Because I'm a Villain

RedPiggy

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Author’s Note: There will be violence. However, this story has been stewing in my head since – well, last night. I promised myself I wouldn’t get into another fanfic, but who am I to deny inspiration?

Chapter 1: Prologue

The sixty-eight-year-old Caucasian man deftly scrambled up the long black fire escape in the downpour, slipping only twice. He focused only on breathing, which was beginning to be labored, and his movements. His joints weren’t nearly as well-oiled as they used to be. Still, he couldn’t stop.

That freak would get him sooner or later.

He popped over the edge of the roof and sat down, glancing at his glowing watch to ensure he didn’t take too long to catch his breath. He was getting too old for this. So, too, apparently, was his opponent – which was why the hired help was chasing him.

Four years he had spent in prison. Three long years trying to get all that was rightfully his, namely, his personal affects and a job. He had finally found work two years later as a theme park security guard, but after misinterpreting a situation with his most recent employer’s visiting friends, he had found himself once again scrounging around for a paycheck.

And then he met that real estate guy, twelve years later, which was last year. The man chuckled. To think: while he had been wealthy and was now miserably poor, that moron used to actually be some pathetic fast food nobody and now found himself rising among the real estate tycoons, particularly in the southwest.

The man wiped the rain off his forehead and stood up to continue running. There was a staircase just across the roof leading inside the building. He glanced around. The nearest building was just across an alley, maybe thirty feet. He frowned. That was far too risky.

His heartbeat quickened as he heard slow and steady footsteps come up the fire escape. The arrogance, he thought to himself, as if this was Looney Tunes and he was the frantic cat and his pursuer was the confident skunk, just happily bouncing his way to his prey. He searched around his black jumpsuit’s tool belt and found a small screwdriver. It’d be hard to use it to make the fire escape stairs fall away, and he’d be vulnerable to any shots fired. So, he nodded and tucked himself into the corner of the rooftop and the edge, grasping the screwdriver tightly, his jaw set in determination.

A tall lanky man with a long brown poncho hopped over the edge of the rooftop. The hiding man thrust the screwdriver right into the back of his pursuer’s knee. He watched the other one crumple in pain, a smirk forming on his lips.

The victor stood, gloating, the rain dripping off his graying dark brown hair. He smirked. “Go tell that eighty-year-old bum he has no idea who he’s dealing with.” He kicked the guy over … only to find an athletic, tan-skinned, chiseled young man, who even managed to grin through his pain. The victor looked confused. “I thought he sent Walker after me.”

The crumpled man laughed, nodding. “I am Walker.” He took his good leg and kicked his prey in the shins, bringing him down. The injured man took a silvery trident-like harpoon and swiped at his prey’s chest, making bright red lines that soon mixed with the rain.

The first man winced and chuckled, cringing. “You gotta give me that youth recipe.”

Walker stood up, keeping his weight on his good leg. “Pest extermination’s a family business.” He shrugged. “Too bad you’re a pest. Dad actually admired your persistence.”

The prey laughed. “And here I thought I was too spoiled, using all that high-tech equipment.”

Walker shrugged. “We all use the tools that fit us best. Question is, is that still good enough?” He pulled out the screwdriver from the back of his knee and casually tossed it to his prey. He frowned as he saw his prey glance behind him. He turned only to meet a fist coming for him.

All was black.

An elderly pale man, nearly skeletal he was so thin, seemed like a ghost under his broad black hat and scarf and goggles. He, too, wore a dark brown poncho and thick rubbery boots that went all the way up to his thighs. He didn’t laugh, he didn’t smile, he didn’t frown … he was emotionless.

“So much … for … family,” the prey grunted. “How could you attack one of your own, Snake?”

My paycheck,” growled Snake curtly. He took out a gun and a trident-shaped harpoon and loaded it, aiming it straight at his quarry. He remained expressionless, but his voice had a tinge of pride. “No more holidays,” he said as he fired.
 

The Count

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*Needs more to know where this is going and form an opinion... Basically... More please!
 

RedPiggy

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Well, to be honest ...

I got as far as the opening. LOL. I want to focus on Muppet villains, and the two biggest baddies that spring to mind are Hopper and Holiday. :big_grin:

What have they been up to since their respective movies? How do their fates intertwine?

And this also will fit in my fic universe timeline, so how does Nicky get the Gorg crown (see The Comeback King Saga)?
 

RedPiggy

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Chapter 2: You’re Hired

The Caucasian man glanced over at the news playing on the television in the bar. The yellow-skinned news reporter with the dark-rimmed glasses and the tussled brown hair seemed to read his notes just a little slower than usual.

“Today,” he began, squinting at his notes, “the soft teddy bears attacked the town of soft teddy bears and continued until shots of soft teddy bears were fired. Casualties include five soft teddy bears and three young soft teddy bears. Details on the Muppet News website.”

“Heh,” laughed the green-skinned Frank Sinatra-wannabe Muppet bartender. “Poor slob finally cracked.”

“Oh?” asked the male patron.

The bartender nodded. “He musta got tired of all the stuff that lands on ‘im on his show. It started yesterday: he just goes around replacin’ every word wit’ soft fuzzy stuff so he won’t get hurt.” He chuckled some more. “An’ I hear ghostwriters write the true news stories on that website.” He passed his patron another drink. “I guess even after, what, thirty years – even he wants respect.”

“Don’t we all,” the patron muttered.

The bartender nodded. “Hard ta get that respect when all you can say is ‘soft teddy bears’, though.” He shook his head, drying some glasses behind the bar. “That mook could use some respect, though. That poor guy’s been beat up nearly his entire career.”

“Does it really affect the ratings that much?”

“Nah,” the bartender replied, “he’d have ta be a beautiful naked woman ta get real good ratings, know what I’m sayin’?”

The patron nodded and laughed.

“Well,” announced a cheerful aged male voice with a Southern drawl, “Ah sure do hope you can still talk an’ didn’t drink the bartender outta all his inventory yet.”

The patron wearily turned his head to find a fat Caucasian man with nearly white hair, dressed in a white suit and a pale beige cowboy hat. The patron sighed and nodded once. “Hopper.”

Hopper grinned, laughing, slapping the other man on the back hard. “Well, shoot, boy, you sure are a sight for sore eyes! Ah’m surprised you said you’d wandah on ovah here.”

The man shrugged and stared at his drink. “A job’s a job.”

Hopper nodded and sat down and ordered himself an appletini. “’Course, you gotta get that job, first. Now, Ah’m not one ta drone on an’ on durin’ an interview, so Ah’ll make it short an’ sweet. You got a name?”

“Rick Hollandaise.”

Hopper chuckled. “Now, don’t go tryin’ ta kid a kiddah, boy. Aliases are for folks who are ashamed o’ what they’re doin’. You stand by your job, then you stand by your name.”

“Nicky Holiday,” the man mumbled, gulping down his drink.

“Holiday, huh?” Hopper replied, stroking his chin. “Ain’t you the guy who --.”

“—tried to steal the Baseball Diamond,” Nicky finished. He nodded. “Yes, that would be me. Spent four years in prison for that.”

Hopper grinned and elbowed Nicky, his voice nearly a whisper. “Tell me, Nick – did it really happen the way it happened in that movie?”

Nicky glared at him and shrugged. “More or less.”

Hopper took off his hat and wiped his forehead with a white handkerchief. “You sure don’t commit to your answers, do ya Nick?” He replaced his hat. “Still, Ah reckon if there was a movie suggestin’ Ah had a girlfriend more fit for the plate than the bedroom, Ah wouldn’t exactly advertise it neither.”

Nicky stood in the pristine office where a thin middle-aged woman with raven black hair pulled up under a small bouquet of black and white flowers sat at her desk. She looked up and smirked, speaking with a British accent. “Are you still there?”

“I’ll leave when I have my things,” he replied.

“You left most of your things in college.” She flipped through a magazine. “Besides, isn’t there some thrift store for the homeless where you can find some flowered socks and atrocious ties?”

Nicky sighed and rolled his eyes. “Just give them to me, Sis. Are they in the safe?”

His sister smirked. “Only valuable items are in the safe, Nicky.”

He clenched his fists. “You realize of course that no one likes you. You’re so stuck up your nose is in the stratosphere.”

“Oh, look, Nicky remembered a three-syllable word from college.” She pressed a button to contact her secretary in another room. “Amanda, be a dear and cite today as the day my brother found the ability to use words above a year two vocabulary.”

“Ha – HA,” Nicky retorted sarcastically.

She placed the magazine gently on the desk and glared at him. “Nicky, you would still HAVE your things if you hadn’t blown them as soon as you were old enough to leave the house – AND if you hadn’t found yourself incarcerated stealing MY things.” She sighed. “I simply can’t comprehend you, brother. You could have had it all and yet you threw it all away.”

Nicky grinned. “You STILL think it was about the money? It was NEVER about the money,” he shot back, chuckling. “I could care less about it, myself.” He shook his head. “Didn’t it ever occur to you that I only stole from YOU?”

“It did,” his sister replied. “I merely surmised you were too lazy to take things from across the street.”

“The only reason people like you is for your money. You know that, right?”

“Nicky, do try to be decisive, dear. First you say that no one likes me and now you postulate that people DO like me, but only for my money.” She shrugged. “I still don’t see the problem with having money. I am a successful business woman. I do not require people enjoying my company because of my personality.”

“I do,” Nicky whispered, looking out the large plate glass window.

She stared at him in wonder. “You don’t HONESTLY believe she cared for you.”

Nicky continued to avoid contact. “She didn’t know who I was at first. She didn’t know I had money.”

“No, I was the one with the money,” his sister corrected. “Besides, we were at the Dubonnet Club. You can’t get in at all without money.”

“She didn’t have much money. Didn’t you see that photographer bumming for cash?”

Lady Holiday nodded. “At least it was legal. Tasteless, but legal.”

Nicky sighed. “Still, I don’t want you talking about her.”

Lady Holiday smiled, clasping her hands together and resting her elbows on the desk. “I HAD to. Your backstory had to go SOMEWHERE.”

Nicky grit his teeth and whipped around, grabbing Hopper by the throat. “You better use that mouth to hire me or order drinks – because if you use it for anything that upsets me, you’ll find out just how far I’m willing to go to shut you up,” he hissed.

Hopper was completely unruffled, grinning. “That was mah other question, actually. Just what ARE your limits, Nick?”

“I prefer to keep that to myself,” he replied, letting Hopper go.

“Well, Ah’m afraid Ah can’t accept such an answer. See, here’s the thing … Ah don’t like mah employees tuckin’ tail when the chase is on.”

“I’m not exactly qualified to be muscle,” Nicky told him. “Why don’t you go hire some stupid body-builder to intimidate your tenants?”

Hopper chuckled. “Well, first of all, they ain’t mah tenants … yet. Second of all, Ah may be an old-fashioned kind o’ guy, but bustin’ folks up is so – so – last century, ya hear?” He shook his head and plopped a hundred dollar bill on the counter. “Mah plans require a tad more ‘so-phist-i-ca-tion’, if ya get mah meanin’.”

“In other words, you don’t want your name attached to the deed,” Nicky replied. “And I’m the one who can’t stand by my work?”

Hopper laughed. “Ah always stand by mah legal work,” Hopper answered cheerfully, tugging at his jacket. “For all that other stuff – Ah only stand by the work that is successful. So, if’n ya don’t want me ta be all hypocritical-like, Ah suggest you make sure you can do it right.” Hopper nodded again and turned to leave. “We’ll discuss all the little fine points later. It’s been good seein’ ya, Nick.” He left.

Nicky turned to the bartender, who smirked. Nicky winked and sang briefly, “I’m hired! I hope I don’t get fired! In forty years I’ll be retired – but for now I’m merely hired!”

The bartender chuckled and nodded knowingly.
 

The Count

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*Enjoyed everything posted so far. The backstory of both villains... The conversation between Lady and Nicky... Newsie trying to get away with soft teddy bears. Johnny's cameo.
*Reads the bit with Nicky singing at the end. Hey! Where'd that little musical MST3K gem come from?

Post more please.
 

RedPiggy

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I had Hopper's backstory in here? I only see Nicky's. :big_grin: The only thing I've mentioned in passing is Hopper's old fast food background. We still haven't seen why he changed to real estate.

In my fic universe, the Great Muppet Caper was a movie, but the Holiday family actually exists in "reality". The movie was just a parody of a real event. I'd like to see Piggy in this story, as by the time of The Comeback King (which took place roughly around 2011 and this is 2003), she mentions going to jail for him. I'd like to explore how it happened in my timeline.
 

The Count

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Yeah, sorry, I meant when Hopper and Nicky met, the beginning of the bar scenes.
That sounds extremely interesting, seeing what Piggy went to jail for without opting to break out for Rosenthal's sake.
 

RedPiggy

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Well, the prologue takes place later in the story, actually. This is one of those literary devices where you start the story near the end and then you rewind to an earlier point and go forward until you're back to the prologue.

And, yeah, I'd like to see Piggy's dealings with Nicky as well.
 

RedPiggy

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Thanks! The good news is that I think I've figured Nicky out. If you notice, he NEVER STEALS FROM ANYONE BUT LADY HOLIDAY in the movie. And, during her exposition in her office, Lady Holiday tells Piggy that he blew all of his inheritance. I bet that Nicky just resents wealth and his sister's snobby attitude and has made it his purpose in life to get rid of the things she places in higher esteem than himself or people in general.

Now, if I can just think of a way to deepen the one-note Doc Hopper, I'll be all set.
 
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