Supervillain Idol System: My Sidekick Is A Yandere-Chapter 576: Not As It Seems (Part 1)

The following night—

Benjamin wasn’t at the bar.

He was parked outside the abandoned G-Tech facility.

The structure loomed beyond the chain-link fence, its outer walls worn and colorless under dim streetlights.

Broken signage still clung to one side of the building, half the letters missing. The main gate stood closed, rust creeping along the hinges.

The area was quiet.

Too quiet.

Benjamin leaned against the hood of his car, arms folded loosely, phone in hand. He checked his messages again. Nothing new. His eyes lifted toward the facility gate.

Then toward his watch.

10:18 p.m.

He adjusted his stance.

A faint breeze moved through the street, carrying the dry scent of old concrete and metal.

He looked toward the gate again.

Then—

"I hope I didn’t keep you waiting, Mr. Benjamin."

The voice came from behind him.

Close.

Benjamin jerked upright, heart slamming in his chest. A chill ran down his spine as he turned abruptly.

"What the—"

Don approached from behind the vehicle, walking along the side of the car toward him. He wore all black. Jacket, pants, boots. Casual. Less formal than Benjamin, but far more composed.

Benjamin let out a breath and shook his head.

"Could you stop doing that?" he said, irritation replacing fright. "What if I was armed?"

Don didn’t answer that.

He stopped a few feet away and tilted his head slightly.

"May I ask why you wanted to meet me?"

Benjamin hesitated.

For a moment, doubt crossed his face.

He almost reconsidered.

Then he sighed.

"Seriously," he said, pushing off the hood and standing upright, "I need your help."

Don’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well. Not yours exactly," Benjamin amended quickly. "Your android’s. I can’t think of anyone else to go to with this."

"With what?" Don asked.

Benjamin rubbed his temples.

"A lot of things don’t make sense around SHQ lately," he said. "I’ve tried looking into it, but there’s only so much I can do alone."

Don raised a skeptical brow.

"I hope you’re not asking me to send my android to spy on SHQ. Especially with a UPSDF presence there."

Benjamin shook his head immediately.

"No, no. Argh—"

He shifted in place, frustration evident in the way he dragged a hand down his face.

"It’s nothing illegal. Nothing reckless."

He exhaled.

"I just need your android to check on Director Graham."

Don blinked once.

"Director Graham?"

He studied Benjamin carefully.

"What’s wrong with him? Are you worried he might be turned?"

Benjamin’s head snapped up.

"What? No. Absolutely not."

His tone carried full confidence.

"All staff are tested daily. Especially the Director."

He paused.

"It’s just that... he’s been off. The past couple days."

He struggled to articulate it.

"I can’t put my finger on it. But something’s wrong. And I need help finding out what."

He looked directly at Don now.

"I can’t go to anyone else with this."

Don folded his arms.

"Say I believe you. Why trust me?"

Benjamin gave a dry huff.

"I don’t."

The answer was immediate.

"But if something really is wrong, then it’s bad news for everyone. Including elite hero program members like yourself."

He stepped closer.

"Imagine the Director changes. Imagine the terms for elite hero status change with him."

He gestured lightly.

"Before you know it, you’re buried under government bureaucracy and restrictions."

His eyes held Don’s.

"Don’t you care what that could mean for your future?"

Don didn’t answer immediately.

’I see.’

Benjamin was looking for common ground.

In truth—

Don didn’t care about SHQ itself.

The institution wasn’t essential to his long-term plans.

But the privileges tied to it?

Access. Resources. Standing.

Those were useful.

And what Benjamin was asking wasn’t complicated.

Nothing overt.

After a brief pause, Don nodded.

"Alright."

Benjamin watched him closely.

"I’ll get Winter on it," Don said.

Relief flickered briefly across Benjamin’s face.

"Thank you."

He turned slightly, preparing to head back toward his car.

Don spoke again before he could.

"Are you sure you don’t know why Dr. Gadget had you reach out to Winter?"

Benjamin paused mid-step.

"I don’t," he replied honestly.

He looked toward the darkened facility for a moment.

"But who knows."

He exhaled slowly.

"Maybe this whole thing is connected somehow."

He glanced back at Don.

"But if anyone knows anything..."

His voice lowered slightly.

"It’s definitely Director Graham."

The wind passed through the street again.

Somewhere in the distance, metal shifted faintly against metal—clnk~

Don’s gaze drifted briefly toward the abandoned building before returning to Benjamin.

---

After Benjamin’s car pulled out of the street and disappeared down the road, its taillights fading into the dark, Don remained where he stood.

The abandoned G-Tech facility loomed ahead of him.

Empty windows.

Cold concrete.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Dialed.

The call connected after a brief pause—click~

"Evening, Gary."

"Quite well, sir," Gary replied smoothly from the other end. "Is your meeting done?"

"Yes."

A faint hum of machinery could be heard in the background on Gary’s side. Controlled. Distant.

"Did you learn anything useful?" Gary asked.

Don looked toward the gate again. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"It’s too early to tell."

He began pacing slowly along the street, walking back to his car, boots crunching lightly over loose gravel.

"Benjamin wants me to monitor Director Graham using Winter."

He paused.

"But I think it’d be better if you put a few minions on it. Just covert surveillance. See if there’s anything actually going on."

A brief silence followed.

Then—

"Ah. I see," Gary said. "That will be no problem, sir. I shall deploy a small unit at once and report any progress made."

"Thanks."

Don stopped pacing and glanced back at the dark facility.

Gary’s voice returned.

"And what of Dr. Gadget’s hidden lab?"

Don studied the building again.

"Unfortunately," he replied, "it doesn’t seem like much."

He leaned back against the hood of his car.

"Winter already accessed most of the data stored in the facility’s servers. What remains here is mostly physical equipment."

He let his gaze sweep across the outer walls.

"Not much of value beyond that."

"That is quite a shame," Gary said thoughtfully. "I had hoped we could use it as a blueprint for the Citadel’s robotics engineering wing."

Don considered that for a moment.

"I don’t think he’d miss the tech here if it went missing," he said.

There was a faint pause before Gary responded.

"Agreed. However, the hardware may be compromised with trackers or remote failsafes."

His tone remained measured.

"It is not worth the risk."

Don nodded once, even though Gary couldn’t see it.

"Fair enough."

He pushed off the hood and straightened.

"Then we’ll talk later. Keep me posted on any developments while monitoring Director Graham."

"Not an issue, sir."

The line disconnected—click~

Don lowered the phone slowly.

The lot was quiet again.

Wind brushed against the chain-link fence—rattle~

He stared at the G-Tech facility one last time.