Sentinels riled up and cause damage, it doesn’t really matter.”

I opened my mouth to argue and closed it.

Ebb also seemed intent on saying something, but remained silent.

“Huh. Right. We can just do both. I can send multiple elites in. Ebb can limit the size and pick from the catalogue.” Alex nodded while I muttered the plan aloud. Ebb’s silence spoke volumes, especially as it grudgingly turned my way. “I’m fine with sending more elites and causing more general mayhem if you’re willing to pull away from absolute destruction, buddy.”

“…Hmph, very well. It is a sound compromise.” Ebb grunted the words out before turning to Alex. “Are you ready to lead this charge? The tempo will be demanding.”

It was Alex’s turn to scoff.

“When I was a gangbanger, I was running fights four or five times a day with my life on the line. Now, I’ve got Imps and you guys watching my back with a bunch of upgrades.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. A light frown crossed her features before she sighed and regained her calm. “I’ll be fine. Well, I won’t be beating the Sentinels up, but I’ll give them a fight.”

That was that, and I was ready to start drafting up some fight choreography and rosters when Alex suddenly spoke again.

“Hey, what happens if we beat a Sentinel, anyway?” It was obvious what she meant by "beat," since she sliced her thumb across her throat. “You take in the soul and put it away in blissful rest. I know that. But what about the power?”

I gestured at Ebb, and it gave a grunt.

“The Sentinel’s power will simply find a new host, and they will retain all the gathered strength that the previous Sentinel had. If they have had a child, that child will swiftly take their mother’s strength.” Alex frowned at Ebb’s explanation, and it latched onto that mild annoyance. “The Sentinels are our most powerful foes for a reason. They may take time to reach new heights of strength, but even without children the current Sentinels will become stronger still.”

“So, what’s stopping them from working in some lab and making clones that have been bathed in the Light? I mean, same-sex couples have babies made from their DNA. If they can’t carry the kid, the kid’s kept in a tank for nine months.” Ebb froze at Alex’s words and turned slowly at my direction. Thankfully, I was just as surprised at the idea and it could clearly see that it hadn’t crossed my mind. Alex sighed. “Are you guys serious? Every government out there wants more people. They encourage people to just stuff them in care centers if they can’t deal with them. Half the people I ran with were from tubes.”

“A Sentinel born from the recombined genetic material of two Sentinels and bathed in Light… no. The artificial wombs will not work. Carrying the child is necessary.” Ebb stated with quiet assurance. Its mind was racing a mile a minute to see if it could find holes in the possibility of mass-produced Sentinels churned out from tubes. “The soul and body of the new being must be a part of the Sentinel and the Sentinel must carry her. That labor is part of the ritual.”

“Wouldn’t it count if a Sentinel stood by a growth tank or a couple of them? Or maybe they could make a crystal that saturated the facility with Light?” Alex provided another possibility, and Ebb’s lack of answer was concerning. Our new elite crossed her arms and let herself fall back onto her beanbag chair. “If things get too hectic, they might go do that. They might not go to that plan right away, but if we corner them here to just a couple of arcologies, they might do it. They can try it, and even if it doesn’t make a Sentinel, they get extra hosts if a Sentinel falls.”

“An Army of Light.” Ebb stated with no small amount of trepidation. “They have always been limited in terms of hosts because so few truly believe in their cause, but what if they can create them from scratch and teach them from birth to generate more light and produce more power?”

Ebb contemplated the scenario with something resembling fear and wasn’t moving on from that, so I took that as my cue to step in.

“Then, it looks like we should keep on with my plan. Keep things small-scale. Make sure they don’t resort to any exotic solutions by cornering them. Build up our forces, then we can sweep across the planet quickly and silently with no fuss.” My words stirred Ebb’s attention, and it was quick to nod. Alex agreed too but looked like she was still ready to talk about it. However, suddenly, her eyes widened, and she looked past me, and so did Ebb. A presence was beyond us, above us, and all around us. The Darkness itself had listened and heard the possibility. I stood from my chair and addressed our true savior directly. Every Imp in the room stood stock still. No longer a piece of Darkness but part of the greater whole. “Unless, of course, you want the plan to change?”

Silence echoed through the room until a message settled on all our minds.

“Ah, we’re out of gelato. I’m going to get some more.”

And, with that, life continued.

Well, not really for me.

I went off to get more gelato, while Ebb and Alex kept hashing things out.

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Interlude: Chroma Scarlet: Aine Campbell

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“This one was the closest to that false Sentinel.” Tsubaki was breathing heavily and dripped with sweat. We couldn’t train while we were in Sentinel forms. To improve our bodies and abilities, we needed to train as humans while wielding the Light. In our safehold, we had a training area for that exact purpose, which we could all easily access. It offered us the ability to fight foes we already faced, though only as much as we understood. “Just barely out of reach in terms of strength.”

“Yet you were almost facing it without all our advantages as Sentinels.” As Sentinels, we were light made manifest. There was no flesh to injure, bones to break, and more. We looked like people but in fact were solid constructs of light. When we only wielded Light magic, we could only call upon our own strength and talent during the fight. Tsubaki was easily the best warrior in the group. “Are you sure you can’t take it on yet?”

“No. It shall be stronger next time.” Our training in our mortal forms was multiplied when we became Sentinels. We became better vessels for the Light through training and effort. “That was a fighter. A warrior barely trained in battle. Her strength will be honed, and it will take more to defeat her every time we meet.”

“And here I was hoping that you’d have some good news.” I groaned and finished running. The treadmill spun down. I eyed the number. Sixteen kph and I barely broke a sweat. Our physical limitations were beyond that of normal humans. Multiplying normal human limits to Sentinel levels wasn’t enough to fight against the Legion. We couldn’t just receive better bodies, though. We had to keep pushing, recovering, and training. “How are we going to last if the Legion just makes more?”

“You will all need to be trained to fight. I cannot hold off more than two at once, especially if they continue to grow stronger.” Tsubaki stated evenly. The fact that she could hold off two fake Sentinels went uncontested. She was Tsubaki. Fighting people in close quarters and winning was what she did. “I will ask Father to provide us with trainers and sparring partners. You and the others will train hard. It is necessary for our continued survival. It is no longer just a matter of reaching our full potential.”

I agreed but couldn’t help but feel bad for everyone.

Everyone led busy lives.

Tsubaki sighed and shook her head.

“I would prefer to not trouble everyone, but it needs to be done. I doubt the Legion will ignore the possibility of adding more such warriors to their ranks, if they have decided to do so already.”

“I know. I know. You’ve got the right of it, Tsubaki.” I grumbled and gave the order. Being the leader of the group, I had certain responsibilities. Pulling out my phone, I sent out the text and winced at the easy agreement of the rest of the group. It seemed easy on the surface, without any of them objecting, but I knew that they’d agree if I asked and gave a valid reason. The problem was that I was putting more on their shoulders without taking anything away. “Hey, Tsubaki, is it possible to give them some gynoids to help them out? Or, you know, at least lease them for a bit?”

I wracked my brain for possibilities, and all I could think of doing was asking Tsubaki for help.

Thankfully, my lieutenant beamed at my suggestion.

“My father would be enthused to provide them with our new War Maidens. They are capable bodyguards and assistants both. If they are by their side, we will receive incredible amounts of public attention.” Tsubaki had her phone out before I could ask and typed across its keyboard at breakneck speeds. Soon, she had the email sent. Another second later, her father replied. How can a CEO of a multi-billion-dollar agency reply so quickly to a sudden email!? “My father has agreed and is setting aside five for us. One for each. They can also double as trainers!”

Tsubaki, without my prompting, also forwarded the information to our team chat.

The worst came to pass in an instant.

The deluge that I tried to stop from happening came into being.

“Ah, it seems that they wish to contribute as well.” Princesses, heiresses to corporations, and more. I was the odd woman out. The daughter of an officer turned historian who was chosen because she had common sense. The rest of my team lived otherworldly lives in palaces or mansions and had the ear and attention of powerful individuals directly related to them. Having Tsubaki give something was the same as opening the doors for the rest to ‘contribute.’ “A beachfront resort sounds quite exciting to have as a place to rest and recuperate out of prying eyes. Oh, it would be good to have a satellite. A laboratory dedicated to integrating our magic with technology would also be prudent.”

My shoulders slumped.

I knew intellectually that it would be best to have everyone work less and focus on being Sentinels, but involving nations and the wealthy in our efforts didn’t sound like a good idea. By taking all these offered boons, even if they were freely given now, it meant indebting ourselves to existing polities and being influenced from the outside. The power that we had was world-altering and designed to defeat a threat that could consume entire planets.

Putting that in the hands of a nation was a bad idea.

But what can we do?

The moon was being engulfed by the Legion. They were consuming food and supplies and growing. Not only did they have a new general that we couldn’t even scratch, but they also had a new elite that was going to grow stronger with time but already matched our best fighter. We needed to get more time to train and improve, while also using everything we could at our disposal.

Labs that studied how our magic could integrate with machinery were great, and so was getting a satellite that could give us a bird’s-eye view.

The beachfront resort was an eye-raiser, but we all needed time to rest and be coddled with our busy lives, fighting, and training.

“That should be enough for now. We can’t take any more than that without giving people a say in how we do things.” There was a reason why the Light chose princesses and influential women in previous worlds. They wanted power centralized to the Sentinels. But that went with the assumption that the Legion would ravage the world and smash apart society and leave everyone reeling. That didn’t happen. We weren’t going to rule the remainder of the world. We had to be wary of our allies. “Now, do you have any tips for me before I go into the simulation ring?”

Tsubaki looked me up and down before shaking her head.

“Just fight. You’re talented and strong, despite your lack of confidence.”

Yeah, I asked the wrong person for advice.