Paper and Scissors approached the spots Plague Doctor saved for them at the front of the bleachers.
"Thanks for saving these seats for us."
"It's fine, so long as I get a copy."
"Sure, sure," Scissors replied while pulling a camcorder from her hoodie pocket.
"Where's that gray skin at?"
"She had to pee."
BEEP! BEEP!
The two heroes checked their pagers, brows furrowing as they did.
"Did she fall in, or something?"
"Here, you do the recording," Scissors said before passing the camcorder.
"Are you two for real? Hurry up, or I'll charge extra for this!"
Paper folded herself into a paper airplane, which was promptly thrown by Scissors. Jumping on at the last second, the two glided over the fair grounds.
"She should be here, right?"
Over the warehouse, Paper circled in the air.
"Yup, looks like it. Let's go for surprise assault."
As Paper unfolded and wrapped herself around Scissors' upper body, the two plummeted to earth. One leg turned into a blade as she descended. Entering a ballerina spin, Scissors drilled directly through the roof of the warehouse.
CRASH!
"We came as soon as we could! What's the emer...gen...cy?"
The two heroes saw Rock occupied in a game of checkers against a faceless boy. Next to them, a 13 year old in a red and yellow suit took pictures.
"How's that, mom?"
"Good! Keep taking photos! Ugh, why'd I forget to bring the camcorder?"
"I win," the faceless boy suddenly declared.
"You got me again! Let's do candyland next!"
"ROCK! What is going on here!?!"
The girl snapped to attention, an awkward smile plastered on her gray face.
"It's not what it looks like! I'm trying to rescue that woman, honest!"
"Rescue her from what, a tank of water?"
"That's wrong," Teen Prankster interrupted.
"For every game my brother wins, she gets further away from the tank. It is the opposite for you all."
"Really?"
The faceless boy nodded at Rock's question.
"That is dumb," Scissors commented. "We are heroes, at least give us a cool prize if we win."
"I didn't think of that," he said before entering a huddle with the faceless boy.
"What do you think?"
"We could give them some of my autographs."
"No! I'm supposed to be the villain, remember? You can't just help me out here... Wait, that's it!"
Teen Prankster went over to his mother's purse, and fished out a black book.
"I'll give you mom's autographs if you win!"
"No, don't give those away! I need that book for work!"
"But mom, you are the hostage. I don't think you are supposed to make demands like that, right brother?"
"Right, mommy!"
"Really? Well if you give those away, be prepared for a grounding the second I get untied!"
"Oh no! I don't want to get grounded, brother!"
"MUAHAHAHA all the more reason for you to win the game, little Bubbles!"
They broke their huddle, only to find the three heroes had entered a huddle of their own.
"You got a look at the inside of that notebook, right?"
"Yes, Captain," Paper responded.
"So I wasn't the only one who saw all those S-Classes... We must win this!"
Breaking huddle, Scissors addressed Teen Prankster.
"What are the rules of this game?"
"Simple. You challenge this robot right here in any game you please, at a cost of $5 a round. The winner wins, the loser loses. It is that easy."
"Let's do candyland, next! I know I can get him this time!"
"Are you insane? Since when have you been good at board games? Wait, how much have you spent?"
Rock pulled out her wallet, and inverted it. A few pennies fell out.
"About this much..."
"Okay, I'm deciding the games now. We'll play Super RPS!"
"I don't know that game," the faceless boy responded. A few minutes of explanation later, however, he understood the gist of it.
"Ah. I have a game like that too. It's called 'Pop the Bubble!'"
With a wave of his hand, a translucent pink bubble the size of a beach ball appeared before them.
"Me first! Me first," Rock shouted. But she could not step forward, for Scissors held her back.
"Go full power," she ordered.
"Aw, that good?"
Rock crouched low, and wound her fist back. Like a spring, she pounced on the bubble. Her fist, backed by perfect punching form, rushed like an out of control 18 wheeler.
BANG!
Rock's fist sent the bubble plummeting into the concrete.
BANG!
It bounced high, hitting the ceiling.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It bounced three more times, almost hitting Teen Prankster, before finally coming to a stop. It returned to its floating position just in front of the three heroes.
"I'll go next," Paper said, floating forward on an incoming breeze. She unfolded completely, revealing the gigantic flat-worm that was her true form. It wrapped around the bubble, constricting it like a two dimensional albino python.
And yet, despite the massive pressure exerted on it, the bubble showed no changes for a full minute. Even then, it did not pop. It instead shrank, ending up the size of a golf ball by the time Paper gave up.
"The bubble is not popped. You are next, scary lady in black."
"Check out the mouth on this kid. Anyway, I want to use tools in my attempt. Is this permitted?"
The faceless boy turned to his brother, who scoffed out a reply.
"It's your game, Bubbles. The great Teen Prankster shall not interfere."
"Then I'll allow it."
Scissors pulled magnifying glass from her hoodie pocket, and carefully inspected the surface of the bubble.
"Yes! There are cracks!"
She turned a single finger into a blade, and stabbed precisely at the bubble. It did not pop, so she inspected it once more.
"That counts as an attempt!"
"But brother, you said it was my game."
"Yes, but it is my money! Either pay another round, or admit defeat."
Ever the miser, Scissors quickly thought of a third option.
"Wait, we have another teammate!"
5 MINUTES LATER...
"What is taking you all so long!?! First you stick me with the camera, and now you call me all over the place! I'm charging quintuple for this!"
Her pre-entrance rant out of the way, Plague Doctor opened the warehouse door.
"... Make that sixtuple!"
"So your team is rock, paper, scissors, and plague doctor?"
"I don't know that game, brother."
"Me neither, Bubbles."
"You mean to tell me the great plague doctor can't beat a robot," Scissors hurriedly taunted.
"That boy is a robot," she asked, pointing to Teen Prankster.
"No, the other one!"
"Oh, so he is..."
Plague doctor stepped closer, examining the faceless boy from every angle.
"Wow, so you see the world using advanced imaging radar. And such a beautiful face! Why, with all those tiny hairs, you must be able to sense even the smallest vibrations in the air."
"You know a lot, mask lady. Are you scanning me without consent?"
"Oops, can't help the occasional villainy now and again. Since you can sense it, though, you can determine if it is okay to use. Right?"
The faceless boy turned to his mother this time, his voice turning robotic.
"Requesting authorization..."
With a sigh, she said "Miguel, let me down."
Not feeling as into the game anymore, himself, Teen Prankster complied.
"I'll grant it as long as she stays and takes some video of my two boys, here."
Plague Doctor gave a stern nod, and held her hand aloft.
"Authorization granted..."
The faceless boy's eager eye opened, and he mimicked her motion. A silent duel was already underway, with their respective will as the weapons. Tendrils of mental energy invaded the boy from every direction, only to be captured in microscopic bubbles and isolated from his AI core.
"Bubbles... pop the balloon."
The tendrils, with the aid of this command, increased in strength.
"Unregistered user detected... Request denied."
"What... If.... I say please?"
".....REquest....APPR0v3d."
POP!
The bubble finally popped, but Plague Doctor did not feel excited about the victory. For one, she used an intense amount of mental energy, enough to be considered injured as a psychic. For two, this felt particularly wrong.
"Ugh. His maker is a genius. Even I, the great Plague Doctor, was only barely able to crack him."
"Enough! He's my brother! Stop talking about him like he's some kind of machine!"
"Are those words his nemesis should utter?"
"You're damn right they are! I bullied this brat since the day mom brought him home! Nobody else but me gets to do that!"
"HA! You have the making of a super villain, yet. Take this card, any don't let your brother know of it..."
She then turned to the faceless boy's mother, who looked ready to punch her right in the beak.
"In deference to such a perfect... boy, allow me to offer you this."
Plague Doctor closed her eyes for a second, before pulling a USB drive from her pocket. She threw it to the mother, and said
"Let whoever does his updates see this. I've included details on how to fix his current security flaws. Be grateful, I normally charge 6 figures for a white hack like this!"