A man stood in front of a stone pillar, geometric patterns carved into it. He placed his hand upon the pillar. The patterns began to glow with light, pulsing faintly at first, then growing in strength. The glow remained even as he pulled away.

He smiled.

Everything was ready.

He took out his phone and pressed a button…

 

---

 

It was a normal day, one like any other. Bob walked out of Doctor Staudenmaier’s facility as the sounds of grunts and punching drew the attention of the pedestrians nearby. He had a piece of Vophae-inspired tech hidden safely within a metal briefcase as he took off his armored mask, putting on a coat, a hat, and a pair of sunglasses before strolling down the street.

Bob was still at work but he was going about it at a leisurely pace these days. Not that he had a choice otherwise, he did just burn every resource and favor he had on the Vophae. And there wasn’t much need to rebuild his stock, the situation was handled for the moment and Xiong Huang would likely force him to retire once she returned.

Well, to be honest, he would retire to go with her even if she didn't. He had decided what was important to him now, acknowledged the true reasons he did what he did. He didn't feel the need to be in control any longer. He didn't want to lash out at the world or the heroes any further. He would rather be with people he cared about.

 

And the world didn’t need him either.

 

Londyn and Arachnalich already had most of the Vophae tech in hand. Londyn, in particular, had nearly finished a space-worthy craft. The ILS already had the grav-tech for propulsion and airtight barriers after all. All they really needed to get into orbit was a sufficient power source.

The Schieffer-Oscillator Engine was practically a piece of magic that could provide endless clean energy, but it had one serious weakness that had just recently become apparent. The device had to be linked to the Earth’s core, in order to resonate with the tectonic movements within.

That meant it could not be used for spaceflight, as it only worked within a certain range of the planet to which it was linked. Which was the main reason the ILS hadn’t developed much in the way of space travel at this stage, despite their grav-tech being perfect for it. Besides satellite network based on preexisting designs, Londyn just hadn’t had an urgent need to go to space so the ILS didn’t bother to invest in an alternative energy source. It had been somewhere further down on the to-do list but the ILS had been preoccupied with larger problems.

 

Now they had a reason to prioritize.

 

Londyn just needed to repair or reverse engineer some Vophae power generators and she’d be but a turn of a screwdriver away from a spacecraft, at least one that could travel within the solar system. She was all but guaranteed the first claim on the advanced warship wreckage waiting out there.

Arachnalich and the AVS were not far behind. They didn’t have the resources, engineering, or experience with grav-tech that the ILS had, though Bob had now shared what he knew of said tech with them. But what they did have was a cadre of unstable but extraordinarily intelligent super geniuses and a complete lack of regulatory oversight. As such, they were quickly catching up and would reach orbit not far behind the ILS. Once again, the Vophae tech would be split between ILS and AVS.

All this meant there wasn’t all that much Bob needed to take care of personally. The Vophae tech that went unaccounted for was not enough to overturn the situation. The only concern was something falling into the hands of unaffiliated supervillains who might use it to threaten Earth, rather than to reach the stars. But between the AVS and the ILS, there weren’t too many of those slipping under the radar these days.

Even the AVS barely needed his attention at this point. Now that the UN had officially opened negotiations with her, Arachnalich was coming into her own as the AVS’s leader. And now that she was negotiating on the world stage as an equal partner, she had strong incentives to keep her act clean, as well as tighten the AVS ship. Certainly the AVS would always get into some amount of trouble, given the nature of its membership, but Bob didn’t have to worry about them going on a global rampage or anything at this point. They were carving out their own place in the world, all on their own now.

 

Or perhaps on a world all their own, in time?

 

So Bob was mostly just passing the time, waiting for Xiong Huang to calm down and return after she took care of the Vophae. He no longer had any reason, external or internal, to delay training with her. Once she came back that is. He was a bit concerned that he couldn’t contact her directly, but he was fully confident she would be more careful after her first defeat, so he wasn’t too worried about her personally. And he had a feeling she would come if he needed her. He was also considering what to do with Nemesis long-term, but, well, he needed to discuss with Xiong Huang what life was going to look like moving forward before he took any practical steps.

So he was simply resting for now. Laying low, working with the occasional villain, and taking the gang out for ice cream now and then.

 

Which is when his phone started to buzz.

 

In fact…

 

Everyone’s phone started to buzz or ring, all at once.

 

Bob took out his phone, raising an eyebrow.

He froze the moment he did.

A click-bait article. Some sort of spam. He would have ignored it…

 

Were it not for the words on the screen.

 

“Learn the Dark Secret of the World! The Supervillain behind it all!”

 

“Bob, the Faceless Minion!”

 

Bob opened the article.

 

And his frown deepened.

 

A detailed record of his actions. Working with the cartels. Infiltrating both the CIA and the KGB. Supporting villains behind the scenes with finances and manpower. Giving the location of abandoned missile silos to the Atomic Herald. How he had tricked Londyn, exploited his position as a trusted source to manipulate her. Preventing the ILS from catching the Destroy of Ulsan. Working for the Necrosaurus, ensuring he succeeded. Preventing Tesla Titan from stopping Miss Le Blank. Attacking the ILS directly with his Midnight Staffing employees. Having the Director kidnapped. Unleashing the super serum and thus the monsters upon the world. Working for the cult that released the kaiju. Hijacking the world’s nuclear arsenals.

All with evidence and photos. Maybe not enough to stand up in a court of law, but enough to paint a very convincing picture.

 

Oh, and including photos of himself, and his face.

 

Bob frowned and held his head as he heard gasps and conversation all around him.

 

Things were about to get extremely annoying.

 

---

 

Londyn stared blankly as she leaned over her desk, a bottle in hand.

 

Ok, she knew Bob had a hand in the villains. She knew he founded that whole AVS thing, had its leader caught in his grip in fact. She very much knew he was doing more than just infiltrating villain organizations, even from the start.

And she had already distanced herself from him, both as Director and in personal life. She was no longer attached to the idea that Bob was one of the good guys and would no longer attempt to convince herself of that narrative. She was fully aware that she had been willingly deceiving herself on how villainous Bob’s actions likely were, and that there almost certainly worse things there than she cared to learn. After all, he had offered to tell her all this himself, and she had turned it down, knowing what she was likely to find.

Oh, not to mention that she was far more concerned at the fact that someone had figured all this out and dumped it out in public, conveniently leaving out some of the more helpful things Bob had done. It was blatantly obvious someone was trying to manipulate the narrative and a person who could outmaneuver Bob to this degree was an extraordinary threat. Assuming this wasn’t some extraordinarily convoluted plan by Bob himself. She couldn’t rule that out entirely.

 

But still…

 

To find out he was behind the Destroyer of Ulsan? To learn just how involved he was in the Necrosaurus’s rise? That he personally attacked a hero to ensure a villain’s plan succeeded?

 

That hurt.

 

Both in terms of what Bob had done to her and her League…and in terms of what she had allowed him to get away with back then.

Sure, she knew that this could all be a lie. Someone was obviously trying to manipulate her, and the world at large. In fact, she knew personally that the parts about Xiong Huang and her war against the ILS were false, as it was Bob who put a stop to it. But everything that came before it? During the time when she wasn’t at all concerned with what Bob might be doing?

She felt in her heart that a good portion of it was true, if likely missing a great deal of nuance.

 

And that alone was painful to hear.

 

Londyn heaved a sigh.

 

She had much to do.

 

Statements to make. Manhunts to be organized. Secret Investigations to set up. Old friends to call.

A minion to find. An immortal demigod to keep pacified if they managed to get that far.

Oh, and the incredibly annoying meeting she was about to have with the Council about it all…

 

But first…

 

She would allow her heart one last moment to indulge, and pour out all she was feeling.

 

She sighed and took another drink.

 

---

 

Arachnalich heaved a sigh and leaned back into her chair.

 

Over, finally over.

 

Another day packed to the brim with stupid arguments that went nowhere. She swore the UN was intentionally making things as annoying as possible. Maybe she should cause a bit of a mess, make them understand once more who they were dealing with.

Her cybernetic components flared up as she reviewed her intel.

She began to smile.

So the president’s brother had a new little investment going? It would be a shame if something were to happen to it. Keeping track of all these villains and monsters is oh so hard, she could hardly be blamed if one slipped through the cracks while she was distracted by endless meetings .

 

A knock on her door shook her from her happy place.

 

“What is it? I thought I said I was not to be disturbed.”

 

“Sorry Mistress, there’s a package for you.”

 

Arachnalich blinked. She scrolled through her recent orders…nope, nothing supposed to arrive today. She tilted her head.

 

What could it be?

 

She went to open the door…