“You didn’t ask.” Jennifer smiled at the hero’s question and asked. “Would it had mattered?”

“Could had explained why the Sweet Fist was in the Kings.” Night Leopard turned her attention back to Victor. “I know you just got out of prison. I can understand you deciding to visit your daughter after twenty years inside. Just passing through, Mr. Sweet Fist?”

The question caught Victor. Was he just passing through? That was the idea when he first came to Velocity City, but things have changed. With Reunion and Jennifer, he now had reasons to stay in the city. He still hasn’t been introduced to his grandkids!

“No.” Victor answered. “I shall be staying in the city for the foreseeable future.”

His daughter rewarded him with the greatest smile he had ever seen. Night Leopard was less enthusiastic.

“We don’t need you here.” The hero said harshly. “Velocity City is a Named City. It was named after a great hero and has no place for a villain like you. The city is expanding. The economy is rising. You are not wanted!”

“Is that why the Kings are left in disrepair?”

“That’s because of Red Maddy. He put up more of a fight than expected. The property damage was more than we expected but-”

“Or it could be actually what the money men in City Hall wanted.”

“What?”

Victor shook his head at the naive hero. He decided to impart a few wise words to her. “Property damage lower property prices. Leaving them in disrepair for half a year will lower them even more. Once the prices are low enough, real estate moguls can buy up the area for pennies on the dollar. For those property owners who refused to sell, incentives can be given to make them reconsider their decision.”

Jennifer got it before the hero. “Like a gang suddenly targeting my diner! You think that’s why the Banger Boys were here? Someone is trying to make me sell the place cheap?”

“That’s nonsense!” Night Leopard said. “You have no proof. What makes you even suspect something like that?”

A bad memory popped into Victor’s head. He remembered his part in the Candy Crisis. History tend to repeat itself. Only this time, he was on the other side. He took a sip of his coffee and answered bitterly.

“Experience.”

Perhaps it was the way he said it, but the diner became quiet after his answer. Filler was the one who stepped up and broke the silence.

“Thank you for heads up, Mr. Sweet Fist. Mrs. Woo, the gang seem to be making trouble outside your diner before the fight. Would you like to press charges?”

Jennifer looked at her father and saw his slight shake of the head. Any problems villains had with each other should be handled within the community.

“No. No harm was done.”

“Very well. We won’t be taking more of your-”

“What?” Night Leopard exploded. “Filler, what are you saying? These two-”

“Shut up Leopard. Don’t you get it? This man just handed you a big case. Cracked it, and it could be your ticket out of the Kings.”

It took a moment before the hero understood what the sergeant was saying. Extortion, intimation, the hiring of villains; if what the Sweet Fist said was right, it was huge! Night Leopard had a conflicted look on her face, before storming out of the diner. It was now the sergeant’s turn to sigh.

“Sorry. These academy trained heroes don’t know how things work in the real world. Would we be expecting more of these heads up?”

“I don’t sell out villains. Or even normal criminals.” Victor answered. “Real estate ass-hats however are a different breed of scum.”

The sergeant’s eyes widened a little before returning to normal. He took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. Filler placed the paper on the counter and gave a small nod to both Victor and Jennifer. He then left the diner. Victor took another sip of his coffee and looked at the paper. Filler’s contact was on it. Victor kept the contact. Every good villain needs a contact or two at the local police force. Jennifer laughed.

“Wow! You’re doing it already!”

“Doing what?” Victor asked in surprise. He had no idea what his daughter was laughing about.

“Protecting me!” Jennifer said. “Wow! You are really good.”

***

Really good? Was he good at protecting people? Victor didn’t think so, but Jennifer did. She was totally wrong of course, but Victor found that he didn’t care. He had enjoyed it. His daughter was proud of him, and that was all that mattered. Victor walked towards the ruined building with a spring in his step.

He looked around and saw that King’s Edge was in bad shape. The empty buildings and deserted streets gave the area an eerie atmosphere. Located at the outskirts of the city, Victor had expected the area to be run-down and didn’t care much about it when he was in prison. The past few days had changed his perspective. His daughter and grandchildren lived near the area. Victor silently mused if he should do something about it as he entered the building.

Once inside, Victor looked at the ruined building and wondered if he should spruce up the place. The ruined building housed the summoning circle and Victor would need to come here often. People would start asking questions when they start noticing that the Sweet Fist keep entering a ruined building. Maybe he should renovate the building and make it his new lair. Lots of villains put their secret bases in the sewers, but a deserted building was hardly unknown. People were already speaking about him making a move on Velocity City, so having a lair was even kind of expected. Victor could even argue that he has a right to the building. The building belongs to the Candy Crew, and to his knowledge, he was the only member of the crew that was still active in the supervillain game.