The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Kevin roared the engine of his motorcycle, leaned forward, and then quickly drove past the car in front of him while it was still slowing down.

For a city as unremarkable as Eau Clair, the traffic flow on these roads is simply too great.

But perhaps he'll have to get used to it gradually.

As he cycled through the congested traffic, along the dividing line between the bus lane and the innermost motor vehicle lane, Kevin took in the entire cityscape.

Eau Clair isn't very big. It has a few bridges, a few distinctive areas, schools, and a downtown area. Calling it a suburb would be more accurate, really.

There aren't even many decent skyscrapers in the city center. As a city, it's rather shabby.

However, this place will soon be under his control.

He drove off a ramp and then meandered through the city, keeping an eye on the hustle and bustle around him.

He might have never been here before, but with his superpowers, avoiding the most congested sections and smoothly navigating the streets was a piece of cake. Damn, he could do it even with his eyes closed.

Kevin is no nobody. He's been in this business for two years. But for those two years, he's been suppressed and forced to play a pitiful little role behind the scenes.

He can understand it to some extent now, after all, he has been in the industry for about a year.

He was annoyed that the first gang he joined didn't want him to be at the forefront. He was strong, and he could prove it.

Now he realizes that he was a bit too arrogant back then. Yes, he was very strong, but at that time he didn't know how to use his abilities.

However, after a while... no, in any case, Kevin should have become the boss, the villain who would strike fear into the hearts of everyone and keep heroes up at night.

He was suppressed time and time again. But now, those days are over.

His last gang—the Skiver Gang—had also tried to suppress him. On the day he left, he razed their base to the ground. He even gave Skiver himself a severe beating.

Kevin was fed up with being suppressed.

A few weeks ago, "Superpower Day" arrived, bringing with it a host of new heroes and villains, all ready to compete once again in this game.

They were all...too weak. Of course, he used to be one of them, but now, after two years in the business, he could easily beat the strongest of them to a pulp.

So why is he still considered a third-rate villain? Why can't he even become the second-in-command of his own gang?

What has he been doing for the past two years?

Although he hasn't reached the age of experiencing a midlife crisis yet, then again, villains don't have many chances to survive anyway, so perhaps he should have faced this sooner.

Kevin decided to turn over a new leaf and venture out into the world to take everything he wanted.

But he couldn't do that in his original city. There were powerful heroes and well-established villainous gangs—some low-key, some high-profile—and while Kevin was confident in himself, he was also well aware of his limitations.

No, if he wants to start over, he needs to find a place like this. A place that barely qualifies as a city, and where there are no competitors.

The heroes here are weak and incompetent, forced to the margins to hide in their safe havens so that their weakness won't cause any trouble.

This city isn't wealthy, but it's not poor either. There are many university students, and money flows in and out. Yes, he can really make a name for himself here.

Kevin found an empty alley, parked his motorcycle there, and then kicked the kickstand out from the side of the motorcycle.

His motorcycle is called Charlotte, a classic Esper motor scooter, all black with chrome trim.

Kevin got out of the car and stretched. Then he began to lift Charlotte's car seat, revealing a hidden compartment concealing his clothing.

He has already played several villainous roles. When he first entered the industry, he was called "The Tremors," and for a long time afterward, he was known as "The Shaker."

But "The Tremor" is a minor character that no one remembers, and "The Shaker" is just a third-rate villain with very little information about him on the "Villain Encyclopedia" page.

Even the photo of him posted above is blurry and appears to be taken from a distance.

Because no one trusted him enough to put him in the spotlight.

He put on a coat. It was an expensive leather coat with reinforced lining, made by a mechanic he had met by chance.

This jacket has incredibly good ballistic protection and is also very lightweight, although the rest of the jacket is quite thick.

Then he put on the new mask. The mask was bone white, and the chin looked like it had been torn off the face of some poor skull.

The mask was fixed to his head from behind, with a padded board behind it that would be covered by the collar of his coat.

It couldn't protect his top, but that's okay. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to get the look right.

Kevin took out a mirror, touched up his eyeshadow, and adjusted the fit of his mask. Now he always had a strange grin on his face.

The last item in his outfit was an aluminum baseball bat, all the markings of which had been scraped off. Nothing fancy or complicated.

He tapped his palm lightly with the baseball bat, feeling the vibration travel up the bat to his arm. That was enough.

He tidied Charlotte up, put the car keys away, then whistled, waved his baseball bat, and strode forward.

He hasn't completely decided on a new name yet, but he feels he should choose something suitable. Maybe "Rattlesnake"? That would fit his new image quite well.

“Rattlesnake,” he muttered, “Rattlesnake. Rattlesnake. Yes, I am Rattlesnake, I will shake your bones to pieces… No, no, this… no,” he murmured to himself, this was too much.

He noticed several people on the sidewalk giving him strange looks, but no one had screamed and run away yet. In some cities he had lived in before, the mere sight of anyone who might be wearing a mask would send everyone into a panic, scrambling to find somewhere to hide.

O'Clair will be easy for him to take down.

He let the bat drag on the ground behind him, the head banging against the sidewalk with a clanging sound. Then, he intensified the noise, making it even louder.

The sound grew louder and louder, and soon people realized that something was wrong.

The windowpane began to rattle in the frame with the clanging of his baseball bat, and Kevin—the Rattlesnake—grinded under his mask.

Ahead of him, at the end of the street, was the headquarters of the Hero Response Force of O'Clair City.

He picked up the baseball bat, twirled it, and then slammed one end of the bat hard against the ground.

An invisible wave of power emanated from him, accompanied by a loud bang.

Windows shattered, people screamed, and a passing car swerved sharply after the driver was hit by shards of glass, crashing into another parked car. The sirens of both vehicles joined the commotion.

Rattlesnake continued walking forward, secretly chuckling to himself. That's right, this is his skill! If he hadn't been suppressed for so long, he could have displayed his abilities like this long ago!

He swung his baseball bat and smashed it into the side of a Heroes Response Force van parked on the side of the road.

The blow didn't cause much damage, but the vibrations inside the van grew stronger and stronger until the whole vehicle began to shake violently and eventually fell apart.

Metal parts were twisted and deformed, bolts broke one after another, and the fuel tank ruptured.

He laughed even harder and started smashing any car he saw, turning all the passing cars into piles of scrap metal on the roadside.

The hero response team finally began to react, with armored agents rushing out of the headquarters' front door. Rattlesnake laughed even harder.

Did they think they could stop him by sending a few junior police officers? He stomped his foot, and a force traveled along the road.

The road was a terrible medium for transmitting his power; the asphalt surface cracked and broke, but the force still reached the agents' feet, making them lose their footing, and he took the opportunity to rush through.

He wanted to let Auclair know who the new boss was, and he wanted to announce it in the most eye-catching way possible!

The hero's forces were utterly defeated. Their guns shattered from the shock, and their armor crumbled easily at his slightest blow.

Next, he turned his attention to their headquarters building. It was an old brick and stone building. Given its size, dealing with it would be a bit tricky, but he felt confident he could handle it.

Rattlesnake ran past the fallen hero response team members and then kicked the building. He then decided to make his escape.

He's quite capable, but he doesn't want to be left here when the whole building collapses.

So he wanted to leave this building as a landmark, a warning, to let everyone know that a new boss had come to the city.