Eden sat behind his desk, writing down notes as Ophelia played back the recordings he had made in the third file. When she finished, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the notes on his desk. “Ophelia, could you please list off the villains currently in FANWOOD, please?” he asked.
“Certainly, sir. Moriarty, James. Crane, Jonathan. Singh, Khan. Jones, Killian. Mills, Regina. Smith, Agent. Laufeyson, Loki. Killian, Aldrich. Barnes, James B.-”
“Have any of them showed signs of relapsing?” Eden interrupted.
“Relapsing, sir?”
He sighed. “Becoming evil again,” he said shortly.
The computer was quiet for a moment. “List of possible villains is complete,” it reported.
“Read,” he ordered, spinning in his chair.
“HAL,” the computer began.
“No, he’s confined to a spaceship. He’s no good. Next.”
“Then I assume that Agent Smith, MCP, and CLU will be removed as well, sir?”
“Yes.”
“And GLaDOS as well, sir?”
“The same.”
“Very good, sir,” Ophelia agreed.
“Continue.”
“Terminator.”
“No, he failed in the last assassination attempt. Continue,” Eden said.
“Crowley.”
"Which one?"
"The King of Hell."
“Perhaps.”
The computer was quiet again.
“Continue,” he repeated.
“List has been finished.”
He nearly fell out of his chair. “Do you mean to tell me that 99 percent of them are not likely to return to their old ways as villains?!” he demanded.
“Some of them would require… a little persuasion, perhaps. But I’m sure that-”
“No, no, no. As they are. NONE would become villains again?”
“Affirmative, sir,” the computer replied.
“Well, that won’t do,” he muttered to himself, “That will definitely not do at all…”
“Sir?”
“I don’t understand it. I give Moriarty information on how to cross dimensions, but he fails – and instead of crossing, two people from the other world come over here! Not only does he fail, but every villain that those two… girls… encounter-”
“Sir, I fail to see how that is relevant.”
He stood up stiffly. “The entire reason I told Moriarty that it was possible to cross dimensions was so that I could cross, as well!” he spat.
“The anomalies called Paris and London have demonstrated that it simple to cross over to another world-”
“I DON’T NEED ANOTHER WORLD, I NEED ANOTHER REALITY!!” he thundered, shoving the large, very expensive-looking crystal vase onto the floor, where it shattered into a thousand pieces.
“I don’t understand, sir. Why would you wish to travel to another reality?”
“To make FANWOOD non-existent,” he whispered.
“Why, sir?”
He slowly raised his head to look at the inquisitive little panel on the wall. “So I can remake this world. To create a world where the monsters and villains hold the power, instead of the heroes. A world where we need not hide in shadows anymore. A world that is perfect,” he replied.
“So… basically the plot to every superhero movie ever, just on a slightly different playing field?”
He rolled his eyes and then closed them. He wished that he had not created a computer that was as witty as he was. “Yes, Ophelia,” he said softly, “I guess you’re right.”
YOU ARE READING
Life at FANWOOD: Season Four
FanfictionImagine a place not so far from here and yet so far away - a town called FANWOOD where every storybook and movie character you have ever known lives, breathes, and eats. A place that holds your dreams. And your nightmares. A town where Loki, the god...
