Satina took a step forward. "Do you watch the news, Roberto?" With a smile, she accepted the styrofoam cup Mary offered.

Roberto shook his head no. "I mean, I used to be in most headlines, so I didn't have the time. Nor the vanity." His smile broadened.

Satina rolled her eyes. "Well, you should start watching if you want to have the slightest idea of what kind of job you signed up for." She took a sip of her coffee and a lollipop from a bomboniére. "This will be your homework. Watch the news and come up with ideas to make us some money. We'll meet at Léon's tomorrow morning, and you'll present your ideas to us."

Rob focused his eyes on Satina as she unwrapped her candy. She must be no older than twenty, he thought. She looked too young and too innocent. Still, there was something about her—about the three of them—that gave him chills. The bad kind.

"Why would I need to do it? Don't you come up with the plans yourself? Isn't that what leaders are for?" Rob raised an eyebrow.

"So your leaders in the League didn't make you think for yourself?" She scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not saying I'll accept your idea, dumbass. Leaders work alongside their teams. And I'll have no freeloaders in mine." Satina mouthed her lollipop. "I want to know what kind of shit you come up with and if you're willing to be the bad guy."

Roberto frowned and lowered his eyes. He didn't come here to be the bad guy, but he had to keep up appearances. "Right. Well, I'm sure Mary is great and all, but I'm positive I can do whatever she does. I mean," he pointed at the bald woman, "she's definitely no menace."

Mary finished her second cup of coffee, playing with the hemline of her dress. When their eyes met, she smiled, showing Roberto a perfectly aligned wall of round-edged teeth.

Léon snickered and whispered, "Don't let her fool you." He pointed at the screen. Mary's name was the third in the Rank of Villainy. Rob's eyebrows shot upwards. He turned his gaze to Mary. She winked.

With a snicker, Satina gave a hard slap on Rob's arm. "Come, dickhead. Let's continue our tour."

He took a deep breath and nodded. Everything's fine; it's just a tour. See things, know things. He'd be okay if he stuck to his plan. As despicable as things turned out to be in his life, at least his morals and his training were a strong foundation he could rest on.

Besides, he was still alive. He stared at the inside of his styrofoam cup, and the cream foam slid down. A movement caught his attention. Léon.

Rob would be lying if he said he hadn't missed him. If he knew Léon was alive and well, maybe… maybe he wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.

Maybe Léon wouldn't be here either.

But he was. They both were.

Rob sighed, staring at Léon's brown eye. It seemed always attentive, while the dead white eye, the one cut by the scar on his face, gave him an otherworldly air. Something wild or feral; something dangerous. Their gazes met. Intertwined. Crystallized—but the connection was broken by Léon, who preferred to check his fingernails instead.

"I'll grab some coffee," Léon said, walking away.

"Wait! Let me prepare your favorite!" Mary beamed, skipping behind him.

Don't get near him, Rob told himself.

Grizzly Bear—not merely 'Roberto'—sighed. It was too much to hope he still remembered. But Rob didn't have the time to dwell on the past. He had a mission to accomplish.

Yeah, that's it. He raised his gaze and focused on the Invidia logo on the screen. Grizzly Bear, the Hero, would follow the plan, as much as Roberto Tapir, the man, wanted much more than that. He would get the answers he wanted, use those villains in whatever way he saw fit, and then he would get out.

And never come back.

"Nice and easy," he whispered.

But if things went south, well… Roberto was a superhero; he had to remember that. This was bigger than him, than Léon, than anyone—any sacrifice would be worth it.

"Wake up, Hero-boy," Satina said, snapping her fingers. She plucked her lollipop from her mouth and pointed it at Roberto. "He's nice to look at, I get it, but don't get too close. I'm warning you. Shit can blow real fast in this business, and I don't need you as some liability shit."

Roberto frowned and let out a confused hum.

"I see how you look at him." Satina stopped and put the lollipop in her mouth again. "Léon is family, and I won't let you put him in danger, all right? Keep your distance."

If only she knew the whole story.

He glanced at Satina and looked back at Léon, who chatted with Mary a good distance away from them. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was good to have her thinking he was only after a dalliance, not an old… well… Rob licked his lips and interrupted the chain of thoughts to say, "All right. I hear you."

Satina nodded, playing with the lollipop stick between her lips. "Good."

"But it won't be my fault if he can't resist my charm, yeah?" He smirked.

With a scowl, Satina walked away.