[ WP ] The supervillains have won , and they turn out to be amazing leaders . The lead humanity into a golden age , eliminating poverty , war , and hunger . Now , the true supervillains are the superheroes , who want to tear it all down .

The whole world was a village. 
 
 The door of No. 10 Downing Street opened automatically, the familiar whir of the electric motors whisking the entrance open. The familiar, diminutive butler showed the prisoner through the rooms of the residence to the office inside. 
 
 Ever since The Village had taken over control over the world, all seemed administered from this set of London flats. The prisoner, or No. 6 as everyone liked to call him, even got his car and his flat near Buckingham Palace restored to him, but every trip to see No. 2 at No. 10 seemed like an onerous chore. 
 The doors of the office whirred open, as always, and the man inside feigned surprise. 
 
 “ Ah, No. 6, so glad you could join me ” said No. 2. 
 
 “ How could I resist the invitation? ” quipped the prisoner. 
 
 “ Don ’ t you enjoy life back here in London? Much better than that stuffy old town. ” 
 
 “ Life on the outside seems to have lost its charm. ” 
 
 “ Honestly, No. 6, I don ’ t see how you can keep up this resentment. The only man I ’ ve seen with more recalcitrance than you is No. 1939. ” 
 
 Yes, thought the prisoner, No. 1939, the American formerly known as Bruce Wayne, AKA the Batman. He had met him once. The Village had managed to corral almost all of the old “ heroes ” of the world: 1776, 26, 1985, and so forth. Their powers neutered or co-opted, their identities replaced with numbers, just like the rest of the world. 
 
 “ And I don ’ t see ” the prisoner retorted angrily, “ why you persist in annoying me with your company. You control the whole world. Surely whatever special status I had is moot, surely whatever you wanted to know from me you could find out from someone or somewhere else. ” 
 
 No. 2, appearing unfazed, changed the subject. “ Tell me, No. 6, are you familiar with the work of John B. Calhoun? ” 
 
 “ Enlighten me. ” 
 
 No. 2 continued, “ Dr. Calhoun was a researcher into social engineering, an inspiration to all of us really. He constructed various living facilities for mice, in an effort to understand social structure. ” 
 
 “ So you ’ ve built a better mousetrap, have you? ” quipped the prisoner. 
 
 `` Surely you understand by now that The Village was, among other things, a model for perfect society. All needs, wants were cared for, people could retire, work if they want, a small utopia on Earth.'' 
 
 “ And the only price to live in peace in this paradise was to sell ones ’ soul to the devil. ” 
 
 “ Strangely enough, even though we now oversee the world we have not yet moved past the need for information. ” 
 
 “ Plus ça change ” remarked the prisoner, as he turned to leave. 
 
 “ No. 6, surely you must see this is a benefit to all. We have eliminated want from the world. ” 
 
 “ Yes, nothing is wanting. ” He said sarcastically. 
 
 “ And as you said yourself, our transformation of the world is complete, we control everything, surely we can find out your secrets, so I don ’ t suppose you ’ ll tell me now: why did you resign? ” 
 
 The prisoner smiled, *they still want me to tell them. * “ I will tell you—I did know who John B. Calhoun was. Do you know what happened to all the mice that lived in his utopias? ” 
 
 “ The society collapsed. They all died. ” 
 
 “ Precisely. ” 
 
 The doors whirred open once again as the prisoner departed; as the doors closed behind him, No. 2, crestfallen, stood lonesome in his office.
