Bob sat on a rock outside the facility, smoke rising from the entrance. He winced as he rubbed his back. Seriously, did the tiger-man really have to use his whole weight for the entire conversation?

Heroes are so annoying.

Xiong Huang appeared before him, not a single molecule of the air disturbed by her arrival. She had a frown on her face and blood on her fists. Bob suspected that was intentional, given she was spotless everywhere else. He took off his mask and met her gaze.

“...you owe me some new toys.”

Bob nodded.

“I’ll look into it.”

Xiong Huang crossed her arms.

“...you know under normal circumstances a sect leader would hold you responsible for this, right?”

“Yes.”

The two locked eyes for a bit.

“...you’re really annoying, you know that?”

Bob just smiled at her. Xiong Huang closed her eyes and sighed.

“Whatever. I never liked those guys anyways. Excuse to go on a killing spree approved by the hero Bob, whoop-de-do.”

“Xiong Huang.”

“What?”

Bob looked straight at her.

“Thanks.”

“...for what?”

“You saved my life there.”

Xiong Huang frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Why?”

“Betting your life on an evil cultivator showing up at your precise location at a precise time during a blood feud and not killing you for daring to manipulate us into doing your dirty work? No way. You definitely had a backup plan. Probably several.”

“What if I said I trusted you to come?”

Xiong Huang’s mouth dropped and she took a step back. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.

“You…that’s…what…”

Bob raised an eyebrow.

“Why so surprised? I’ve thought of you as a friend from the beginning, you know. If evil cultivators are allowed such things.”

Xiong Huang’s mouth continued to open and close. Finally, she closed her eyes, a vein popping on her forehead.

“You’re really annoying, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Xiong Huang let out a dramatic sigh and turned around.

“I’m going to go murder things.”

“Thanks again.”

“Stop that!”

Bob smirked as she vanished from his sight.

That’s what she gets for calling him a hero.

Londyn watched as ILS security escorted another analyst out of the room. To her left stood her assistant Linda, who was currently scrolling through a tablet.

“Is that the last of them?”

Linda nodded.

“The League is clean.”

Londyn let out a sigh.

“Clean but gutted. We’re not getting much sleep for the next few months.”

Linda grimaced.

“It…seems that way.”

Londyn sighed again.

“Get me a list of promotion candidates. Sooner we can get some of the higher spots filled, sooner we can delegate some of this mess.”

“Right away, Ma’am.”

Londyn nodded and then left the room, heading back towards her office. She walked over to the window, looking out over the city. She let out another sigh. The work was done for a brief moment.

A moment to think.

And something to think about.

What about Bob?

Londyn let out yet another sigh, and then furrowed her brow. She was the director of the International League of Superheroes. She could not afford to delude herself.

These events had shown her that Bob was no mere informant.

No, that's wrong.

She already knew, probably from the start if she was honest, that Bob was more than he let on. He knew things he shouldn’t. He caught too many issues in too timely a manner. He’s either the luckiest man alive, or he’s more than just a spy. And he was the one who came up with the League in the first place. She can’t say she didn’t know what he’s capable of.

And now? Bypassing ILS security to replace her with a fake body and move her into hiding. Producing a fake body that passed every test science could throw at it. Destroying some shadow organization that had infiltrated the League and beyond. By means still entirely unknown to her and the world at large.

These were not the actions of a mere informant. And she could not ignore it any longer.

No matter how much she wanted to.

She reviewed the information she had, her interactions with Bob, what she knew of his affairs. No hard evidence, which was what made it so easy to ignore. But if she read between the lines, he most likely had people inside ILS. And he probably had a hand in the other side too. How much of a hand, she couldn’t say, but if he had her set up the ILS, then he could do it again on the other side, couldn’t he?

She took a deep breath.

So what now?

What should she do?

What did she need to do?

As Director of the International League of Superheroes?

And as Londyn Green?

She closed her eyes, standing in silence. She wasn’t sure for how long.

She opened her eyes.

She made her decision.

Bob was more than he let on. He was not completely her ally, or the League’s. And she did not know his intentions, nor the full extent of his capabilities.

But, did it matter?

He had done a great deal of good. No matter what his goal or methods, what he may be holding back from her, wasn’t it the truth that he had helped them save the world, time and time again? And if he was playing for the other side too…did that matter in the end? If they averted disaster with the information he did choose to give her, then was there a reason to doubt? Was he worse than everything he had helped them stop?

Was he any worse than her? She too, once worked for villains, even now she used questionable associations and methods from that time. It took more than good intentions to protect the ILS from those who would exploit it.

And…

He had saved her life, twice now.

He had proposed the League. He had chosen her to lead it.

And when everything went up in flames. When the going got tough, when unforeseen enemies had her down and out…

He had been there. And he had fought on their side.

That was an understatement.

He had won a war, all on his own, while she was dead and beaten. He had chosen to save her and the ILS. He had not cast her aside, taking the risk to save her in the process.

Londyn nodded to herself, and let her shoulders drop as she exhaled another deep breath.

The evidence was up in the air, the implications could go either way, so at the end of the day the decision was up to her.

She chose to trust in her friend, until he proved she could not.

Whatever his intentions, she owed him that much.

She turned away from the window, heading back to her workstation.

She would trust in Bob.

But that didn’t mean she would sit back and do nothing.

If he was on her side, then every bit she did meant a burden off his shoulders.

If he was not…

She was Londyn Green, founder and director of the International League of Superheroes. He chose her for this job. And she would see it through.

Markus had a wide grin on his face as he slammed open the doors of his father’s office.

“Daaaaadddd! I’m home!”

“Fool boy, what the heck are you doing here?”

“Just enjoying the best day of my life!”

Several FBI officers marched out from behind Markus.

“Mr. Herring, you have the right to remain silent…”

“What is the meaning of this? Don’t you know who I am?”

Markus grinned.

“That’s exactly why they’re here! Looks like someone funded a hit on Director Green. Like dang, Dad, that’s evil even for us!”

Mr. Herring narrowed his eyes.

“Boy, you have no idea who you’re dealing with. I’m the only reason you’re still alive.”

“Oh you mean the Concordat of Sorrow?”

“...”

“Oooo I finally got you, didn’t I? We know all about your little fan club, not to worry. I’m going to be just fine.”

The officers cuffed Mr. Herring’s hands.

“You didn’t do anything. Not once have you ever beaten me. Not once have you proven yourself even remotely competent. Even now, you rely on others. Because you’re weak, and you don’t have what it takes to face me yourself. You are a failure, and I’m disgusted by you.”

Markus nodded.

“Well that’s true. But I am better than you at one thing.”

“And just what is that?”

“Picking good friends!”

“...”

The officers began to lead Mr. Herring out of the room. Markus held up a hand right before they passed the door, and leaned towards his father, a huge grin on his face.

“And you know what you always told me?”

“...”

“A loser can bark all he likes about how he should have won, but at the end of the day winning is all that matters. And guess what?”

Markus pointed to himself.

“Winner.”

Then he pointed to his father.

“Loser.”

His grin grew wider as he saw his father’s face scrunch up, but he just waved to the officers.

“Take him away, boys!”

Bob let out a sigh as he stared at the mountain of papers on his desk. Famiano hadn’t been entirely wrong, many of his assets were indeed scattered and in tatters. Nothing lost that couldn’t be rebuilt, but he was starting from scratch in a lot of areas.

Which meant work.

Lots and lots of work.

Bob let out a curse.

“War is so annoying.”

He let out another sigh and shook his head, then grabbed his notepad and a coffee before walking over to his chair, flicking on the television. He took a sip as he sat back down, and then began to flip through his notes.

“The ILS is back in action! Aurora Legion does it again, taking down the Hungry Smasher once more after he escaped from prison!”

Perhaps this was not a problem, but rather an opportunity.

He didn’t have to just rebuild. He could optimize and change, build it better than before.

And he had a lot to think about.

The system worked. He could keep the major players in check, maintain the balance, and contain the violence. And if necessary, he could use it to change the world.

But it only worked for those within the system.

And if there was anything to learn here, it was that not everything was inside the system.

He didn't know what he didn’t know.

And he couldn’t plan if he didn’t know where to start.

He thought he had enough of the variables contained but the world was wider than he realized. Isn’t that what happened to the Concordat in the first place?

This time worked out, but he had gotten lucky. What if the Concordat had known about him sharing Red Colonel’s armory with Xiong Huang, or had taken the time to scout the site? What if the Eternal Night Sect had been compromised? What if the Concordat had a way to neutralize Eternal Night entirely? What if they had more heroes than Mr. Dapper Tiger under their belt? What if he hadn’t happened to meet Sir Edmund?

And what if there was something worse than just a rival organization?

Bob took out his phone, glancing at some of the files from the Concordat, cross-referencing them with his notes. He nodded.

He had decided where to start.

He dialed a number on his phone.

“Bob!”

“Cikizwa, good work.”

“Thank you, Bob! I’m glad it all worked out. Will we be getting back to normal soon?”

“Not you and I.”

“Not me?! I thought we were even now!”

“I have another job for you.”

“O-Ok, I mean, I guess we haven’t gotten any calls yet, so that’s fine. What did you have in mind?”

Bob glanced at the television showing footage of Aurora Legion’s latest fight.

“I for one, am glad to see that even with the League in chaos, they still have their heroes out on the streets, ready to save the day from whatever may come!”

“We’re going to build a super team of our own.”