As people filed into the conference room, I noticed that most faces were either angry or excited. Yesterday’s chaos let something loose in everyone. Shelley stood by the door and marked off who was present as I made my way to the front of the room. On my way I nodded hello to several people. Once I got to the front, I set down my notepad and pen at the table.

Red Scar moved towards me after I’d settled.

“Miss Bell,” his smile was anything but pleasant, “nice work yesterday.”

“Thank you,” I smiled in a similar manner. “You gave Gorgona quite a hard time yourself.”

“When you have some time, I would like to speak with you. Privately.”

“That’s fine,” I said, “after the meeting I should have a few minutes.”

He smiled in that awful way again, and thanked me before disappearing into the crowd.

Silence descended, which meant Dark had arrived.

He made his way to the front of the room. He didn’t speak right away, but met the eyes of several villains.

“We will continue the retreat as planned.”

Tension filled the room at this statement. Dark held up a hand.

“The Union will not go without retribution for destroying our HQ. However, we will not be striking them bluntly yet—first we will cut them where it hurts. We will not be going after the heroes themselves, but those who support them. Their secretaries, their cleaning crews, their technicians and administrators. Their public defenders. We will not outright demolish their building, but make it inhospitable.

“If any of you feel that they need to be taught a lesson sooner, I will be having Miss Bell lead several operations against them now, and while we are on the retreat. As many of you know her prior history, this will also be a particularly painful blow for the Union. After the retreat we will evaluate more direct methods of sabotaging the Union, and I will choose who gets to be part of those teams based on your behavior during the retreat.

“Until then, I will need all of you to contribute to getting this HQ operating beyond the capacity of the old one. Everyone is to set up their spaces by the end of this week, and submit at least three fully outlined plans for mayhem and chaos. And please get creative. Bank robberies may be classic, but they’ve gotten a tad predictable. Surprise me.”

Dark then did the usual after a large scale event like this, and pointed out things that were done right and things we were to never do again. He made it very clear that everyone was to go over the supplemental information on dealing with the Union that they’d been given.

“Let’s get moving,” he said, and with that, the meeting dispersed.

On my way out the conference room, a red gloved hand gripped my elbow. Anger surged through me and I tore out of the grasp.

“I said we could speak, Red Scar, not that you could lay a hand on my person.”

Red Scar rubbed his hand from the force of my movement, but didn’t apologize to me. We walked into a quiet, empty corner.

“What is it you wanted?” I asked.

“Dark’s gone soft,” he said. “He’s letting the Union walk over us, his plans are childish in scope and execution. He’s...unfit.”

Incredulous at his audacity, my mouth dropped.

“Are you suggesting insurrection?”

“Yes. And it’s not just me. There are others. You’re a capable, dangerous person, Miss Bell. You must see how Dark’s holding you, holding all of us, back.”

My voice went low and soft, “I was with the Union then, but I remember what happened to the last person who tried this. And you must remember what happened to my predecessor. Don’t you?”

Red Scar flinched.

“I suggest you stop this avenue of thought...yesterday. Dark already knows you’ve been stirring up trouble. I fully support Dark. The only place you’ll end up with this is gone.”

Red Scar shook his head, “I’m not wrong. Dark isn’t—”

“What Dark isn’t, is stupid,” I said, “you’re not the first one to try this. And if that’s how you feel about Villains Corp. I suggest you leave. No one’s ever managed a hostile takeover, and no one ever will.”

Red Scar shook his head again. “We’ll see,” he said, and left.

“Idiot,” I said under my breath. I turned and went straight back to my office.

Shelley was there and said that everyone had shown up at the meeting, which was a weight off my chest.

Dark had responded to my earlier text that it was okay for me to make the raid at the suppression chambers to rescue Metality and the others, which meant I had to plan out my course of action for the evening, not to mention attend to all the other things that needed attention.

I typed back a thank you and mentioned my encounter with Red Scar. He’s getting real bold, I wrote, and then stepped into my office.

When I looked up from my phone, it slipped through my fingers, though I caught it by the very edge before it could hit the floor.

“Be a doll, dear, and close the door.”

Sitting at my desk was the legendary, reclusive Lady Snow.