Julian nodded his agreement, his mind wandering to the villain for a moment. Since he'd been jumped by the heroes after saving them, Julian doubted that the villain cared too much about them. He may be easy to turn to their side if Marina decided to. She was the leader, and although Marina listened to her friends, her word was final on most things

Not that Julian had a problem with that, she was probably the smartest out of all of them.

"Yea, you could probably turn him to our side if we needed him to. I don't think we will though, we are plenty strong without him." Julian paused, a small smile on his face as he continued. "I'm happy everyone is safe, I was worried for a moment there." His eyes said that although he was happy that everyone was safe, he was more concerned about what could've happened to Marina. Out of everyone, Julian had been the one who didn't want to do this the most. He didn't like seeing anyone get hurt, let alone the person who brought him so much joy.

But once they had all agreed to becoming villains, Julian hadn't refused. He wouldn't ever let his friends fight by themselves, especially Marina.

~~~~

Commander actually hadn't meant to be late, he'd gotten a report from the hospital about Indigo Spirit's status.

She wasn't doing too good.

So when Commander opened the door to the interrogation room, he merely sighed at the site of Recrimination being a pain in the ass. Like all villains tended to be.

"I have much more important matters to do than make you wait Recrimination. I don't quite care what you think at the moment. I'm here to talk to you about something your villain mind can understand, money." Commander took the seat across from Recrimination, he didn't look very concerned about the knife, and if he felt any particular way about it, then it didn't show.

"You have two options, though I am sure you already know exactly what I am going to say. I have to say it regardless, as our conversation is being recorded." He paused, glancing at the one way glass, where people watched Recrimination with wary eyes and spoke in fevered whispers.

"Your first option is to not cooperate, which would result in the immediate revealing of your identity and probably a life in jail for the crimes you've committed." He cleared his throat before continuing, "your other option is to work with us, as you've already shown promise as to being much smarter than you act. The superiors are willing to overlook your crime riddled history, and are offering you a hefty sum of money, as well as your identity to remain a secret. As long as you agree to work with our heroes to defeat these new villains."
Commander spoke his words with a precise, formal quality. Each word was mildly stressed, as if he highly recommended that Recrimination worked with them, lest he find out the hard way what happened to villains that denied the more than generous offer.

"I don't think it would be smart to have him on our side either... but to have him not with the heroes... that would be good," Marina let her neck relax and her head bumped against Julian's uninjured shoulder and rested there for a moment, "I know you don't like this... but I we can do it. Now that we know some of our enemies, we can be more prepared. And we are all in this together: we are a team."

-

Jason laughed, "The third option was that my ego is inflated beyond recognition." He didn't move at the mention of money, and acted like he wasn't paying attention. Throughout all of Commando's bribes and threats, Jason didn't flinch or react. The goal of the knife was not to be threatening. It was to let the heroes know that they have missed things, out of carelessness or Jason's skill, in the hopes to make them think.

Jason stretched out when the guy was done talking, and causally spun the knife in his hand, "Well, I mean, it's pretty obvious what choice I'd make. One question? Well, actually, not really a question. When this shit is over I'm going to go back to my normal business, and if you guys happen to catch me: oh well. The reason I was caught this time was because I was saving your hero's asses."

Julian smiled down as Marina rested her head on his shoulder. If only things could stay this way, but Marina wanted different things, and he would be there for her no matter what she decided.
Even if he didn't particularly want to take over the city.

"Of course we are a team, and nothing will happen like it did this time. We know more now, everything will go even better next time, and whatever you decide about the other villain I'm sure will be the correct decision. Even if I don't particularly trust him." Julian gently brought Marina's hand to his and laced his fingers through her's.

~~

Commander nodded, his dark eyes intense. "I am well aware of what you did for my heroes out there, and I'm thankful for it. You risked your own life and freedom for them, that sounds awfully like something a hero would do, doesn't it?" Commander didn't wait for Recrimination to reply, he just kept going.

"You can carry on with whatever business you want after this, I don't quite care. Though considering how we are paying you rather handsomely I doubt you'll need to rob any more banks for awhile." Commander grinned before standing up, his eyes sharp and deadly.

"I have other business to attend to now, but in around twenty minutes you should be escorted to the meeting room. It is where we will assign heroes to the mission and how they failed rather horribly at this assignment. You'll have to attend too of course, so, welcome to the team Recrimination." Commander gave another forced grin before leaving, the door locking behind him with a dull thud. Although Recrimination was a part of the team, it was obvious they didn't quite trust him.

(We can ts to the meeting after your reply or you can just reply in the meeting room. It really doesn't matter lol)

Marina squeezed Julian's hand back, and a content sigh escaped before she pulled away completely, "I don't trust him either. And thanks for boosting my ego and confidence after that hit." The air disks set them on the ground and disappeared.

"Thanks, Cyclone." They had left their normal clothes back here to change into, so that they wouldn't walk back into their apartment in their villain gear.

-

After Commando left, Jason looked up, directly at the one way glass. He stared at it for a while, then flipped it off with a grin. He knew there had to be a way for people to watch the interrogation, and the layout made the most sense for the viewing area to be there. Or course it was a complete guess, although it was backed by facts, so he could easily be looking the wrong way and making a fool of himself. If not, though, it makes the heroes a bit more uneasy.

Commander summoned the failing team quickly, gathering everyone but Indigo Spirit, who was still stuck in the hospital according to Silent Shadow's report. Recrimination was the last in the meeting room, being brought in by two rather powerful escorts who remained inside the room to watch Recrimination even after he was given a seat.

A few heroes stared warily as the villain entered, but a few, including Silent Shadow, only gave him a glance before returning to their conversations. All of them had changed out of their normal gear, but a few had kept masks on. This included Addilyn, who had a black mask that covered the same place her normal mask did. One butterfly stitch was covering a a small, but a little deep, cut on Addilyn's head.

Other than wincing when she moved, she seemed okay, just a little banged up. Concern was on her face as she spoke (using the speaking device) in quiet tones to the fast super. They both looked rather concerned but immediately stopped when Commander entered. His overbearing aura automatically quieted the whole room.

After settling into his seat, coffee in hand, he began to speak. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Recrimination, you'll be seeing his face a bit more often now that he's been assigned on the mission." A small groan came from Bronze Fist, who seemed quite confident that he would be on the mission.

Addilyn glared at him, effectively getting him to shut up, before Commander was able to continue."As you all know, this mission was a loss. If it wasn't for this low class villain. You'd have all been knocked out and our reputation completely ruined. That being said, you did provide some vital new information about these new villains, which is the only reason why any of you are getting paid."

This was immediately met with cries of protest but with a raise of his hand, the heroes settled down, Addilyn watching as it all went down. She was already aware of these things, being the most well informed, lower class hero.

"Regardless, you will all continue on your normal routes, except Recrimination and Silent Shadow, who will both be on the mission against these new villains." Silent Shadow's eyes widened, as this was completely new information.

Bronze Fist practically jumped out of his chair as he began to speak, fierce words flying from his mouth. "Hell no! She's barely useful, all she ever does is stick to the shadows and she's just a big coward. I'd be much more suited out of any of these low class heroes to fight these new villains. Especially if you're seriously considering letting Silent Shadow, who, if anyone didn't know, was off duty for weeks because she was attacked by some puny villains, take my rightful place."

Addilyn shrank back for a moment, before standing up to defend herself, green eyes filled with fury."Watch your mouth Bronze Fist, you have no idea what you're talking about. There's a reason you weren't chosen for the mission, it's because you're too unpredictable and annoy all of your teammates. Sit your ass down before I show you exactly what this 'coward' can do." A shocked expression covered Bronze Fist's unmasked face, Silent Shadow had actually talked. She hadn't hidden behind the normal robot voice that the transmitter emitted.

Addilyn realized what she'd done seconds after she finished, and immediately paled. Just like that, she sat back down without Commander having to ask. Quickly blinking away the fear that had drifted across her face. She reverted back to her normal, passive state, trying to ignore what just happened. Commander cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "Anyways, Indigo Spirit is still in the hospital for those of you wondering, she should make a full recovery, but her power is rather inconvinient and Indigo Spirit is currently being held in a glass jar due to her not being able to control her physical state. That's all I have to say, any questions?" Not a single word. "Dismissed." The room quickly emptied, leaving behind Recrimination, Silent Shadow, the two guards, and Commander.

Addilyn's hands lay in her lap, clenched into pale fists. She had no idea how Bronze Fist had found out that information, but she was going to find out. It had been a private report, and not a single hero was supposed to know about it.

Jason slumped lazily in his seat, shooting a cocky grin at the heroes who glanced his way when Commando gave him a sort of back-handed compliment. He didn't really mean to become a hero, but Jason had a few aspects of his personality that couldn't be stomped out to no matter how villainous he was. Being a coward was one trait he never had, and never would have.

When Bronze Fist stared to speak out of his ass, Jason kept his mouth tightly lipped to hide his grinding teeth. As far as he had been made aware, that was a private report. It was even more private that he had been the ones to kill those petty criminals. If Bronze Fist could find out that information.... Jason didn't know how much more he'd have access too.

It was slightly less alarming - although still worrisome - when Addilyn spoke without her vocal manipulator. He was pretty sure she'd never spoken without it.

Jason wasn't given a chance to ask any questions - not that he'd had any that hadn't involved him maybe getting punched in the face by Bronze Fist - and soon the rest of the heroes filed out.
He lazily faced Addilyn, making sure his cocky grin was put in place, "So, Robo-Voice. Looks like we'll have the absolute joy of working together. I can't wait." Sarcasm was heavy in his voice, and he turned to the Commander without giving her a chance to talk back, "But my dear friend wouldn't just put two people against a team of six, especially if one is... untrustworthy, to say the least. What poor schmucks did you get on this job?"

Addilyn suddenly longed for her home and a cup of tea, Tam at her side and a good book in hand. It had been so long since she'd had the luxury of relaxation, even when she'd been taking a break from her hero work-

Jason dragged Addilyn out of her dark thoughts with his classic sarcasm that annoyed most heroes to no end. Addilyn was used to it though, not because of Jason, because normal Jason was much sweeter than Recrimination, but because of other heroes. She watched as Jason switched over to talking to Commander, the man seeming to already be mildly annoyed at Recrimination's constant talk. He also looked rather concerned as well, glancing to Addilyn consistently, obviously worried that the earlier argument had shaken her.

Addilyn didn't have the will to reply at that moment.

"I would not refer to them as poor schmucks, they quite enjoy their job, otherwise they wouldn't be as high as they are in our rankings. I'm sure you've heard of them, Neon, Sandstorm and Liquid Steel, some of our highest ranking heroes." Addilyn's eyes widened and she looked entirely confused. Why the hell was she still here? Last time she'd checked, her ranking had been decent, but nowhere near top tier. It was very confusing to say the least.

A knock at the door snapped Addilyn out of her mind as Commander's voice boomed. "Come in," and so they did. A jungle of red hair was the first thing Addilyn saw, followed by a boyish grin and an unmasked face. It was Liquid Steel, who wore a mask in costume but retired it when he was in base. "Looks like I'm early. Ha ha! I beat the others." Addilyn watched as the man did a little victory dance over to his chair. Right. Next. To. Her.

Addilyn would rather be surrounded by four wanted criminals than deal with this right now. And her face clearly showed it.

Jason raised his brow at Commander, although the movement was hidden by his mask, "Sorry," Jason said, not sounding sorry at all, "But the names don't ring a bell." He shrugged. When the hero - Liquid Steel, because Jason actually did know all of the heroes, and had analyzed their powers and fighting styles to know how to beat them, but would not be confiding that information in anyone - walked in unmasked, Jason wasn't surprised that he didn't recognize the face. He wondered if anyone had bothered to warn him there was a villain in the room, who could analyze his face and tell other villains, and have his whole family targeted.

Jason wouldn't, of course, partly because that sounded like a lot of work, partly because that is what the heroes kind of wanted to do to him, and he would not stoop to their level, and also because Addilyn would probably yell at him for being extra-asshole-y and he really didn't want to fight with her.

----------

liquid steel sounds so cute and funny can he plz have freckles i just get freckle vibes from him

um... he does lol it's in his description thingy XD))
~~

Harrison happily slid into the seat next to Silent Shadow, he'd already been informed of who was on this mission, including the watching villain. He was pretty sure his name was Recrimination or something but Harrison truly did not care. The villain was hardly a villain, he'd saved Shadow's reputation as well as multiple other heroes from what he'd heard. The rumors were flying around the building and Harrison had given up on trying to memorize them all.

Addilyn looked about ready to stab everyone in the room, she wanted to go home. Not be on some stupid mission that she definitely wasn't qualified for. Actually no, scratch that, she wanted to be yelling at the idiot who'd shared rather private information with Bronze Fist. Possible knock both him and the informant out as well. Despite her being a hero, she definitely still had dark thoughts.

Harrison decided that the real threat in the room was Silent Shadow, who's glare was almost as bad as Commander's. Though Harrison was used to his, Shadow's glare was almost.. scary. He decided to neutralize the threatening woman first, as she was making him rather uncomfortable with her sharp green eyes. "You're Silent Shadow right? I've heard all about you're work, your powers are so cool! It's probably so fun to walk around ignoring everyone whenever you want to, or just shutting out all the noise sometimes. Plus you're like, super strong. You were the one who took out those villains in that one bank robbery all by yourself before back up arrived right?"

Harrison's eyes searched Silent's face for any sort of sign that he was piercing her hard outer layer, he'd heard that she was truthfully a big softy on the inside. But her cold eyes did not budge, and he realized she was probably just having a really bad day. Poor woman, she'd probably been totally embarrassed after the fight.

He practically jumped out of his skin when a voice drifted through the air, though Shadow's mouth did not move, she was still talking somehow. "Yes, that was me, but no I am not super strong, I'm just sneaky. And yes I can cancel out noise, like what I'm about to do right now because I'm already tired of talking to you." Harrison looked absolutely stunned as Shadow gave him a smile and a faint buzzing began to emit from her speaker. He'd heard that her silencing power sometimes messed with speakers and audio in general, he assumed that she hadn't actually been lying and was truly not listening to him anymore.

He was definitely not loving the group.

"Excuse Shadow, she has not had the best of days, another hero crossed the line earlier, now she is rather... upset because of it." Commander's voice startled Harrison as well. It was a wonder that he was one of the top heroes, with the way he startled.

~~~
((I came up with this on the spot and the sass I-))

This new hero obviously did not know when Addilyn was annoyed and should not be trifled with. Now, though, she was probably in an even worse mood, and the Boyfriend Alarm was raging a mental war inside of Jason's head. It was his JOB (being a villain was really his job, BUT THAT DID NOT MATTER) to help out his girlfriend in any way he could.

Now to think of a plan....

Jason blew out of his nose heavily. He might totally embarass himself, but whatever. If it made Addilyn even twitch on a smile it'd be worth it. He was pretty sure she found it funny when he joked around and made a fool of himself - for comedic purposes, of course. Jason was much to graceful to, for example, trip on the tinest crack in the sidewalk so No, Addilyn I totally meant to do that - the crack never saw it coming, he was looking at me the wrong way!

Anyway, Jason fiddled with his handcuffs for a moment to buy some time, while leaning back in his chair slightly. The chair was balancing on its back two legs, and with one small jostle of his foot - whoo! the chair tipped over.

Cracking open his skull probably wouldn't cheer Addilyn up, so Jason remained in a squat, as if he was still sitting in his chair. He kind of hoped that Commando glaring at him would interest Addilyn enough to turn off her magic-mutey-thingie, so he casually looked behind him, pretending to just now notice that his chair was in fact, not under his butt.

"Huh. How'd that get there?"

Jason looked down, comedically widen his eyes, although some of that impression may have been lost due to the mask, and promptly fell on his ass, "Whoops." Jason stood, struggled to dust himself off because of his handcuffs, and looked back at the chair.

...

Turns out he maaaay have accidentally broken the chair. That was not on purpose! "Add it to my bill."