Capítulo 10: The "Charismatic" Supervillain
The heavy smoke that had concealed the bona fide performance stage finally cleared with a strong gust of wind from an unknown source. Many spotlights from the ceiling illuminated the stage, some focusing on the star performer.
This star was standing in the middle of the stage arrogantly, head held high, his large bald head with the letter 'M' painted on his forehead reflecting the spotlight. This man... was none other than the infamous comic book supervillain Max Brain, revealing himself to us newbie grunts.
"Welcome, my new loyal grunts!" Exclaimed the supervillain, Max Brain.
He was a tall, lean man wearing a formal black tuxedo with a white-collar shirt, and a menacing high-collar dark gray long coat over it, its coat tails fluttering wildly in the unknown wind source.
I had already mentioned it before, but his main feature, other than the already quite menacing long coat of his, was his huge bald head with the letter 'M' proudly painted on his forehead. While undoubtedly comical, he made it look quite menacing with his prideful and arrogant attitude, standing and smiling with full confidence.
'So... this is Max Brain, huh...' I thought to myself as I finally laid my eyes on him.
One of the most popular supervillain characters that even I, who was (formerly) just an average Joe knew of him. He was said to be one of the pioneers of supervillains in comic book history and was arguably the leader of all villains in his comic book universe... the universe that I had now found myself reincarnated into.
I couldn't believe my eyes that I would actually see a fictional character in the flesh, let alone the antagonist villain of a superhero comic book, but here I was witnessing his grand entrance, welcoming his newly recruited grunts. The supervillain that "supposedly" I had signed up to work with as a grunt. THE Max Brain.
As soon as he welcomed us, cheering erupted from all around me.
"Lord Max Brain!"
"You're the best!"
"We love you!"
"No. 1 Supervillain!"
All of my fellow newbie grunts cheered and shouted their praises to the supervillain Max Brain. I was quite startled by their sudden cheering. I knew that these people viewed Max Brain quite positively before... but to this extent?
Furthermore, I was not prepared for the amount of energy that these fellow grunts of mine were showing. It really did feel like he was a superstar of the Supervillain world. Grunt No. 704 and No. 711 also had been joining into the energetic vibe of the crowd, and also another familiar individual...
I finally saw someone again who had been hiding away from me: Grunt No. 702. He finally came out of his supposed hiding... and he was cheering quite passionately.
"WOOOHHH!! LORD MAX BRAIN!!!" Grunt No. 702 shouted with all of his heart, seemingly upon seeing his favorite supervillain and bona fide superstar, Max Brain. I was quite shocked to see his passionate spirit, as the previous meek-looking guy was no more and replaced with what I could say was the No. 1 Fan of Max Brain.
Seeing their passionate energy toward Max Brain... 'Should I join in...?' I questioned myself. I honestly didn't feel like cheering for an actual supervillain, but the energy of my fellow grunts was contagious. However, their cheering suddenly stopped. I was surprised by the sudden silence but then realized as I looked back toward the stage. Max Brain had raised his right arm, seemingly to catch our attention and silently command silence... and it worked.
No wonder this guy was given the title 'Leader of the Villains'. He had the charisma not only to stoke the spirits of his fellow villains but also to command those below him effectively. Seeing that we had all gone silent at his command, Max Brain lowered his raised arm.
"Once again, welcome, my new loyal grunts," he began, arms spread wide open, signifying his welcome to us newbie grunts, "you are all here, in my precious underground lair, as the newest force of my Empire!" He explained with a tone full of pride and selfishness. But... it was the kind of tone that made him quite charismatic, earning another loud cheer from my fellow grunts.
"Empire?" I muttered to myself, repeating the last thing Max Brain had said. I never knew that he was the kind of character to establish an actual empire. I had expected that this would be just the usual company stuff, but for supervillains and us grunts here, given this so-called "orientation" for us newbie grunts.
Well... it wouldn't be impossible for him, as he was said to have almost conquered the world a few times... only to be stopped by the superheroes, especially by Ultra Guy on many of those occasions.
Max Brain then brought his right arm forward, as if beckoning us. "All of you here will be the pillars of my Empire, the shields of my Empire, and lastly but most importantly... the swords of my Empire!" He continued his speech, selfishly labeling us all as tools for his Empire. Even so... again, my fellow grunts cheered from hearing his selfish words.
He then clenched his right hand into a fist, "You will all fight for me... and we will fight and triumph against those pesky heroes!" He continued, raising his voice high to raise the spirits of all of us newbie grunts to his cause against the heroes. As usual, his speech brought cheers from the other grunts, but each time the cheering became louder.
Honestly... it was quite the spectacle from my point of view to see this amount of energy. Usually, you would only find this kind of energy at either a concert from a top celebrity... or a politician's rally. Either way, I was still astonished by Max Brain's sheer charisma in rallying all of us newbie grunts to his cause, even though it was probably the most blatant and selfish thing I had ever heard in a speech.
'Maybe it's because he is honest about it...?' I theorized, considering one of the likely reasons why he garnered so much support from this selfish speech of his. Honesty was a pretty charming trait by itself.
Then, Max Brain held out his hand, as if he was offering his hand to us grunts. "My loyal grunts... join me and together... WE SHALL CONQUER THE WORLD!"
He shouted in the end, his voice filled with all of his pride and charisma. All of the grunts erupted into the loudest cheer that I have ever heard in my life. The sound echoed quite loudly throughout this large room and probably could be heard from the outside quite clearly. Hell... the sound might even leak to the outside of this secret lair of his.
The cheering continued for quite a while. After a while, Max Brain raised his hand once again like before, signaling for our silence, which was proven quite effective as before, with every newbie grunts then immediately piping down from their cheering.
"I shall take my leave here, my loyal grunts. One of my trusted assistants will take it from here," he explained, finally ending his charismatic speech. But before he left, he raised his clenched right fist high into the air. "Glory to the Max Empire!" he shouted once more, rallying my fellow newbie grunts to his cause once again.
All of the grunts here also raised their right fist into the air, and they all shouted in unison.
"GLORY TO THE MAX EMPIRE!"
They all shouted back to Max Brain, declaring their allegiance to him. Satisfied from hearing his new grunts' loyalty, he then promptly left the stage, with his long dark gray coat tails fluttering behind him as he left.
After Max Brain's departure, all of the grunts here started to discuss with each other of what they all had seen just now.
"That was... intense," I commented on what I had just witnessed. Grunt No. 704 and No. 711 heard my comment and turned back toward me.
"It was, right~?" No. 711 agreed with my comment. "Max Brain probably has the most charisma out of every villain in the world. Seeing him and hearing his speech firsthand was quite the sight." She added. So, she also felt the same way as I did, huh?
"Yeah. Dude probably has the most influence out of all villains." No. 704 added his bit about Max Brain, "It's no wonder that he also has other villains working for him." He continued, revealing another fact about Max Brain.
"He has other villains working for him?" I inquired about what No. 704 just said. I knew that he was titled 'Leader of the Villains', but I was interested to know how many of them and who these villains were.
"Yeah, big guy. A lot." No. 704 simply answered. "Well... for example, someone that he just mentioned before he left: one of his trusted assistants. It should be none other than-"
*Clap, clap, clap*
Suddenly, claps could be heard. The source of the claps came from the stage where Max Brain had left. All of us grunts here looked at the stage and found a bunch of white-coat-wearing individuals on top of the stage.
These white coats... I recognized them quite well. These were none other than those scientists who had altered me and the other grunts' bodies. And the source of the clapping?
*Clack, click, clack*
The sound of heels could be heard quite clearly in this large room. A very familiar sound... as then one prominent figure from all of these white-coat scientists came forward. A woman... a blonde woman wearing the same white long coat as the rest of the scientists, but hers was opened up, revealing the dark skin-tight suit under her coat that hugged her well-endowed figure. This woman didn't wear her previous bespectacled look, and her bun was untied to reveal her long flowy blonde hair. But...
I knew full well who she was.
"Good morning... Grunts." The female scientist, Victoria, greeted us with the same mischievous smile she had shown me before.
HIATUS
HIATUS. Not much to say here other than it's not working out.
Capítulo 11: Maddening Starstruck
White-coated scientists had gathered on the bona fide stage made from the raised platform of the flooring. They all lined up in an orderly fashion but still stayed obscure even when some of them were illuminated by the spotlights that had gathered on the stage. However, one particular individual among these scientists stepped forward to the center of the stage.
Her advance created a clacking sound from her heels with each step she took. The white long lab coat she wore openly fluttered lightly with each sway of her hips. This female scientist was none other than Victoria. She was the one I had met quite "personally" inside her dimly lit laboratory.
I remembered quite vividly how she had called me an 'enigma,' which was still a mystery to me... or maybe not. Maybe it had something to do with how my body turned out this way compared to the other grunts here. Was this the 'enigma' she was referring to?
I didn't have much time to think about it further, as Victoria finally presented herself at the center of the stage, capturing everyone's attention.
"Good morning, grunts," Victoria greeted us with the same mischievous smile I was quite familiar with. She and her fellow scientists' appearance stirred everyone into clamoring.
"Wait, who are these people?"
"Where did they come from?"
"They suddenly came out of nowhere!"
"Hold on... Is she who I think she is?"
"It is... She's the infamous super scientist—"
"Mad Star!?!"
Suddenly, a few of the grunts here gasped when they realized the identity of this female scientist.
The reaction of my fellow grunts here to her appearance was vastly different from Max Brain's grand reception. Some didn't quite know who she was, but others did. Some welcomed her appearance on the stage, whether it was because of her reputation or because she was quite a beautiful woman. But some, for reasons unknown to me... fell into dread instead.
"Mad Star...?" I muttered, repeating the name my fellow grunts were clamoring about. Hold on... wasn't her name 'Victoria'? Was this one of those 'superhero identity' bits? In this context, it would be a 'supervillain identity' instead.
Nevertheless... I really didn't know who she was, neither as Victoria or this 'Mad Star' villain persona of hers. I knew Max Brain because of his mainstream popularity, but her? Not much. I wasn't well-versed in the comic book fandom, nor was I an avid consumer of the media in the first place.
I did see a few superhero movies sometimes with friends and family, but those were limited to mainstream superhero characters such as Ultra Guy or Caped Detective.
If only I knew I would be reincarnated into this superhero world, I would have jumped into the superhero fandom long before... but then again, no one could predict how they would die. Death is inevitable, whether you die of old age, sickness, or an accident like me. Nobody could predict that, even for me, who died from being run over by a speeding truck...
Wait... no. That was partly my fault that I died there. I "accidentally" crossed a busy highway without looking and got run over. I was being an idiot back there...
Moving on...
As if he noticed my muttering, Grunt No. 704 looked back towards me. "Oh yeah, man. This is the so-called 'assistant' of Max Brain, Mad Star," he confirmed her identity to me.
"Really? Is she well known here?" I inquired, motioning to all the grunts who had mixed reactions to her arrival.
No. 704 averted his eyes a bit and scratched his head. "Well... yeah, she is pretty infamous around here," he answered.
"Infamous...?" I asked again, concerned about the worrying word he had just used.
"Haha, yeah. Well, she's—"
"The Mad Star?! The Infamous Mad Star!!"
Grunt No. 704 was about to answer my question but got interrupted midway by a sudden familiar voice to both of us, screaming out her name. We looked in the direction of the screaming and found our local supervillain expert and fanboy, Grunt No. 702.
"Mad Star...! One of the most brilliant minds in the world..." No. 702 began with a low muttering that could still be heard by those around him. "...the one and only scientist who discovered how to harness the power of a star...!"
He looked down while clenching his fists tightly as if he was trembling from excitement. He involuntarily revealed more info to those around him, as both of us listened to his informative rambling.
'Harnessing the power of a star...?' That sounded... overpowered. I at least knew what a 'star' was. It's basically a giant ball of plasma held together by gravity, isn't it? Our own sun is one. So, the thought of this malicious woman holding on to that power... was quite concerning.
"BUT!" He suddenly flared up, surprising those around him. "She then used that power to annihilate the whole armies and armadas of the former Veridia Republic's Armed Forces!" He excitedly exclaimed another horrifying piece of information.
"She what?!" I exclaimed, horrified. I didn't expect to hear that this woman was even more dangerous than I had initially thought. I knew she was somewhat not normal, borderline crazy even, but not to that extent. Was that why some grunts here had dreadful expressions upon hearing her name?
I then slowly turned my head towards Grunt No. 704, my expression one of disbelief. "Are those things he just said true?" I asked again, hoping for confirmation from him about what No. 702 had been rambling.
No. 704 laughed nervously as if he was unsure himself. "Haha, well... I think it was somewhat half the truth," he began, scratching his head as if trying to remember. "I heard that while she did make the infamous 'Star Bombs', the one who actually used them was Max Brain instead." He corrected what No. 702 had been rambling.
"I... see..."
I was slightly relieved to hear that she was not that insane. At the very least, I still thought she had a few screws loose if she was now working with Max Brain. So, she made the so-called 'Star Bombs' that were powerful enough to annihilate a fully armed force, but the one who dropped these bombs on them was Max Brain instead. Talk about getting the credit and infamy at the same time...
But still that Max Brain... annihilating the whole armed forces of a nation with what I could imagine as an alternative nuclear bomb... I should be careful with any of these people.
And also... 'former Veridia Republic'? Was that the name of a nation? I had never heard of it, so most likely it was one of those fictional nations that comic book authors made up for the story, wasn't it?
I then directed my attention back towards the stage where 'Mad Star' Victoria and her scientists had been standing... and found that she had been staring at me intensely all this time. I was startled, taken aback by the intense stare she had been giving me while I had been oblivious to it until now.
Even though there was a fair amount of distance between my position in the middle of the crowd and hers on the stage, AND this place was quite dark with no other illumination than the stage's spotlights, she actually managed to track me down and look right at me.
Seemingly aware that her staring shocked me, she then showed me the same mischievous smile I was starting to get familiarized with... You know what, maybe she was insane after all.
Luckily, she then averted her eyes to direct her attention back towards all of the newbie grunts. She clapped her hands again to gain our attention, and eventually, all of the grunts here stopped their clamoring. Satisfied that everyone had finally settled down, she began to speak.
"Once again, welcome to Lord Max Brain's army, loyal grunts," she started with a welcoming greeting. "I know that you all here are quite nervous about your new environment." She continued; her tone was sympathetic toward us, but... I had a feeling it was just sweet talk coming from her.
"Nevertheless! You are here, braving yourselves to become the pillars, shields, and most importantly... the swords of Lord Max Brain's Empire!" She continued with her speech, reminding us grunts of what Max Brain had just said before.
"And for that! I and my scientist squadron will help you all become the best grunts that Lord Max Brain can rely on!" She added, her tone high as if she was rallying us grunts.
All of the grunts erupted into cheers, seemingly at the prospect of getting help from these scientists, but... I wasn't exactly convinced by it, as I had seen the way these scientists acted during my first awakening in the test tube. ESPECIALLY, of course, with this Victoria woman, a.k.a. Mad Star.
My sentiment towards them wasn't the only one here, as I saw that Grunt No. 704 and No. 711 were also among those who weren't really hyped about the prospect of their help.
She clapped again as a sign for everyone to pipe down. As soon as everyone quieted down, she continued with her speech, "Well then, everyone... We will all begin by familiarizing you with the 'enhancements' we have given you for your transformation as grunts of Max Brain's army."
As soon as she finished, suddenly, the loud sound of a familiar hydraulic hiss could be heard, but it came from a different location than where we had entered this room. The sound came from our left as if another heavy metallic door had opened, and indeed there was.
A bright light seeped through the small opening of the large metallic door that was slowly opening, allowing more light to come in. The lights were so bright that I couldn't even see what was out there anymore, but... I could feel a strong gust of wind coming through the opened metallic door as if this door was leading us to the outside world.
"Well then... Let's begin with our orientation, grunts," Victoria said to all of us grunts, but unlike everyone else, only I saw the wicked grin on her face.
HIATUS
HIATUS. Not much to say here other than it's not working out.
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