"You're looking gloomier than usual," Reverse noted. By now, thanks to Gopal's big mouth, everyone was aware of their relationship. They didn't mind, or care, for that matter. The point is Reverse woke to see Fang looking like his world of reality is crumpling around him.

Fang slurred a reply and collapsed his head on Reverse's shoulder. Fang gripped the back of Reverse's shirt, as if this was the last time he would see him.

Reverse raised an eyebrow. He wondered why the sudden emo phase, but he didn't push it.

After a few minutes, Fang pulled apart and handed him a holopad. Reverse flexed his shoulder as he read the contents. As soon as he did that, his eye twitched and understood Fang's sudden change in behaviour. (Fang was still cursing lowly at the edge of the bed.)

"An undercover mission with the Rebel Captain, Kaizo..." Reverse read aloud. "Ah, no wonder you're so emo all of a sudden."

"This isn't funny!" Fang punched the mattress. "Can we just get on with our plan already? I'd rather drink mud for a month! No, I'm going to kill myself before we even get out of this room!"

Reverse shook his shoulder. "If you're really feeling that insecure, I'll go and borrow some disguising ability. As long as I'm here, you won't need to worry about him."

"I'm not insecure," Fang snapped. "Why don't we just advance to the next step of the plan? There's basically nothing left for us to do here but that."

"We don't even know where's it supposed to be. We don't charge in aimlessly," Reverse said, changing his clothes.

"I wish we did just that."

"I wish you would just listen to your boyfriend." Reverse paused. "For once."

"Since when do I listen to you?"

"Never, but just this once!" The brunette sighed in exasperation. "Look, we still have a week before this mission. If you're up for it, the VilCon-Week starts tomorrow."

Fang grinned at the thought of it. It was a week-long celebration hosted by villains to celebrate... well, them. It was held on the planet Skepto. Normally they wouldn't care for festivities, but this was one thing they wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, the red carrot donuts they made was pretty tasty.

No one knows who held it or why it was held there. People said it was the No. 1 villain, but no one had any proof. Skepto is a planet famous for slaves and underground markets, so holding a week-long party for villains didn't seem so far-fetched. People also said that Skepto held many secrets, but it's most likely the healing properties of their blood. Reverse had done research on it before.

Unfortunately, it was tomorrow. So they would have to find a way to spend today, assuming there weren't any missions that involved acting like sudden death mode in Super Smash Brothers. They could use the day to research how to break in to their main interface, but it would raise questions as they may be monitoring them every second.

"There's a meeting before the celebration," Fang told him. "Which is today. Don't you remember it?"

Reverse whipped to him. "There is? How did I not know?"

Fang snorted. "You always ignore it. For the past four meetings. If we want to be qualified... there's a test. It's disguised as a bodyguard qualifier. We have to find someone named Zu."

And that was how they ended up in front of a building, staring as multiple bulky individuals trudged in. They didn't look like villains, so they must be here for the audition.

No one kids about VilCon. Preparations were already made around the planet, hence the security in the building.

"Zu. No details given." Reverse scanned the profile on his holopad. "She should be in this building. Do you think this is a deliberate trap? It's a bodyguard test for a celebrity named Kassim."

"Never heard of him," Fang snapped. "Come on. Anything else?"

Reverse frowned. "He or she must have some sort of special ability. I can sense it... but in a building so large, I'll have to be close to be sure."

He was right. As soon as he entered the building, he could sense a tremendous power spike. From one individual only. The room was sculpted to look like an arena, with bulky contestants and two kids looking out of place. No – Reverse wasn't referring to neither of them. There, in the far end of the room, were two other human-looking kids.

They looked exactly like them, but that imposter Reverse had white hair. Imposter Fang was wearing a sleeveless cloak with a long end, one that Real Fang hated. He wore a black sleeveless turtleneck and jeans, and that was it.

The weird thing was that the power spike emitted from Fake Reverse. Some kind of electric-manipulating power was active, and Reverse's guts told him that it wasn't Fake Reverse's full power. Before he and Fang could say anything, a figure dropped from the ceiling. It grabbed them by their necks and rammed them towards a wall.

It took them by surprise. Fang instinctively used his perforation to escape. Reverse created a black hole under the figure's footing, which it dodged.

"Will you quit that?" Shizuko scowled, completely unaffected by the black void. "You're attracting attention. You two are supposed to be the most mysterious vigilantes."

Reverse massaged his neck after she let him go. "I assume you're Zu."

He couldn't sense any powers coming from her, but judging from the strength that she just used to choke them, she wasn't someone that he would call up to a thumb-wrestling competition.

Shizuko beamed. "That's me! The current #1 villain in every multiverse, thanks to you! I was too lazy to take care of Bora-ra in your universe, so thanks for the assistance!"

Fang blinked. "What do you mean?"

Shizuko sneered. "I thought you were supposed to be smart. Looks like your face's just that gay. Can't believe I overestimated you. If you want to know what I meant, get past these guards!"

She leaned on the wall and punched a button. Guards immediately flooded the place, surrounding the two.

"Oh, don't make any noise! You don't want to disturb the bodyguard qualifier, would you?" Shizuko scoffed. She walked past the guards. As soon as she was on the other end of the corridor, she snapped her fingers and they swarmed Reverse and Fang.

Reverse clenched his teeth. He'd spent his life reading people, and Shizuko was throwing a hint truck in their faces. While Fake Reverse and Fake Fang dealt with the bodyguard qualifiers, they had to deal with these guards in order to qualify for the meeting. But if they want to keep this quiet, it was nothing a little hand-to-hand beatings can't handle. Not only do they have to make this a silent battle, they couldn't let anyone else notice them.

Fortunately, he and Fang were highly skilled in soundless combat. There were at least twenty of them, so they'd better get to work.

As they hacked their way through the crowd, Reverse sensed the power flow in the area spiking up like crazy. Confirming it to be Fake Reverse and Fake Fang's, he started to wonder. Who are they? Reverse punched one of the guards in the jaw. Why did they look like them? Why did Fake Reverse had white hair?

"Our imposters are coming," Reverse whispered.

Fang nodded. "What do we do?"

"Just trust me."

Reverse's watch clicked to life. In a bright grey light, they were all temporarily teleported everyone they were fighting to the building of the place. Shizuko looked around, shrugged and snorted. She squinted into the horizon. "Oh! I see my worthless parents."

Reverse focused on the power flow below. He sensed that Fake Reverse had entered another room, and he teleported them back. As soon as they did, the battle resumed. Some of the later guards had armour, which took a few more seconds to put down, but there's no challenge. It was test of endurance and strength and strategy. How to not be seen by others. How to hide your true battle from outsiders. How to obscure your presence. It's all packed in one single fight.

When the final guard fell by Shizuko's feet, the hallway was littered with twitching bodies.

Shizuko applauded in sarcasm. "Well, you're qualified. Twelve, midnight, sharp. This planet."

"Wait," Fang called out. "Who were those? What do you mean by multiple universes? Why do those two look like us?"

"Well, it's a secret kept by Skeptolians for generations. It's technically our sacred secret scroll or whatever," Shizuko went over. "I don't care. They can go fuck themselves. Skepto isn't just a planet where you buy slaves. It's the only sector in space that remain stationary, even in different universes. It's why they're pushovers. They've seen too much in different realities."

"So the imposters we saw just now," Reverse concluded, "are us? From another dimension?"

Shizuko rolled her eyes. "No shit. You know Kassim? He's Kaizo. From another universe. I established this company to attract multiverse versions so I know what I'm dealing with. It also makes a great villain trap to the tests!"

Fang glared at the door. "Seriously?"

Reverse sensed another spike in the power flow. They had to leave or they'll be spotted.

"You and that version aren't the only ones! There's one more!" Shizuko beamed. "He looks like you, but edgier! He also has seven brothers that has his second-tier elemental powers!"

Reverse spluttered.

"Like we would believe tha—" Fang was cut off by Reverse, who had teleported them out because Fake Reverse and Fake Fang were leaving the room.

Shizuko groaned. She would have to cover this up. She kicked the door of where Thunderstorm, Fang and Kaizo – from another universe – were located. Fortunately, she was paying attention.

"I heard someone insulting this planet!" Shizuko declared as a mass of bodies laid twitching behind her.