Chapter Text
The Sheriff was not excited to work on his personal assignment. He had studiously poured over the file provided to him, containing details of every known incident involving the Dungeon Master.
Now, though, he was definitely starting to understand just how much trouble he was in for. Locating the villain was easy enough when said villain likes to make a habit of cackling loudly through the fires. As per usual with the job, the problem came with actually apprehending the villain. Jimmy internally despaired while watching as DM vaulted off the roof, propelled to the other building with fire shooting from his feet.
The Sheriff followed closely, clearing the gap between buildings easily and launching back into a sprint. His luck ability made it easy for him to be up high without concern of falling. And even if by some impossibility he missed the jump, Jimmy was sure to be cushioned or caught by something below.
Several feet ahead, the DM skidded to a halt at the edge of the building, turning to face his opponent. A chuckle crackled through the speaker in the gas mask as Jimmy took a closer look at the villain. The eyes of his mask glowed ominously while fire flicked off of the villain's hair. DM's stance was loose and had an air of casualty, like this little chase was a bit of fun exercise.
The wind whipped around them both, billowing out the villain's dark robe.
“So!“ This villain had a reputation for being quite talkative and it seemed to hold true as he spoke before the Sheriff could even think of what to say. “I wanted to ask you something, Cowboy. No one ever takes me up on my ideas but you seem like a cool guy so I figured I might as well ask, y’know?” No, Jimmy did not know but the firestarter kept talking, “How would you feel… about playing a game with me?”
The Sheriff decided he needed a full business day to comprehend the current situation. The villain he was assigned to track down and arrest, a serial arsonist with a penchant for taking heroes on wild goose chases, was putting everything on hold to ask if Jimmy would play a game with him? Why on earth would he want that?
“Why on earth… are you trying to play a game right now?” Jimmy couldn't keep the pure confusion out of his voice. There was a lot of information in his case file but the majority of it was detailed reports of the damage caused by DM. In reality, there was very little information on the villain himself. And this behavior defied all understanding he had of villains as people.
“Uh, cause it makes it fun? And interesting? And an actual challenge?” The DM shrugged like it was the most obvious concept. “So I was thinking that we could–”
“WAIT!” Jimmy shouted to cut him off, “No, hold on. Hold on just a moment, mister.” His voice took on the tone of the light scolding one would give a child. “This isn't– You cannot just run around and do whatever you want and burn whatever you want– then try to play a game with the guy trying to ARREST YOU!”
The blue bandana mask around the lower half of his face, still showed off the intense confusion in The Sheriff's face, which the DM took the liberty of laughing at. “Well why not?” the villain asked plainly. “We're just standing here talking right now, why can't we play a game when we're fighting? Raise the stakes a bit!” Excitement rang through the DM's words for reasons Jimmy could not begin to understand.
“Wha–NO!” Jimmy refused to feed into this crazy idea even a little bit. He couldn't understand the man across from him at all. Was this really all just for the fun of it to him?
DM cocked his head, amusement shining through despite the full face covering. He took a playful step backwards, which Jimmy immediately followed with a determined step closer. They did this once more, small flames licking up and off the villains heavy boots.
In a blink, Dungeon Master leapt up and back off the building. With the help of fire blasting from his feet, he made it two stories above where Jimmy stood, clinging to the fire escape next door.
“How about we start keeping score? Each time I escape, I get a point. If you can catch me, you get a point. First to… let's say five, wins!” Dungeon Master cackled as he launched the last story to the roof.
Jimmy didn't dignify him with a response, deciding to focus back on his job. Unfortunately, something told the Sheriff, the arsonist's cackle would be haunting his dreams for a while.
— — — — —
Mumbo took the train to an area near the edge of downtown. The note with an address scribbled out felt hot in his hand. He tried to always be extremely careful, understanding risks and having contingency plans was his specialty. But this risk, he couldn't really justify.
It was foolish, his brain screamed at him, trusting this proposition just because it came from another villain. Mumbo didn't want to work with others really, he always felt more confident working alone. He was at war with himself, mind insisting that this was a one way trip to getting killed while his gut convinced him to continue.
As the train slid to a stop and he stood to get off, Mumbo knew he had to see this through. Even if he just took a quick look inside, it was late to completely write it off.
At least Grum was going to have a good evening. His ward would be getting out of school soon, with Iskall picking him up from the bus stop. Hopefully, Mumbo will be back home in time for dinner.
He walked a few blocks from the station casually, his messenger bag in tow. To the average person, Mumbo blended in perfectly to the city with his plain pants and dark blue coat.
Before long, he strided off the main street onto an empty side street. The address was about two more blocks, but Mumbo wasn't stupid enough to arrive as himself. Slipping into an alley completely unseen, the shadows finally consumed him.
It was a kind of cozy, yet bone-deep chill, that the shadows provided. It felt like home, the way the darkness wrapped around him, pulling his body into their world of darkness.
Once he disappeared from reality and was firmly on the other plane, Mumbo pulled his mask from the messenger bag. He shedded his jacket and swapped it for the suit vest and tie. Finally a long black coat to sit over his shoulders and fall down to his knees. This outfit in particular was chosen to make his large dark form more imposing. Well suited for a meeting with supposedly no action, and for making an intimidating first impression on a group of strangers.
Now, as Jackal, Mumbo felt more ready to face this group
Stowing his other jacket, Mumbo left the bag containing only his wallet and phone. He hated not being able to immediately get updates on Grum, but the risk of losing it or being connected to him is too great.
Dark gloves now covering his hand, Mumbo stalked through the darkness to the building scribbled on the note. Peeking his head through the outer side wall, he was greeted with an empty room filled with medical supplies. A sort of infirmary for the villain group, it seemed.
Not knowing what to expect from these people, Mumbo stayed hidden to keep looking around.
There was a simple hallway outside the infirmary, the only sign of life was some shuffling sounds a few doors down. He stalked over to the open door–
“Zed! Come on, man, we've got to get to the meeting room.” The slightly distorted German accent was instantly familiar, but he didn't know who ‘Zed’ was.
Something fell with a heavy slam inside, “AH!” another voice shouted. Mumbo chose this moment to look inside properly.
The villain who invited him here, Maelstrom, was just inside the door speaking to someone further in. A sheep hybrid on the smaller side was standing in front of a large box of scraps on the floor. Those his eyes were covered by purple tinted (was that allowed?) lab goggles, he was obviously a bit distressed.
Yanking his wildly colored lab coat off the nearest table, the sheep responded to Maelstrom. “Oh alright, Doc,” the man who must be Zed almost tripped walking over to him. “Let's get on with it then.”
Mumbo backed up into the hallway before they got closer. While he was intangible, the cold spot Jackal knew he made wasn't ideal for them to step into.
The door swung completely open, to reveal Maelstrom's large form filling up the doorway, with Zed barely over half his size in front of him. Before the smaller villain could charge forward (as it looks like he wanted to), Maelstrom's hand landed on his shoulder. Zed stopped mid step to look back at his ally, who was staring straight ahead.
Directly where Jackal was standing.
Mumbo's heart froze in his chest. The impossible, one of his biggest perpetual anxieties, was happening. He could be seen when he thought he was invisible.
Time stopped for far too long, the silent tension between Maelstrom and Jackal rose.
“Doc?” Zed asked, concern leaking into his tone.
‘Doc’ waited a moment more before finally saying something. Something Mumbo absolutely dreaded.
“Jackal,” As he started, Zed's head whipped around wildly for the secret third party. “If that is you, as I suspect it is, I’d like you to reveal yourself.”
This man was as crazy as the rumors said if he thought–
“Per our agreement, I of course have no ill intent towards you. But I'd appreciate some mutual respect for us.”
Mumbo hesitated, still frozen in place, he thought over Maelstrom's request. Really, it was stupid to even consider, but if he hoped to get anything beneficial from this meeting, it'd be best to cooperate from here.
He stepped out from the shadows which warped to allow him passage. The darkness melted off him as he met eyes with the other villains through his mask.
“Sorry for sneaking around, mate, you know how it is– never too careful.” Mumbo wasn't actually sorry but he was nothing if not polite, even as Jackal. “If you don't mind me asking though, how did you know I was here?”
The idea that there was a flaw in his shadow traveling was new to him, and extremely frightening. But Maelstrom just gave a slight chuckle, like it wasn't a big deal.
“Well with my special eye,” the goat villain pointed to his right eye, glowing red and surrounded by metal plating. “I can switch it to a type of thermal camera view. Wherever you are the shadows drop in temperature drastically, and uniquely in the shape of a person.”
The grin was audible in his voice as he continued shaking Jackal's world, “I've had it switched to this view all day, in preparation for something exactly like this.”
Zed was still standing between the two, looking back and forth with open-mouthed shock. “What is going on??” He finally voiced his confusion.
“I am having our new friend here show himself so we can get this whole thing underway.” Maelstrom responded, amused by Zed's questioning.
Maelstrom continued speaking while directing them to move down the hall, “Jackal, meet Zedaph, our group's main line of support, he doesn’t like being out on the field so he’s managing from a distance. We also work together with another colleague to craft our tools and security.”
The three stepped into a large common space that looked like any office breakroom, except for the wall of supplies and weaponry in the back. The table in the center had several chairs around it, clearly set for a gathering. Zed stopped in front of the table and pulled off his brightly colored goggles
“Pleasure to meet you Mr. Jackal!” Zed smiled brightly as he stuck his hand out.
Jackal gave a firm shake, “Yes, mate, nice to meet you as well.”
Though it was a bit of a rough start, meeting Zed and hearing more from Maelstrom had gone well so far. But it wasn't nearly enough to properly ease Mumbo's nerves. His stomach still twisted with stress.
“You can call me Doc, if you'd like, Jackal, ” He shook hands with Doc as well. “There is no pressure to share an identity on your end by the way, several of us don't share any personal details.”
Mumbo gave a tight nod, slightly comforted by that.
“Some other guys should be arriving soon!” Zed informed him excitedly, unaware of the knot in Jackal's nerves.
Doc gestured for Jackal to take a seat as he sat himself at the head of the table. “I’m not entirely sure when the DM will be here, last I saw he was taking the Sheriff on a wild tour of the city.” He shook his head fondly. Mumbo hadn’t been paying attention to the news today but if the DM was out causing chaos that was sure to be interesting.
Zed sat next to Doc with Mumbo across from him, “I’ve got an eye on him. He’s not in any trouble, just having a bit too much fun messing with that hero it seems.” Zed showed Doc something on a tablet he pulled out of nowhere and giggled, “He’ll be here sometime, I guess.”
The relaxed energy of Zed and Doc was actually managing to calm Jackal’s nerves some.
A short set of knocks at the far door to the room caught their attention. The door opened slowly, and a head poked around the corner.
“Uh hello? Zedaph? Doc?” The villain’s face was completely uncovered but a set of bug-eyed goggles sat on top of their head. Pushing the door open, the new arrival beams when he spots them seated at the table. “Ah, perfect! I was worried I was early.”
“Hello Keralis!” Zed– Zedaph? Mumbo wasn't quite sure what was appropriate. “Come meet our prospective member, Jackal.”
Keralis reached to shake Mumbo's hand, “Oh yes! I've seen you on the news!”
Mumbo was kind of overwhelmed by the cheery demeanor of Keralis who appears to be, after closer inspection, the villain Phantasm. He isn’t a very active villain and doesn’t appear that much in the public eye when he does go out, but he’s known for his ability to fight heroes without physical violence. Thinking back, he remembers hearing about the illusions his ability can create in people’s minds.
This villain who has emotionally tortured several heroes, was strangely bubbly. Also he was strangely comfortable just having his face and name open to his dangerous peers.
Before they could be introduced further, two more members entered chatting idly with each other. The two looked up at everyone staring at them. The villain on the left was fairly recognizable as she didn’t try to hide herself when at the scene of a crime.
The wolf-shaped mask with a simple crescent moon shape around the left eye, drew attention to her easily. Sekhmet was somewhat notorious for taking big ugly battles right onto main street for the public to see. Within those battles, the red-hooded villain was brutal to her opponents, catching them off guard to overwhelm with quick and ruthless attacks. Jackal had admired her abilities for some time because it was obvious she knew what she was doing in a fight. And it seemed she was subtly working towards a positive goal like himself, but wasn’t afraid to cause injury getting there.
On the right was someone Mumbo wasn’t very familiar with, and by that he means that up until this moment he's only heard about his existence. The villain Spectrite was described as being average build with bright teal hair, a simple face mask over his mouth, and eyes that glowed a brilliant purple. According to the very little information available, the feeling changed when he used his unknown ability. It was as if the air held secrets that were seeping into reality, distorting the light and whispering faintly. Through all his research with little results, Mumbo had almost written him off as a myth or joke.
But in front of him was a man who matched the base description perfectly, though his eyes didn't glow and shift the atmosphere. Spectrite and Sekhmet were both relaxed in their posture, they were definitely comfortable here.
“Ah Pearlie! Glad you could make it.” Keralis stepped over to give Sekhmet a hug.
“Keralis! Wonderful to see you too, as always!” The villain brightened visibly while hugging Keralis.
Spectrite waved to the room casually, and promptly sat down in the closest chair. “Hi Doc.”
“Hello Scott, this is our new prospective member, Jackal.” Doc gestured to Mumbo who was still internally panicking at being in a room full of very dangerous strangers.
“Ah right, forgot we were doing that today.” Spectrite (or Scott?) was very nonchalant, like he was present and participating but not 100% committed. “Pleasure to meet you,” Scott said with a nod to him.
“Yes! Jackal,” Sekhmet called over to him from her spot currently arm wrestling Zedaph with Keralis silently cheering them on. She grinned, barely visible from behind the mask, “Welcome to chaos as usual!”
Behind where Sekhmet was beating Zed, a fourth person arrived. Their mask covered the whole face, two solid color sides meeting in a pointed front. Jackal was able to recognize it as Janus, a relatively new villain in the scene, first seen just a few months ago.
They had short hair, split evenly black and white, and overall their outfit was clearly designed with practical use in focus. Their entire body was covered, from head to toe, almost everything was black except for the gloves, one blue and one red.
They spoke through a voice changer, though the American accent was still audible, “Well clearly I'm late to the party.” They joked from the doorway.
“Nahh Jan! Can't start anything without you.” Sekhmet went over to drag Janus into a seat next to her and Scott.
Most everyone in the room took their seats, except Zed who sighed loudly from the front of the room.
“The DM isn't answering me anymore.” He shook his head at the tablet like it offended him. “I know he's not injured and dying in a ditch ‘cause I would've gotten an alert but–”
In the middle of his rant, Zed was cut off by a loud crash somewhere else in the building. Seconds later, the Dungeon Master burst into the room covered in ashes and grime but cackling like a mad man.
Before the DM could say anything after catching his breath, Doc spoke up, “Well now that everyone's here, we can finally get this thing started.”