Epilogue

She arrived near the HQ in a bit of a daze. The run had been longer than she had expected, but at some point she had looked over her shoulder and realized that no one was following her. Jezebelle didn’t stop running, though.

At some point, it had turned from a mad dash to a quick sprint, then just a casual jog. Something about the repetitive footfalls, the impact in her shins, helped her recentre herself.

Not that she knew what to do. 

No, that wasn’t true. She knew what had to be done. There were ways to report things like this. Unfortunately, there were also consequences. Facing off against a mind-altering villain meant time spent in the Special Circumstances division’s care. The people she’d spoken to, the real HRF and not the PR-talking pencil pushers, called it the think tank. 

It wasn’t a nice place to be stuck in.

Her only saving grace was that Obscure had fooled so many of them. Her most of all, maybe, but there had to be dozens of guards and troopers affected. Some people higher up the chain, too, if she had been able to gain access to different things.

The jog turned into a walk, and she was able to focus on the future, rather than what had just happened. In a way, it helped. 

She wasn’t sure what she felt. Betrayed, sure. Mostly towards Obscure though.

For some reason, she found it hard to hate Emily. Though... she really wouldn't have a choice now, would she?

Either she tossed Emily under the bus, or... or nothing. Jezebelle was going to be questioned extensively, she just knew, probably by people that could tell if she lied. They’d know if she didn’t give them what they wanted to hear, or if she kept anything to herself. 

That didn’t mean that they could force her to talk, but... no, easier to let them know that Emily was here, that the local, introverted seeming college girl was a real villain.

She still felt betrayed by her. Emily had been nice. How could she turn around and ally herself with someone like Obscure? How could she--

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!

You lost! 

Sucker.

17 others have won the Endgame! Don’t forget to congratulate the Villains on their stunning victory!

Her walking steps faltered, and she found herself staring at the little screen. Then it disappeared, and with it, the very weak little buffs that the Endgame had given.

She was almost to the HQ. So she kept trudging that way. It wasn’t without an added bit of hesitation, however. This was proof, conclusive proof, that they had lost.

In a way, it was a tiny bit comforting, it meant that she didn’t have to shoulder anything anymore, that soon, she’d be going home.

If... she didn’t report anything. 

She swallowed, then sighed.

Being a hero sucked, sometimes.

***

Being a villain was the best.

Emily sat upon a throne, legs back, a glass flute in one hand filled with bubbly liquid. Before her floated a screen with a bit of text on it. 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

You and 17 others have won the Endgame! 

She smiled, then took a sip from her flute. The champaign was a little on the warm side, which did make the taste a little less... refined. “Maple, get a fridge working, will you?” she called out.

Across the room--which was quite the room, they had taken over an entire warehouse by the edge of the city to serve as their main base of operations--was Maple. The beaver girl was bent over a workbench, welding mask pulled low over her face. She straightened, then looked away from the gun she was working on. “What was that?”

“I said, we need refrigeration,” Emily repeated.

“Tsk. Yeah, I’ll get to it,” Maple snapped before lowering her mask.

Ah, how very frustrating. But she didn’t mind so much. The sweet taste of victory was greater than any fine wine. “Tell me, Teddy, how are we doing?”

Teddy was laying on the floor of the warehouse, back almost flat on the ground. Around her, forming a wide circle on the floor, was a heap of coinage. Thousands of dimes and nickels and loonies and twonies, likely a few thousand dollars worth. The bear girl shifted on the pile. She had been counting through a fat stack of bills. “Good, Boss, real good. Once we get back to civilization, I plan on making a few quick investments. Think we can short some insurance companies?”

“I wouldn’t mind setting a few fires,” Trinity said. She pushed some of the coins on the floor away and looked down in disgust at her bigger sister. “Are you really going to lay there all day? It’s filthy.”

“The only filthy I am is rich,” Teddy replied.

“Stop arguing, both of you,” Aurora snapped. “I don’t need another fight breaking out.”

“It’s fine,” Emily replied. “They just need to blow off some steam. We’re going to be heading out soon, anyway. It seems like the big bad heroes haven’t a clue, and now that they’ve properly lost, we’ll be in the clear.”

Off to one side, Athena was sitting across from their special guest. Mirror Man, or a very special Maple-made clone of him, was sitting with duct-taped limbs and glassy eyes. “Are... um are we going to leave?” 

“Hmmm, yes, I think we will,” Emily said. She swirled her flute, enjoying the way the liquid within shifted and bubbled. “Maybe... maybe a small tour before going home, yes? I’d like to pay my other self a little visit one of these days.

It was good, being the Boss.

***