"Now that the people have increased their adoration for me, I have to do something grand so they see me as the great hero. I have to defeat a villain from my story. A grand and powerful villain."
Blood Night walked through the laboratory with long strides, gesturing dramatically while his mind bubbled with epic possibilities. The cat rescue had been a success, but too small for someone of his caliber. He needed something bigger. Much bigger.
Kel watched nervously as he organized equipment on a nearby workbench. There was something about Blood Night's growing intensity that made him uneasy.
"We need a villain."
The words came out as a definitive declaration. Blood Night stopped walking and looked directly at Kel, his eyes shining with an almost manic excitement.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you're the second smartest person in the multiverse, right?"
Kel nodded hesitantly.
"Then it's decided."
Blood Night approached Kel with the enthusiasm of someone who had just had the idea of the century. His hands moved in the air, drawing imaginary shapes as he spoke.
"You're going to build me a villain. A robot villain, like a cyborg. Very strong, fast, super strength, absurd speed, and the ability to adapt to any ability, including mine."
Kel's eyes widened.
"He'll be programmed to destroy the city, and when he starts, I'll beat the crap out of the thing and save the city."
"You've gone crazy!"
"It's brilliant! Every great hero needs a great villain to defeat. Imagine the headlines! The views! The recognition!"
Kel stepped back several paces, shaking his head vigorously.
"I'm not building that. People could get hurt!"
"Alright, teenager. You really don't know anything."
Blood Night sighed with theatrical exaggeration and began wandering around the laboratory, messing with various equipment and devices without permission. His hands explored workbenches, opened drawers, touched things he clearly shouldn't touch.
Kel followed him nervously, trying to protect his more delicate equipment.
"A00, don't touch that!"
But Blood Night continued his casual exploration, picking up random objects and examining them with growing curiosity. His hands found a cylindrical device with pulsing blue lights.
"What's this thing here?"
"It's a truth serum."
Blood Night put the device back and picked up another similar one, this one with red lights.
"And this?"
"That's an obedience serum, but I've never tested it, so you can put it back where you got it."
The words left Kel's mouth before he could control himself. Blood Night stopped moving, staring fixedly at the second device. A slow smile spread across his visible face.
"Obedience... serum?"
"A00, don't..."
Blood Night had already located the activation button. Without hesitation, he pressed it. A fine, odorless spray was released directly into Kel's face, who involuntarily inhaled before he could move away.
"What did you do?!"
Blood Night observed with scientific fascination as Kel blinked rapidly, shaking his head as if trying to clear a mental fog. The boy's expression gradually changed from anger to confusion, then to a strange docility.
"Sorry, you told me to build the robot and I'm still standing here."
"Exactly."
Blood Night smiled with satisfaction and settled comfortably in a chair to watch the show. Kel, with almost robotic movements, began gathering materials and equipment from various parts of the laboratory.
What followed was an impressive demonstration of accelerated engineering. Kel worked with an efficiency that bordered on the supernatural, welding, programming, and assembling components with impossible speed. His hands moved without stopping, as if controlled by an external force.
Blood Night watched fascinated as his "intern" transformed into a human production machine. Metal pieces were forged and molded in real time. Complex circuits were soldered with millimetric precision. Software systems were programmed and integrated without a single pause.
On the main workbench, a humanoid form began to take shape. The skeleton was made of a metallic alloy that Kel had synthesized, combining elements that shouldn't exist in a home laboratory. The artificial muscles were synthetic fibers capable of generating superhuman force.
The appearance of the creation was purposefully intimidating. Dark armor with red details that pulsed like a mechanical heart. The face had been designed to be both human and artificial, creating a disturbing effect.
"How's the progress?" Blood Night asked casually.
"Eighty percent complete. Adaptation systems installed, neural processor configured for real-time threat analysis."
Kel's voice sounded strangely monotonous, as if he were reading a technical manual.
"And the security systems?"
"I installed protocols to simulate massive threat to the population. The robot will be aggressive and destructive, but with controls to avoid unnecessary fatalities."
"Smart. Very smart."
Kel continued working for another two hours. When he finished, the robot was complete - an imposing machine that radiated threat even while turned off. It was almost two meters tall, with proportions that suggested tremendous physical power.
"Activation ready," Kel announced.
"Perfect! Now let's take it to the city center."
They used the tunnel system that connected the laboratory to the city sewers. Blood Night dragged the inactive robot through the underground corridors while Kel followed him with mechanical movements.
They emerged at an exit strategically located in a busy downtown square. It was mid-afternoon, peak time for pedestrians and traffic. Perfect for maximum exposure.
Blood Night positioned the robot in the center of the square while Kel grabbed a remote control.
"Now activate it."
Kel pressed a sequence of buttons. Immediately, the robot's eyes lit up with intense red light. It rose slowly, its motors emitting a mechanical roar that made all nearby people stop and look.
"SYSTEM ACTIVE. INITIATING MASSIVE THREAT PROTOCOL."
The deep synthetic voice echoed throughout the square. People began to scream. Panic spread instantly as the robot took its first steps, each one making the ground shake.
The robot grabbed a parked car and threw it against a storefront. The glass shattered with a crash that was heard blocks away. People ran in all directions, screaming and stumbling over each other.
Blood Night watched from an elevated point, initially satisfied with the spectacle. People were filming with cell phones. This was going to be viral for sure.
But then something changed. In the middle of the chaos, the invisible timer in the serum Kel had inhaled reached zero.
Kel blinked several times, shook his head, and suddenly his expression changed from robotic to absolute horror.
"What... what did you do? You abnormal!"
He looked around, seeing the robot systematically demolishing everything within reach. Cars were thrown like toys. Storefronts were pulverized. A fire hydrant was destroyed, creating a water fountain that gushed violently.
"Stay calm," Blood Night shouted from his observation point. "Now I'm going to save the city."
But Kel was looking at the remote control in his hands, realizing with growing terror that he had programmed the robot with much more autonomy than he remembered. Under the influence of the serum, he had created something truly dangerous.
The robot continued its destruction for a few more minutes, until something landed from above and touched down on the ground.
It was Shine.
**[M.L.P - Multiverse: Forbidden Legacy]**