THE MOMENT
Modern Super society had a problem and Dr. Sever was looking right at it. The evil genius stood at a podium looking out at an abandoned, barren warehouse. Only two people showed up to hear him talk about his vision for a truly threatening villain group, and they were both young women; maybe even still teenagers.
They both wore crisp white blazers with red ties except one had pink hair and the other green. It wasn't just that no one seemed interested in being evil anymore. He would've been able to handle it better if no one had showed up at all. But, the fact that he had two influencer age attendees meant they were part of the issue he was trying to fix. People should fear villains, not follow them.
"No one else is going to show up," the pink-haired girl said. They'd been standing at a distance and chatting quietly until the starting time printed on all the flyers. That was when she spoke up and both girls approached him. "You should call it a night, and I wouldn't recommend trying again. There's no room for a 'truly evil' villain group. They're not welcome and will not be tolerated."
"Tolerated?" Dr. Sever chuckled. "Wait, are you girls heroes? I don't think you understand villainy at all; the whole point is breaking rules," he said. And, as easily as he concluded that they were heroes, he made the decision to scare some respect into them. "... and often hurting people," he grinned and stepped out from behind the podium toward them.
"If you want to talk about understanding...,"the pink-haired girl smiled and shook her head. "You don't get the current climate at all. Do you know why no one else showed up? Because you missed the entire point. It IS entertainment," she nodded. "It has to be, because the alternative is unsustainable."
"You mean the alternative of me ruling the city?" Dr. Sever asked. He didn't recognize them and that meant it was likely they didn't know him. His public reputation was that of a super genius inventor; but, he was also born with super strength. He kept that aspect hidden and over time invented better and cleaner ways to boost that supernatural strength. In his simulated testing, using all his technological boosts, he was capable of fracturing the Earth.
He knew that the current crop of heroes couldn't really stand up to his strength and intellect alone. But, he was also smart enough to not want to take that chance if he didn't have to. However, the lack of attendees made him decide that going it alone was the new plan. He instantly set his sights on a more local conquest first before declaring himself king of the world.
"There's always someone stronger and more dangerous than you, and being a villain tends to draw out that competition. This is Joy, by the way," she gestured at the green-haired young woman. "I hadn't introduced her, or myself. My name's Justice."
"You're saying she's stronger and more dangerous than me?" Dr. Sever laughed. "I'm strong enough to fracture the Earth."
"Really?" Justice asked, but both of them looked surprised. "Are you willing to bet on it?" she asked.
"There's no way to prove it, and anyway, why are -," he wanted to ask them why they were hanging around, but Justice stopped listening and began fiddling with a glass card in her hand.
"Yeah, this way," she made a gesture, and a tall black portal opened like a doorway. Joy walked in first, and Justice encouraged Dr. Sever through it. He went through and emerged on a vast, cracked, dry red desert. The sun was up, but the sky was purple.
"Okay, it's a competition of strength. The winner gets an entire Earth under their ownership; the loser remains where they are," Justice said as she alternated glances between Joy and Dr. Sever like a boxing referee. "The winner is the one that does the most damage to an Earth. Do you agree?"
"I agree," Joy nodded immediately.
"Wait.. who are you? Where are we? Did you say an entire Earth? Who are you??" He repeated again with more urgency.
"Look, we started a game and we're waiting on you. I promise you'll get all the important answers after we resolve this, but it doesn't have to be me that gives them to you and I have other clients to visit," she said. "The important parts are, Joy and I belong to a multiversal corporation named Sharp Development. Yes, alternate universes are real. Yes, we own so many alternate Earths we can give them away, or just destroy them if necessary. Yes, OWN," she said. "Your Earth is one of those, and we like the systems currently running. If you win, you'll be given your own Earth to be as villainous as you like. If you lose, you'll be left behind. That's all you need to know to get you through this contest."
"You're saying...," He was smart enough to keep up, and the promise of further answers helped. But, he still had some doubts as he pointed at Joy. "... she is stronger than me? Strong enough to fracture the Earth?"
"That's my wager," Justice nodded. "Are you saying she isn't?"
"So, I have permission to break this Earth?" he asked without answering her question. She nodded, and he continued. "But, then what? After that it'll already be cracked for her."
"Oh, I like that you're not agreeing to anything without clarity," Justice grinned. "There are two options. I was going to go with the first one by default, but since you asked I'll let you choose. The first one is you run your attempt here and we see how that goes. Then, we visit another Earth for Joy's attempt. However, since you're so astute I've got a special arrangement for you. You don't have to try at all. Your claim is that you're strong enough to fracture the Earth. My claim is that Joy is stronger than that. So, if we let her go first, I think you'll see how much stronger she is than you. If her strength doesn't measure up for you, you'll be allowed to make a case."
"Now that's a deal I can get behind," Dr. Sever nodded. "I accept your terms."
"Great. Then, let's begin," she said. She turned to nod at Joy. "Nothing left," she clarified. Joy nodded as she raised her fist upward. It began to glow with golden light then she knelt down in a swift, smooth motion to impact the dirt. The Earth shook and began splitting open all around them. In moments, the trembling turned violent, and a deep rumbling from within the Earth grew louder. This was nothing like the simulations he ran.
"She wins!" he shouted as he struggled to keep his balance. He was relieved to see a black portal open again and Joy jumped through it. He started to move forward, but Justice stood in front of him.
"Sorry," she shook her head. "You lost." She stepped backward into the portal so that he couldn't follow her in. "You have to remain here," she shrugged.
"What? Wait no! You can't!" the ground shifted and he lost his balance as magma began bubbling upward through the cracks.
"Yeah," she shrugged. "I can. I told you," she added as the portal closed. "Being a 'real' villain is unsustainable."