A Supervillain

Author's Note: Long time reader. First time writer. Thank you for taking the time to tag along with me. I hope to go for quality over quantity, so I would absolutely love to hear any thoughts you all have on the story. Drop any comments you have and I will address them! Finally, I would like to thank my many influences for this story. I took concepts that I liked from The Gamer, Dungeon Building for Beginners, Swiss Family Robinson, and countless comic books. I hope you enjoy!

"And it looks like after a months long manhunt for the wicked supervillain, Havoc, General Justice has finally found him. As we speak, the two are hovering over the ocean battling each other in the sky. We take you now to live helicopter footage of the struggle!"

You watched, wonder in your eye as General Justice spun and twirled through the air with Havoc, trying to find a weak spot in his defense. It was as perfectly matched a battle as there was in the world. Havoc had the supreme upper hand in his flight agility and speed, but General Justice was physically stronger and one good hit was all that he would need. The two locked in a grapple and flew straight down into the water. All of your coworkers gasped, eyes glued to the TV.

You had come running over to watch the screen as soon as you heard the commotion permeate throughout the cubicles. Even your dickhead of a boss was too busy staring at the screen in his office to tell you all to get back to work.

Out of the water, the duo came flying. But something was different. Havoc's body was limp, sagging at the shoulders. General Justice held him up by the collar and flashed a smile to the camera. It was as photo worthy a moment as you could possibly capture on TV. A string of cheers erupted throughout the office. People were hugging each other and celebrating. Your best work friend was shaking your shoulders and screaming. But something about it all seemed off.

The ruckus died down and you headed back to your cubicle to get back to hitting a deadline. You were illustrating a comic about the O'Grady Group, a small time mystery solving group of friends. Your brain was elsewhere. Whoever was going to get to illustrate the big story was going to be the one making the real money. Even that camera shot was too perfect, like they knew that General Justice was going to come out ahead right in that moment and wanted to frame it for a comic book worthy image.

You had been infatuated with super heroes since you were a young child. Reading about the trials and exploits of the greatest warriors the world had ever seen. They immortalized the success of good over evil in an easily digestible format. But lately, you had realized that it all seemed a little too perfect. Like the heroes were not fighting for actual consequences anymore, just for the fame and the glory. And the bad guys that people liked always seemed to be able to escape from these ultra-secure prisons right in time for their arch-nemesis to take them down and make a big show of it.

You shook it off and looked back to your sheet. But no longer did the thick necked villain, Adam de Pomme, grace your sheet. Instead there was an anthropomorphic snow leopard staring you dead in the eyes. A speech bubble was drawn next to his mouth with the words, "Do you want to do things differently?"

Starting at your wrists and extending up to the backs of your arms, goosebumps cropped up like zombies crawling out of the grave. The hairs on your neck shot up like the mane of a hyena. You gulped nervously but it seemed to lodge in your throat as if your fictional villain had infected you. "Y-yes," you croaked out quietly.

After you blinked, the words in the bubble were suddenly different, "If I were to give you powers. Would you make better use of them than the puppets you sketch do?"

Moments passed as you pondered all that the comic implied. As unnerved as you were, the thought of a different life. A meaningful life. Where you had powers and could actually save people. It was a thought too enticing to pass up. "Yes," you answered.

"In the top drawer of your desk, there is a guide to your system. Keep it with you at all times. I have already picked your first power. The rest is up to you. I advise you experiment as much as you can and cause some chaos along the way. I'll be watching." This speech bubble was multi-segmented to fit the lengthy exposition.

You opened up the drawer to your desk and saw the book that would forever change your life.

The Pocketbook for the Nefarious Minded Individual