THE MOMENT
"Well, Mr. Supremacy, what brings you by my office today?" Orion asked the question with a smile. Mr. Supremacy was a high-ranking Supervillain and Orion was an executive at Chroma Corp., the company that kept the Super scene organized by playing both sides. Orion would do whatever was reasonable and in his power to keep the costumed strongman happy. It was early morning with the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Orion's office was on the 35th floor, with the sun still far below. Mr. Supremacy had made the appointment to talk to someone important, but Orion had no idea what he wanted.
"When I was recruited into the Shadow Enclave, I was promised it'd be fun...," Mr. Supremacy said. "A multi-versal league of evil, with branches to choose from on countless Earths? It sounded like a dream come true, really...,' he sighed.
"We try to-," Orion started his reply with a smile, but Mr. Supremacy shook his head.
"But, once a dream comes true... it's time to move on to new ones, right?" Mr. Supremacy asked. "And yet, this one… has been the same over and over. No matter what Earth I go to, I wreck the city, then the Hero's League tries to stop me with deadly force. And... it's just gotten kind of monotonous...,' he said.
"So... you're looking to mix things up?" Orion asked. The visit was starting to feel a bit like hiring a caterer to make a single peanut butter and jelly sandwich; he didn't need Orion for this. Still, Mr. Supremacy was an Enclave member nonetheless, and Orion was a professional.
"Yeah," Mr. Supremacy sat forward intently, as if he'd been waiting for an opening. "Ok so here is the deal. I'm gonna stop the destructive shit. And you in turn stop trying to kill me. Class me down to a C-rank, and I will only do C-rank shit to the city. I want FUN fights. All your S-Classes only try to kill me, that's no fun. It's boring. The same attacks every time."
Mr. Supremacy sighed in relief, having gotten his concerns off his chest, and Orion smiled.
"I can appreciate you going right to the top to ensure you get things moving," Orion said. Mr. Supremacy was all muscle and very direct in his approach to life. Details and nuance tended to fall by the wayside as he focused on whatever was more important in any given moment. "However, for future reference, you should've taken this up with your Guild Leader first. Chroma Corp. never intended to lock you into a role, but your powers are quite well-suited for 'destructive shit'," Orion smiled. "While I wouldn't go so far as to say the fights are scripted exactly, the outcomes are more or less planned," Orion explained as he reached into his desk drawer. "You can ask for a different assignment, so you're not always the fall guy. And, you're entirely allowed to rank yourself down," Orion pulled out a form and slid it across his desk to Mr. Supremacy.
"A change of rank form?" Mr. Supremacy asked. He knew the Shadow Enclave and Hero's League were two sides of the same business, but he'd never considered the details of how all that worked any more than he needed to. "It's that easy?" he asked.
"You're already qualified as an S-rank," Orion nodded. "If you want lower pay and fewer responsibilities, we're going to make it easy for you to get that. There'll be a note that you still have S-rank powers even if you're only a C-rank villain. But, other than that, take on the jobs you want to do."
"Oh wow... I totally wasted your time..," Mr. Supremacy was apologetic instantly.
"No, it's quite alright," Orion nodded. "And, maybe it wasn't entirely a waste. Let me ask you something else that you might not have considered... how much fun do you think you'll have with C-rank smash and grabs? Vandalism? It might've just been the first rank you thought of, but have you really considered what C-rank villainy looks like?"
"Oh... no.. I guess I hadn't...," Mr. Supremacy shook his head. "I thought being a villain would be fun."
"It is, if you like roleplaying as much as they do," Orion laughed. "But, you're looking for a different kind of fun. How about AlterNet Derby?"
"Oh yeah, I saw that promoted a lot too...," Mr. Supremacy nodded. He moved from Earth to Earth joining different Enclave Branches and dying. Supers came back to life all the time, and he could've stayed at any of them, but he was looking for something different. He noticed Roller Derby seemed to be a popular sport on every Earth he went to, but he wasn't a sports guy and never paid attention. Still, it probably meant something if Orion was bringing it up now. "...what's the deal with Derby?"
"Create a character from 30 races and 30 classes, and join a team of six," Orion grinned. "Two teams fighting to the death at top speed on a kilometer loop. It's all action and fun, and you don't even have to do any villainy."
"Tell me more," Mr. Supremacy was eager to listen.