Accidental Villainy 8

What a mess. 

It was my first thought as I looked at the three downed men in front of me, each wearing the same custom t-shirt. A bloody knife. 

The famous symbol of Stabber, a villain. He was just a minor villain according to the government, and while reading the news, it was easy to dismiss him. But, against someone like me, every villain was a major threat. 

Admittedly, I could have handled the sudden intrusion of his henchmen better … but then, they could have had better timing to suddenly knock down the door I had spent an hour to properly fix. Like the fact they had ruined my hard work wasn’t enough, but they chose the moment my brain was in the process of shortcircuiting. 

I was already swinging when I had noticed their shirts marking them as henchmen. 

And, just like that, I was against a villain. 

Bad news, very bad news. 

“One thing at a time,” I suddenly murmured as I looked at Tara, who was looking at me with a sheepish expression. I wanted to get angry at her. Claim that it was her mistake that suddenly put me in hot water, and that she didn’t listen to my orders. 

But I couldn’t do that. I didn’t even think of asking for her help, forgetting her powers — it easy to treat her abilities as a cleaning aid rather than actual super strength with her submissive obedience — when she dashed and saved me from the gunman. 

I was aware that he had been pulling a gun — one advantage of my observation powers — and had a plan to deal with … but considering that plan required me to get stabbed, I wasn’t particularly torn up about the alternative she presented without asking me. 

Even if she did it in a way that revealed her powers. 

Of course, whether they would remember it after that punch was a different issue. 

One step at a time. First, let’s deal with my naughty employee.  

“You did good,” I said, and suddenly, she smiled brightly. Despite the situation, I found myself matching that smile… “Of course, the fact that you hid your powers deserves a punishment, but we can handle that later.” 

The suggestion of punishment erased her smile … but it didn’t particularly erase her good mood. The suggestion that there would be a later punishment seemed to be enough for her, and the suggestion for future punishment was just a bonus. 

She was ridiculously submissive. 

“Let’s make sure to carry them several streets over,” I suggested. She made a move to grab them, and then I chuckled, realizing one important detail we had missed during the rush. 

She was still naked. 

“Go upstairs and dress first,” I ordered. The blush that covered her body was amazing. If I didn’t need to deal with the henchman in the room, I would have used that beautiful sight more efficiently. 

Instead, I turned my attention to the henchman. I had to admit, dealing with them permanently was a tempting fantasy … but ultimately fantasy. Deaths would mean Stabber digging around for the disappearance, and I was sure that a dedicated search would reveal their position soon enough. 

Police would get involved as well, which was not any better. Of course, even worse, another hero might decide to poke around, turning it into hell. 

Luckily, there were other options. I went behind the bar, and pulled out three of the cheapest bottles of alcohol. Half of it, I force-fed to them, and the other half, I spilled the rest on them. The smell was suffocating.  

Then, to make sure there was no mistaking, I also poured a glass of cheap wine and a bottle of beer on them as well, the mixture turning the smell into a rancid mixture. 

It would mean betting on a combination of the head trauma and the alcohol to keep their mouth shut … and, even if didn’t, I hoped that they would be smart enough not to reveal to their boss they attacked another powered individual with unknown allegiance. 

If not … well, that was something I would think later. 

“Let’s make sure you pay for your drinks,” I murmured as I went through their pockets, taking only their cash. Almost four thousand … not a bad haul. 

And, after some thought, I took the gun as well. Only fair for the emotional distress they had triggered. 

I wasn’t exactly experienced in shooting, but my new power should be helpful in that aspect. 

When Tara came down, she was wearing her usual outfit. “Can you jump between roofs?” I asked. She nodded. “While carrying all three?” She nodded again. “Excellent. Grab them, and make sure to dump them near the landfill. Wear my coat and the ski mask as well,” I ordered. 

She nodded, once again moving around with a shocking efficiency. I didn’t bother describing the location of the landfill, as it was hard to miss. Barely a mile away, it covered a great amount. There was only one advantage. 

It didn’t have any organic waste, so there was no smell. Just an eyesore. 

While Tara was gone, I focused on repairing the door. Not fully, but just enough not to look suspicious in case someone was searching for the three. 

After I finished the repair, I stayed near the bar, my fingers still around the bat, the gun under the counter in case of an emergency, waiting for Tara to return. However, as her return got delayed, I couldn’t help but go through my phone, checking the news.

It didn’t take long for me to find the reason for my excitement. Apparently, there was a big battle at the downtown between a group of heroes and villains. Heroes won, and some of the villains had to move. 

Slasher’s name was not anywhere in the report. It didn’t surprise me. He was too small a time to be a part of a fight of that scale in any case. However, as the bigger villains lost their territory, they moved onto less valuable areas … occupied by weaker villains, which then in turn dislodged Slasher and a few others in his class. 

Just like that, my bar, which was supposed to be too worthless to be paid attention to, fell under the control of a villain. Likely only the periphery of his territory. 

“Maybe they won’t care about me,” I murmured, but even as I said that I knew it not to be the case. Maybe I should just move away, and use the little money I stole to move to another city. 

But, then what. Build another bar, or maybe find work, only to move again. Luckily, before I could fall into a spiral of depression, Tara returned. 

I needed her distraction. 

“Follow me to my office,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice sharp despite the confusion I was feeling. For two reasons. One, it was clearly how Tara was expecting me to treat her after her reveal. Considering her existence might be the only thing between me and a nasty end at the hands of Slasher, I decided to keep her happy. 

Two, and even more importantly, I wanted to act like that as well. The sudden realization that I might lose everything due to a coincidence hit me hard. Not that I wasn’t aware that the bar was a long shot. My inconvenient powers, the location of my bar, my lack of financial power, lack of potential customers…

I just didn’t expect a random villain henchman visit to overtake everything before I could even open the bar. 

Dominating her was a good way for me to feel settled. 

Excellent, even. 

I said nothing as I walked around my desk and sat on the chair, pausing only slightly to take the view. After her super cleaning, the place looked far better than the dusty cave I had taken over. It was still small, with substandard furniture. An old desk, a creaking office chair behind it, and two plastic ones on the other end. 

It was hard to feel powerful behind it. 

However, as I looked at the trembling and excited super in front of me, it was easy to ignore all the reasons why it was not worthy. Instead, I let the sense of power rush over me as every second of silence worked even better to pull her submissiveness further toward the surface. 

A truly amazing feeling. 

I let her stand silently for another minute while I kept my gaze on her face, not even offering her a seat. I wanted her to feel the weight of the moment as she trembled — though my abilities suggested she was enjoying the moment as much as I did. Maybe even more. 

Opening a bar might have been a terrible choice. 

But clearly, my hiring practices were perfect.