The Smart Kid

I paced back and forth, looking at the screens. "Nothing?" I asked my general. The man typed in a few commands, but nothing popped up. "Nothing sir, not on radar, teleport scanners, no wormholes...nothing..."
I took a deep breath to try and maintain my composure. "How long has it been since we sent the messenger?"
"Approximately a month, my lord...perhaps they can't locate the lair..." the general suggested and I cast him a glance.
"It's a mountain...SHAPED LIKE A FUCKING SKULL!" I shouted and threw my coffee cup at the general's face. He didn't dare dodge it, and to his credit, didn't flinch when it hit him in the face. My only regret was that it was empty. "And they've been here! A dozen times last year alone, you know how many times I've rebuilt the throne room?"
"No, my lo..."
"IT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION!" The general whimpered and I dismissed him with a wave. Good help was so hard to find these days.
I slumped down on my throne, trying to think of a reason why these heroes hadn't arrived yet. Perhaps they hadn't noticed that their strategist was missing. Or maybe the kid had been telling the truth, maybe they really didn't care.

As I sat there thinking, I heard it again. Crying.
For a month, I had waited for these so-called heroes to arrive and for a month, nothing. It was like they were actively avoiding the place.
And for a month, I had to listen to this kid crying himself to sleep.
"Enough..." I snapped to myself and got up.

I knocked on the cell door and opened it.
The kid was sitting in the corner of the small cell. He was skinny, not from lack of food of course. Let nobody say that I am a poor host. He looked up at me with those piercing blue eyes and I saw a spark of defiance.
"You can torture me all you w..."
I threw the uniform onto the bed. "Get dressed, you're hired."
The kid looked confused at me. I could tell he wasn't often confused and that the sensation of being confused was also confusing to him. Not wanting to have to wait for him to get out of that spiral, I cleared my throat. "I've waited a month for your so-called friends to join us, and thus far, nothing. Obviously, they do not value you. I, however, recognize talent when I see it, and you have it in abundance. And I am always in need of skilled people to help me..."
"Conquer the multiverse?" The kid cut in.
Nobody ever cut me off mid sentence...I decided I liked this kid. "Liberate the multiverse. You are going to help me do that, so get dressed and report to the war room. Show my generals how it's done."
The kid hesitated but I could see he was intrigued. "I...I won't hurt innocent people." He said firmly.
I raised a single eyebrow. "I don't recall asking you to." I had an army of people who would do the hurting.
"What...what is the target?" The kid asked and I knew I had him.
I grinned. "Your former home, the hall of heroes...if they won't come for you, we'll come for them."