Villain Complex [NOW A PUBLISHED BOOK] [2022 WATTYS WINNER]

Chapter One

Supervillains weren't supposed to pay for coffee. In fact, Julian Godfrey had come into this very cafe last week—in full costume—to politely demand a free latte on his way home from holding a CEO hostage upstate. He'd already forgotten the man's name, but the ransom money was going to fund some extravagant kitchen upgrades in his apartment.

But today, Julian wasn't here for a drink. He was here to sit in the corner of the cafe and send emails and read and, of course, finalize his plan to take an entire city block hostage. Rather than a villainous costume, he was dressed in the clothes he wore to his day job at the library: black pants, a dark purple button-up, and a black blazer.

He did still want his coffee, though.

Julian contemplated tonight's plan as he stood in line. This would be the biggest demonstration of his power yet. He'd been preparing for months, and it had taken a lot of training to ensure he'd be able to pull it off.

Most importantly, he'd be doing it alone. He had to. If he succeeded, the city would be forced to realize him as a true threat. More than just the lackey of a bigger villain. He was already feared, to a degree, but maybe the people of New Atlas would finally regard him with the same awe as they did Blazar.

Julian planned to relinquish control of the apartment block in exchange for a considerable sum of cash. Not the most original idea, but money wasn't his real goal, anyway. He was going to lure in the city's biggest hero and completely destroy him. Or at least, kick his ass hard enough to keep him out of commission for a few months.

One of the cashiers waved Julian over. "Next, please!"

"Macchiato. Sixteen-ounce," he told her as he reached the register.

"That'll be five ninety-eight."

Julian opened his wallet and pulled out a single five-dollar bill. Damn. He'd thought he had more cash. "Hold on, let me find my card—"

"You're a dollar short?" came a voice from his right.

Julian glanced up. The woman who'd spoken removed a dollar from her own wallet and held it out to him, despite his fingers already starting to tug his credit card free. He briefly considered turning it down. He had plenty of money to burn, after all.

But why say no to convenience?

"Thank you," Julian said, looking her over as he accepted the dollar. She was nearly a foot shorter than him, probably around five-three. She wore a white flannel over an oversized teal New Atlas University tee, her skin was light brown, and—

"Your hair's blue," he noted, lifting an eyebrow. Her curly hair, pulled back into a ponytail, was dark for only a few inches at the roots. The rest was a faded turquoise.

She laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot. And it's no trouble, really."

Julian watched her walk away while the cashier finished the transaction.

"Here's your change. We'll have that out in a minute." The cashier dropped a couple of pennies into his hand. "Next!"

Julian moved to the edge of the crowd waiting for drinks. Surprise lingered with him. Yes, sure, plenty of people were nice enough to offer a complete stranger a dollar without being threatened, but he'd already been reaching for his credit card. He hadn't needed the money.

He was intrigued enough to consider approaching the woman and starting a conversation, but she grabbed her coffee and left before he could settle on what to say. An employee called out his order a moment later. He took his macchiato and made his way to a table in a far corner of the cafe, one of the few that hadn't been taken over by college students or employees just getting off work.