The Good Villain

Chapter 10

"I don't know. The kidnapper prefers nerdy people?"
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I was dressed up as Banshee, waiting for MS to arrive. Leaning against the side of the bridge, I stared down into the pond and watched as the silhouettes of koi fishes swam by.

I had to admit that besides the library, the school garden was my favorite place in the school. Trees lined neatly in rows along a wooden walkway which led to a small pavilion with benches surrounded by neatly trimmed rose bushes.

A great place to do some reading... and for couples to, um, hang out. Trust me, you don't want to know some of the things that have happened on that bench.

I turned around just in time to see MS soaring over the school and landing on the other end of the bridge silently.

"Just to let you know, you look like a brown haired, more embarrassing version of Peter Pan in speedos." I mocked.

"Haha, laugh all you want. Just to let you know that your fake blue eyes actually makes your actual face a little less terrible to look at." MS shot back.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, let's get down to business. Care to share what sort of danger we're facing?"

"Of course. " MS replied, handing me a brown paper file.

I flipped through it's contents and frowned. "All these are just missing person reports... so we're just facing a kidnapper? Can't the police handle that?"

"Slow down...It's not just that, there's more." MS replied, taking the file back and flipped through all the IDs again. "All these missing people were scientists. They all started disappearing about 6 months back..."

"Okay, so the kidnapper liked nerdy people better. So what? I'm still not seeing any signs of something dangerous going on." I said.

"Seriously dude, just hear me out. " MS replied. "That wasn't all. All the scientists that were kidnaped  all worked for the same company... Viper Industry. And do you know what Viper Industry's known for?"

"I don't know. Snake food?" I replied sarcastically. Although I didn't show it, I began to understand why the police suspected something was going on.

"No. Starlight City's military weapons."

This piqued my interest. "So... you think scientists are being kidnapped to build a weapon and destroy the city?"

"Exactly."

"But what will they accomplish from destroying Starlight City? I mean, their research is funded by the Mayor isn't it?"

"And that's why I need your help... I need your hacking expertise."

"Okay... wait, how do you know about my hacking skills?"

"Well, Jupiter..."

"Don't call me Jupiter, it's weird when you say it."

"Alright then, Banshee. Judging from the fact that every time a bank's been robbed by you, there's no record of a bank transaction even though the money's gone. And also, since you were able to hack into South Coast's Bank's system - which is supposed to be so heavily encrypted that not even the police can break..." MS listed.

"Alright alright. I see your point. So, what do you want me to hack?"

"Well, Dr Fortis Hyde was the first scientist to disappear, so I need you to hack into his computer." MS replied.

"His computer? Can't the police do that easily?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, if his computer wasn't heavily encrypted and guarded by fire wall after firewall. The police have been trying to gain access since his disappearance and so far, no luck."

"Alright. But wouldn't the police have taken the laptop in as evidence? What do you expect me to do? Just walk into the police station?"

"I didn't say it was in the police station." MS said, grinning.

"Wait... so the computer's still in Fortis's house?!"

"I convinced them to leave it in the house, to see if someone would try to come get it. And if someone did, I'd be there to catch them."

"As bait?" I snorted. "That's the dumbest reason I've heard in my entire life."

"Not unless it comes from Starlight City's hero." MS smirked. "And besides, I don't want anyone to know that we're working together, kind of ruins the reputation, you know?"

"Same here." I replied, "for once we actually agree on something. So how are we going to get there?"

"Same way I get from place to place ... flying."

Oh crap.