Vaudevillain

Chapter 144: Blimpin' Ain't Easy

"Blast it Riptide! Stop surfing over my levitators!" Dr. Zlo fumed.

"Sorry, dude," Riptide answered, stopping his loop mid go. "Your engines were giving off some gnarly waves."

"No excuses!" Dr. Zlo commanded. He pointed a finger at his friend, "I warned you about the levitators. Don't come crying to me if you grow a third arm."

"A third arm would be sweet, though," Riptide said. "I could use it to create new tricks!"

Sweet Dream called out to her boyfriend, "Rip, why don't we head to the hanger? I want your opinion on something."

The woman winked at Dr. Zlo, letting him know she was getting Riptide out of his hair. Dr. Zlo tipped his hat, then strode down the long walkway holding groups of players.

Dylan had followed Dextra's directions despite knowing Dr. Zlo wouldn't let heroes on board. He rationalized it by saying Dr. Zlo wanted to corrupt the heroes on board to use for his own nefarious purposes. Of course, Dylan did nothing of the sort, instead taking the time to walk around and see all the newcomers that might join up with Menagerie.

The Zloppelin could only hold so many people, and almost everyone involved in the event wanted to get on. The initial pickup had been messy, with Dr. Zlo skimming the water to land on the coast of Cartis. Merla was still in battle against the remaining villains. Riptide was still tied up, but the man had somehow figured out how to surf Merla's bindings and was skipping over the waves like a stone. A hero yelling profanities chased after, his power constructing glimmering shields, cages, and barricades in an attempt to trap Riptide.

That all stopped when Dr. Zlo landed. The gigantic war machine, decked out in various weapons, imposed on the surrounding fight like a king visiting the local tavern. Everyone dropped what they were doing to watch. With everyone awestruck, Dr. Zlo thought it was the perfect time to play some music and announce his presence. He turned to Cass and Mabel, signaling them.

"Cass, ready the track!"

Cass eagerly nodded, scampering off to follow his boss's orders. Dr. Zlo waltzed over to his speakerphone, humming a classical tune to himself. Dylan had spent his downtime at work the other day researching villainous classical music. He wanted something punchy, with a strong opening and deep sound to grab everyone's attention. The Zloppelin would announce to the world, "Hey! Dr. Zlo is here! Cower in fear!"

In the end, Dylan couldn't decide between a few songs, so he picked four of his favorites and put them into one track, which he then gave to Cass to prepare. Earnestly, Dr. Zlo grabbed the microphone near him and flourished to his audience. Mabel rolled her eyes, directing Suitor to help her to her feet. She sauntered over to her leader, her arm entwined with Suitor's like he would run away if she didn't.

Dr. Zlo led the way, walking out of his command center and through the walkway inside his Zloppelin to reach the hanger-slash-loading bay. As he stepped onto the ramp, the villain called back to his butler.

"Hit it, Cass!"

A guitar riff that was distinctly un-classical played as the loading ramp descended, causing Dr. Zlo to pause unceremoniously.

"Cass!!!" Dr. Zlo roared, his microphone picking up the noise and broadcasting it. "This is nothing like what I gave you! What is this blues-rock nonsense! I've told you, we're villains of class!! That means classical entrances!"

"Sorry, boss!" Cass yelled back from the command center. "I got the tracks mixed up!"

"Tracks? Cass, I gave you four songs to play! How could you possibly get it confused?" Dr. Zlo shouted.

"I was trying to find my own theme music, boss!" Cass yelled back.

Dr. Zlo pinched the bridge of his nose, shifting his monocle out of position ever so slightly. The villain fixed it a second later, then went back to yelling at his minion. "Cass, I want you to listen very carefully. You will take these words, and you will repeat them after me once I speak them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, boss," Cass answered morosely.

"Good. Now, listen closely." Dr. Zlo took a deep breath, "Butlers! Don't! Get! Theme music!"

"Sorry, boss," Cass replied.

"Repeat the words, Cass."

"Butlers don't get theme music," the minion replied, his voice almost crying.

"Very good, Cass."

"Should I play your track, boss?"

Dr. Zlo turned back to the coast, where the surrounding players had formed up to watch his antics. Merla and Riptide stood before everyone, the former trying to keep a smirk off her face. She wasn't doing a good job of it.

"No, Cass. The moment is ruined," Dr. Zlo replied to his butler.

Merla and Riptide walked up to Dr. Zlo, a few other players warily following.

"I'm assuming there's a reason you decided to land instead of fighting from the air?" Merla asked. "Otherwise, these heroes are going to be sorely disappointed."

"Yeah, dude," Riptide chimed in. "I was ready to surf something crazy."

"We'll talk about your betrayal later," Dr. Zlo said to his teammate. "But first, we have a problem over in Haven City."

Dr. Zlo brought the microphone up to address the crowd, "A rival faction has decided to interrupt my fun in Haven and ruin Menagerie in the process. Dextra Black has tasked me with recruiting others from the two earlier cities, though now that I'm here, I see more of you than I have space inside. Anyone who can quickly make it to Haven City should start making their way there. Supposing they want to, of course. My plan here in Cartis seems to have failed, thanks to a certain someone."

Dr. Zlo gave a pointed look to Riptide, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you cannot make it to Haven in a short time, I will do my best to accommodate. However, I think we can go about this a better way."

The villain turned to Merla and Riptide, "What do you say we do the scoring now and take anyone who officially made it into Menagerie?"

"That sounds totally rad!" Riptide said.

"Sure, as long as we can do it quick," Merla replied. She looked over at Riptide, "I've already got in mind the people I want. How about you?"

"Yeah, dude. I'm ready," Riptide replied.

"Excellent!" Dr. Zlo exclaimed. "Then, the rest of you line up if you please! Merla and Riptide will call you out if you passed."

Obediently, the other players grouped up, forming a line that stretched a good ways away from the loading ramp. Merla and Riptide then went through the line, picking out the players they wanted. Dylan made a note of the differences in selection between Merla and Riptide. The magician hero made sure to select a balanced pool of players, people who exhibited all sorts of skills that could benefit Menagerie. Riptide picked out the players he had the most fun with, with no care for faction balance. By the end of it, around half the total players were boarded onto the Zloppelin.

The ones left behind looked around sadly, and a few wore faces of anger at being rejected.

"If you didn't get a chance here," Dr. Zlo said to them, "there's still a chance in Haven City. We need everyone who's willing, so I expect anyone who helps will get to join up."

That perked up ears, and the players at the edges of the line started towards Cartis to find transportation.

Smiling, Dylan went back up the ramp and up to the command deck. A few taps later and the Zloppelin lifted off, making its way to Thenapolis. There, they picked up Titan and Sweet Dream, going through the same selection process as before. This time, the two players picked about a third from the group, with Oro grabbing another eighth.

The two groups mingled together inside the Zloppelin, making their way around the various walkways built near the levitation generators. As they traveled, the groups got to know each other and had fun discussing their respective events. Dr. Zlo made his way around as well, watching the various players hit it off.

"Yes, heroes," the villain cackled under his breath. "Soon, you all will be corrupted and fall to the dark side."

"That, does not fit your image," Oro said beside him.

"No, you're right," Dylan answered. "It's more of an evil emperor vibe. Dr. Zlo isn't quite at that stage."

The two were strolling down the main walkway, overseeing the other players to make sure no one touched the levitation generators. No one expected anyone inside to make a move, but Dylan knew he couldn't be too careful. He knew how easy it was for people to change.

"So, anyone from this group stick out to you?" Oro asked as they passed by another group of players.

"The Fiendish Four, for one," Dylan started. "And those three stooges from the apocalypse. The one who transformed the car reminded me of an old cartoon that I have to try out sometime. And then there's the evil duchess, the player with the hex powers, and that one over there."

Oro took a look over where Dylan directed. Hardlight was hovering over a group of Jacques, studying their strange movements.

"Why him?" Oro asked. "Merla told me he was an *ss."

Dylan shook his head, "I don't think so. I think he's someone who likes competition and wants to be the best at what he does."

Oro shrugged, "If you say so."

"What about you?" Dylan asked. "Anyone stand out?"

"Other than the people I picked?" Oro asked.

Dylan nodded.

"Well, the mime seems pretty neat," Oro said, pointing to Lill, who was pretending to ride a bicycle around the walkway. "It looks like a pretty flexible power. And I liked the one who could become a ghost after he died. That's pretty creative."

"I didn't hear about that one," Dylan said.

"Overheard him talking about it when coming to get you," Oro said.

The two friends continued their patrol for a few more minutes, both making small talk as they went around. Eventually, Mable came to get Dr. Zlo, and the two maneuvered through the crowd back to the command station.

"We're coming up on Haven now, boss," Cass said.

"Excellent, Cass. Prepare the music."

Cass bowed and made his way over to the speaker system.

"And don't mess it up this time!" Dr. Zlo called to him.