#so yea. would never touch film again with a barge pole attached to a larger barge pole but it was a nice note to end on :)

[raineandsky]

#31

Getting into a villain’s lair has never been so easy. The hero more or less just walked in—there’s no security, the place in plain view. She’s half expecting to find the villain already putting cuffs on his hands when she finds him in this maze.

She finally—finally—comes across another human being lingering at the end of one of the endless corridors. One of the villain’s henchmen.

He spots her before she can hide, and he throws her a welcoming smile. “Ah, [Hero], right?” His voice echoes slightly across the space. “[Villain]’s just the third door on your left. Can’t miss it.”

She doesn’t trust this in the slightest. She slowly shuffles towards him, cautious. “What, you’re just giving me your boss’s location?”

The henchman shrugs. “He wants to see you. Big fan and all.”

“... of me?” the hero asks disbelievingly. She’s finally close enough to him, and he leans forwards slightly, lowering his voice. 

“Look, he’s not really a villain,” he says quietly. He checks down the corridor nervously, ensuring the two of them are alone. “He’s a nice dude. It’s just his birthday, y’know? He wanted to pretend to be this big scary guy for his big day.”

The hero can’t believe this. “So I’m not… arresting him?”

“Oh, no, he wants to be arrested. That’s part of it,” The henchman snorts amusedly, “unless he whoops your ass, which I doubt he ever could. Let him have this for today, please? Just play along.”

“Fine,” the hero snaps shortly, and the henchman beams, “but if you’re saying this to try and get my guard down, it won’t work, okay? The moment I think he’s actually a threat he’s going down. You too.”

The henchman nods quickly. “Of course.” He gestures down the corridor next to him. “Third door to the left.”

She rolls her eyes in exasperation as she sets off past him. Hopefully this means today’s job is easy.