Before he started the shift, Robert checked the leaderboard. The second and third from the bottom were Sonar and Coupé. And a good chunk of points below them: Invisigal.

  “Cut day, huh?” Chase asked, still carrying Beef. He pointed to Prism’s name at fourth from the bottom. “Eh, she ain’t bad. Those other three ain’t shit.”

  “Did you come over here to tell me that?” Robert asked. “Cause that’s almost exactly the information the leaderboard gives you.”

  “Actually, smart ass, I came over to tell you that one of your team members is in need of assistance.”

  Robert sighed and walked over to his computer. He put on his headset. “Sonar, you alright? Why are you sending a distress call when you haven’t left the building?”

  “Could you… send a locksmith downstairs?” Sonar asked.

  “What happened?” Robert groaned.

  “Eh, Coop seduced me,” Sonar answered, disheveled.

  Coupé’s voice chuckled in Robert’s ear, and she said, “No, I said, ‘Hey, wanna see something cool?’ then handcuffed you to a squat rack.”

  “But you said it with a hot voice,” Sonar responded. “So I assumed you meant boobs.”

  Robert already felt a headache forming. “Okay, team? I know Blazer mentioned that someone’s getting cut but don’t let that distract you from doing a good job out there. That’s what you’ll be judged on.”

  “What a bunch of bullshit…” Malevola muttered.

  “Sorry?” Robert shot back immediately. “What’s bullshit?”

  “This judgey bullshit,” she answered.

  “How is that—”

  “Yeah, only God can judge me,” Prism piled on.

  “Okay. False.” Robert sipped his coffee. “I am judging you right now.”

  “It’s bullshit,” Malevola continued. “It’s not like you gotta deal with this kind of bullshit.”

  “Uh, also false,” Robert chuckled. “Of course I’m being judged along with the rest of you. Are you—do you not know what a job is? What the hell is going on?”

  “None of us have had real jobs, dude,” Invisigal said. “How is this a surprise to you?”

  “Alright, fine,” Robert relented. “Just ignore the pressure and do your jobs. You don’t need to be first, you just can’t be last.”

  “What about me?” Sonar asked quietly.

  Robert stood up and placed a hand over his mic, saying loudly to the office, “Can somebody go down to the gym and help Batboner?” As he sat back down, Chase’s head poked up over the cubicle wall, so he groaned, “Don’t ask.”

  Robert pulled up the dispatch map and heard Sonar say, “I’m losing feeling in my hand. And not in a fun, kinky way.”

  ***

  They all spent the entire fucking morning sabotaging each other on calls like it was going to help them not get cut. There was a call about a drug deal at the airport and, for some reason, the caller specifically requested Sonar. But when Sonar “completed” the drug bust, he could then audibly be heard doing cocaine over the mission comms.

  ***

  “You told me you were gonna cut back,” Malevola sighed.

  “I am,” Sonar said, already talking quicker than he had been. “Right after this bump. And like four more bumps.”

  “Been a while since I had to call in a drug related favor,” Prism noted. “But this shit was worth it.”

  Malevola let out a defeated exhale. “Fuck you.”

  On his way back to base, Sonar was attacked by Prism using a children’s toy to emit a high-pitched noise and almost make the man-bat’s ears bleed. Once he was recovered, there was a call about the drug traffickers he had met with had been tracked down. So Robert sent Sonar and Malevola to take care of them. Those two joined the program together, so hopefully, they wouldn’t try to sabotage each other.

  Next, there was a call about someone’s grandma getting scammed and intel needed to be collected. Flambae and Prism acted like besties sometimes so Robert sent them. Then a call came in about a landslide. Sonar and Coupé just volunteered themselves and ran out the door before Robert could say otherwise, prompting his ever-growing headache to start pulsing behind his eyes. And as expected, Sonar attempted to sabotage Coupé by shoving her into a water aerobics class full of old people while they were en route to the mission.

  Coupé made it back to headquarters safe, but then apparently “walked into” Malevola’s sword on accident. And then Punch Up said, “I don’t believe in punching women. But I do believe in punching demons.”

  Malevola responded, “Just try it.”

  ***

  Robert felt like faceplanting his desk.

  ***

  Although the sports event brawl had already been quelled by Invisigal and Golem, Robert received another call about the two teams apparently trying to steal each other’s mascots now. So he sent the duo back out to make sure the job was done right this time.

  A tip came in about someone that scammed people by pretending to be SDN. Robert chose Punch Up and Coupé to check it out since those to apparently used to fuck. And then there was a call about some parking lot that was super backed up, so Robert sent Flambae and Prism to play traffic cops. Then a call came in from Vand-Co about an impending train crash so Robert quickly sent out the flying bat monster and the teleporting demon in heels.

  After they saved that mess from happening, calls got quiet for a bit. The last one to come in for the morning was about a burglar that had been spotted, and Malevola jumped on the job immediately. But Invisigal chose to go rogue and chase after Malevola to try catching the burglar herself. Robert pulled up alley cams just in time to see Malevola hop out of a portal chasing the thief and run after him. Invisigal had strung up a chain across the alleyway and waited to pull it tight until after the thief ran past, so the only one that tripped was Malevola.

  She yelled, “Bitch!” and immediately drew her giant red sword, attempting to kill Invisigal.

  ***

  Robert just stared at his monitor, completely unsurprised.

  ***

  He found the thief using the alleycams, identified him, and told Invisigal, “Yeah, so the perp that just ran by was Lightningstruck. This is now the second time that you let him get away.”

  “No shit?” She said, unconcerned. “That’s crazy.”

  Then she barely dodged half a dozen wild swings from a six and half foot demon with a magic greatsword.

  Robert’s face was in his palm.

  Chase was leaning over the top of the cubicle wall, watching it all unfold. “I’d normally say cut her, but the way things are going, I’d cut the whole damn team. You need a reset, Robbie.”

  ***

  Robert glared at his screen. “All Z-Team back to base and in the conference room in twenty minutes.” He pulled his headset off and had to resist the urge to throw it.

  ***

  Robert had to mentally steel himself for this talk. He sat sipping coffee in the break room, watching the team trickle into the conference room. When he felt ready, he stood and made his way in. Most of the team had arrived, and when he entered, they were muttering various forms of, “This is a waste of time.”

  ***

  He fully expected Malevola to show up late since Blazer and Chase said she always did, but a portal opened in the wall right after he walked in the room. She walked through, the portal closed, and she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. Not everyone was present yet, but he wasn’t about to wait for those that wanted to be tardy.

  “Can everyone take a seat so we can get started?” He asked, raising his voice a little.

  Malevola at least glanced at him, but no one even responded.

  “Hey,” he tried again. “Can I get your attention please? I would like to get starte—”

  A thumping had been growing behind him, and he was suddenly knocked across the room as Golem swung the conference room doors open, slamming right into him. Robert crashed into a pile of chairs, and as he stood up, rolling his shoulder out, he heard most of the team laughing at him.

  “Woah,” Flambae laughed. “Looks like this motherfucker’s got the power of flight, way to go.”

  “Bobby boy!” Sonar added on. “Watch where you’re going!”

  Gotta treat ‘em like a bunch of villains.

  “Hey,” Robert said to Golem. And when the giant pile of mud looked at him, he threw a chair into his face. It didn’t do much damage, the legs just sunk into his body, but it at least got the point across.

  “I understand you’re big,” Robert said calmly, “but you need to be considerate of other people around you.” He walked over to the table, pulled a chair out, and said, “Have a seat.”

  Golem glared at him as the chair slowly pushed back out of his muddy torso. Then he calmly grabbed it, handed it to Robert, and said, “I’ll sit on the floor.”

  “Suit yourself,” Robert said, taking the chair.

  Blonde Blazer and Chase (and Beef) entered a minute later, and finally, the team decided to sit down.

  “So we gettin’ this party started?” Chase asked.

  “Yeah, what’s this shit about?” Flambae asked, leaning back in his chair. “Let’s go, come on. Fuckin’ wasting my time, let’s go.”

  “Okay,” Robert said, “as you know, by the end of today, one of you will be cut from the Z-Team.”

  Malevola leaned back dramatically and huffed, “This is bullshit.”

  “Yeah, you said that already.” He shook his head at her. “You’re a smart girl, pick a new fuckin’ word.”

  ***

  “Cut me from the job I didn’t want in the first place,” Punch Up muttered.

  “Miss Blazer,” Prism said, a little too formal. “Maybe if you gave us a dispatcher who knew what they were doin’, you wouldn’t have to throw no one out.”

  “Hey,” Robert said to her. “Nikki Mirage, I’m standing right here. You can talk to me.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you, bitch,” she threw attitude back. “Which weak ass superhero team did you come from? Fuckin’ Geek Squad?”

  “Doesn’t matter where I’m from, Cardi C. What matters is I’m here to figure out who stays and who goes.”

  “Yeah,” Punch Up piled on. “Chill out, Lady Haha.”

  Prism grabbed one of Coupé’s knives and jumped on the table, holding the blade to Punch Up’s throat. “You talking shit? You hipster motherfucker. Over here lookin’ like Mumford fucked all his sons.”

  Punch Up just laughed. “That was funny, see?” He glanced at Robert. “We’re just bustin’ balls.”

  “Keep talking,” Prism told him. “You won’t have your tiny inbred balls left to bust.” Then she moved back and handed the blade back to Coupé.

  “Ask next time,” Coupé said. “Or there won’t be a next time.”

  “Don’t threaten me, you butterknife bitch,” Prism said, still crouched on the table.

  “Ooookay,” Robert cut through, “I’ll make this quick.”

  Prism sat back down and he continued. “Most people would look around this room and see a bunch of villains. Not even the super kind. Just plain ass, run of the mill, vanilla fuckin’ villains. But that’s not what I see. Cause lucky for you, I’m not most people.”

  He looked around at each of them. “When I look around this room, what I see is fear. You’re afraid you’re gonna fuck it up again. Like the last time someone gave you a shot…”

  He started pacing around the table. “And the time before that. And the time before that. You’re afraid of letting people down again. You’re afraid of letting yourself down. If you want this time to be different than those other times… I’m here to help.”

  He moved back to the front of the room. “You’re all part of the Phoenix Program. Any of you know what a phoenix is?”

  “Oh,” Malevola offered. “A city in Arizona.”

  “Yeah,” Flambae added. “The sweltering ballsack of America.”

  Chase spoke up behind Robert, “Nah, if Florida’s the dick, then Louisiana’s gotta be the ballsack. Just, you know, positionall—”

  “The Phoenix—” Robert cut in with a glare.

  “Sorry.”

  “—according to legend, is a beautiful bird of prey that was so tired of its immortality, it tricked the sun god into dropping a spark on its nest to set it ablaze, burning it to shit.”

  ***

  His eyes made another pass over them and stopped on Malevola when he saw how hard her yellow eyes were locked on him.

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  ***

  “But instead of dying,” he continued, “the phoenix emerged from ash, reborn.” He leaned on the table. “All of you in this room are phoenixes, and it’s obvious what that means. But for you dumb ones, I’ll spell it out. The phoenix symbolizes redemption. It’s what you’re here for. It’s what connects everyone in this room. To burn up who you were, to become who you were meant to be.”

  Invisigal suddenly appeared in the empty chair next to Malevola. “Phoenix is also a lame ass band my lame ass roommate listens to.”

  “You’re late,” Robert told her firmly.

  “I like that band,” Malevola muttered.

  “You would,” Invisigal smirked at her, then turned to Robert. “What are you talking about? I was here the whole time. I turn invisible, genius. Remember?”

  “Bullshit,” Chase coughed into his fist.

  “Great,” Robert tapped the table with a finger. “Then you know we’re cutting someone, and you, Miss Hot Topic sale, are at the bottom of the leaderboards.”

  He looked across all their faces, said, “Have a better second shift,” and walked out of the room.

  Robert sat down at his computer and put on his headset.

  “Great speech back there, Robert,” Blonde Blazer told him over comms.

  “Thanks.”

  “Alright everyone,” Blazer addressed the entire team. “You heard the man. Get out there and do some stellar dispatching. You’ve got this!”

  The first call came in about a client needing protection while shopping. Coupé apparently knew the client from her former life, but in a, ‘they were my target’ way. So Robert sent Golem. As he was finishing up the job, he radioed, “Hey Visi, I just got Robert’s joke.”

  “What joke?” She asked.

  “He offered me a seat,” Golem said. “That was funny.”

  “Bro, that was like three hours ago,” Visi responded.

  “I literally have rocks for brains.”

  The next call was about someone cutting in line at a YouTopia concert, an artist which Sonar liked but Prism apparently couldn’t stand. Sounded like a perfect job to send the pop star on. She solved it by putting on an impromptu performance of her own when she got there.

  Next was a call about some kind of cult outside of a store. Bat-boy and demon girl to the rescue. Malevola ended up recognizing the cult of Ch’aad, and whatever she had to say to them, it scared them away.

  Then there was a call about an underground fighting ring which Punch Up seemed to know a lot about, so Robert sent him and Coupé to check it out, as well as Flambae for backup. Punch Up was quite happy to be sent.

  Another call came in for protection for the same client as before, this time during a lunch with the Governor of California. Punch Up asked Coupé what the deal was with that client and she said the person who hired her couldn’t pay, so now she kills or doesn’t kill based on how SDN sees fit. Malevola and the bat monster were having some good synergy, so Robert sent them—couldn’t ask for more intimidating security.

  The fighting ring was busted up successfully, but not long after, Punch Up said that word on the street was that it had just relocated. Coupé went out to check a tip, finding out that the next fight would be at the refinery in one hour. Punch Up vehemently requested to be sent, so Robert dispatched him.

  Then Blazer said something about sending one of the flying heroes to get a flying license. Seemed like a strange, logistical inconvenience, but Robert sent Flambae anyway. Sonar asked if SDN could maybe be bribed to deal with the leaderboard situation and Coupé suggested maybe threatening would work. Then Punch Up had some trouble with his fighting ring so Robert sent Coupé to help out.

  Next, that same client needed protection a third time. Robert decided to see how Invisigal could handle it. There ended up being a Red Ring assassin, but Visi was able to disarm them.

  A talkshow called the Bone Zone was talking shit about SDN and invited someone to come debate them, so Robert sent Sonar and Malevola.

  “Hold up,” Flambae said. “Hold the fuck up. Punch Up. You and Coop took out twelve guys at the fighting ring by yourself?”

  Punch Up chuckled. “Back in the day, our personal best was fourteen.”

  “Fourteen guys?” Flambae asked. “What the fuck? How?”

  “Punch Up’s got a uh, special technique,” Coupé said. “Real classy stuff. Maybe if you ask nice, he’ll tell you about it.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Punch Up said.

  After that, Sonar tried pitching a housing insurance scheme to Flambae. Robert just sighed and ignored it.

  Blazer offered some additional hero training, so Robert sent Flambae.

  Then there was a bank robbery. He sent Golem and Coupé.

  And Lightningstruck popped up once again, so Robert sent Punch Up, monster-Sonar, and Prism.

  “Hey Visi,” Punch Up said. “Watch me catch this electric asshole.”

  There was a hangup at the bank robbery. Robert hacked in and trapped the robbers inside the vault.

  Overall, the second half of the shift went a lot smoother than the first.

  “This shit is weird,” Flambae said. “It’s like we’re working—what’s the word? As a team.”

  “Uh-huh,” Prism responded. “Baby, that’s got a name, it’s teamwork.”

  “Isn’t that like a sex thing?” Flambae asked.

  “What type of sex thing would that be?” Prism asked.

  “It’s not really, uh, safe for work, you know? I’ll text it to you. One sec.”

  “Oh, damn boy,” Prism laughed. “That’s some fucking teamwork alright.”

  An alert popped up on Robert’s screen that Invisigal was out of the coverage area. “Invisigal, where are you going?”

  She didn’t answer, but he tracked her down with city cameras, finding her sitting on a swing at a children’s playground and smoking a cigarette.

  “Are you smoking in a playground?” Robert asked. “The fuck’s wrong with you?”

  “There you go,” she said immediately. “One more strike against me. You’ve gotta get rid of somebody, right? I’m making it easy for you.”

  “No,” Robert said calmly, “you’re quitting. You’re not making it easy for me, you’re making it easy for you.”

  “You don’t get it,” she said. “Some people are born to be heroes. I’m not one of them. I tried. Just wasn’t meant to be.” She started idly swinging.

  “Meant to be?” Robert leaned back in his chair. “What are you talking about?”

  “Blazer? Phenomaman? They have hero powers. Strong, out there for all to see, flying through the sky. Nothing to hide.”

  “What’s your point?”

  She stopped swinging. “I have fucking villain powers. I can turn invisible and skulk in the shadows. My powers let me steal shit and watch famous people fuck. Being a villain is my fate. It’s in the fucking stars. The same way Blonde Blazer was meant to be a hero.”

  Robert leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, dropping his tone to be more reassuring. “You make your own destiny.”

  “Where’d you get that?” Visi asked. “Kung-Fu Panda?”

  “Lion King.”

  “Boomer,” she teased. “I think it’s in Trolls 2, also.”

  Robert laughed lightly. “All fine films with a fine message.”

  “You’ve already been a hero, okay?” Visi said. “You have no idea what I’m dealing with.”

  “Ah, get outta here,” Robert shrugged. “At least you were born with powers. I don’t have shit. So according to your dumbass theory, I should be an accountant.”

  She didn’t immediately respond, but when she did, she said, “You aren’t far off.”

  “Fate. Destiny. Not having powers. Seasonal depression,” Robert said. “None of these things kept me from being a hero before. And they won’t keep me from being a hero again.”

  An alert popped up on Robert’s screen. Burglary in progress. He checked it and chuckled, “Oh my god. You wanna talk about fate? That Lightningstruck fuck that’s been on a spree is two blocks from your location. Maybe third time’s the charm.”

  “I told you,” Visi tapped the ash off her cigarette with a finger. “I’m out.”

  “You really wanna let this idiot get one over on you for a third time?” Robert asked.

  “What makes you think it’d be any different?”

  “The day’s not done,” Robert said. “Go get this guy and it could make a difference.”

  “He stole a roll of pennies out of a cash register at Granny’s,” Visi fought back. “I don’t think he’s moving the needle.”

  “Well he’s about to steal a quarter of a million dollars worth of jewelry.”

  “Oh shit,” Visi said. “Respect.”

  “So go move the needle,” Robert growled.

  She took a long drag of her cigarette.

  “Or are you just gonna sit there and subject kids to second hand smoke?”

  She finally stood and walked away from the swing.

  Robert relaxed a little until he saw where she was headed. “Don’t do it. Don’t fuckin’ give that kid a cigarette.”

  She handed it to the kid and said, “He’s the one I bummed it from. What’s the address?” She took a hit of her inhaler and started moving.

  Inside the jewelry store, Lightningstruck and a couple goons were already busy smashing open glass and loading their haul. Visi used her powers to quietly take out everyone but Lightningstruck himself before he finally caught on.

  “Shit!” He hissed, raising his blaster defensively.

  Visi stepped on some glass behind him and he spun, firing at it.

  “That you? Donut girl?” Lightningstruck asked, turning in place. “You sure you wanna do this again?”

  She brushed some necklaces hanging on a counter display and he shot it, then he fired randomly twice more, just hoping to hit her.

  “Invisigal,” Robert said, panning the camera around. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she whispered, hiding behind a counter. “Just help me find this fucker.”

  Robert panned back. “Got him. He’s at your five o’clock.”

  Lightningstruck said, “It’s not fair that you can see me but I can’t see you.” He shot wildly and took out some lights and cameras.

  “I’m flying blind here,” Robert said. “I can’t see anything. Gimme a second.”

  “Sure, yeah, just take your time,” Visi said.

  “Got it,” Robert accessed the low-light camera feed. “I can see again.”

  “That makes one of us,” Visi responded. “So where the hell is he?”

  Robert panned around but couldn’t find him so he had to fight through the jewelry store’s security firewalls and antivirus to access a different camera.

  “He’s at your seven,” he told Visi once he was in.

  She peeked up to take a look at Lightningstruck. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “He’s heading your way.”

  Robert kept looking through the systems he could access, and after a moment, he said, “Invisigal, I’ve got a plan. On the count of three, I’m going to turn on the main overhead lights which should temporarily blind him, giving you a chance to take him out.”

  They each took a breath.

  “One… two… three!”

  The lights came on.

  She disappeared and stepped out.

  Lightningstruck was reeling from the bright light. He started grunting and getting knocked back by his invisible assailant. He fired blindly but she dodged and hit him again. Then he swung his arm horizontally and managed to catch her in the chest. Her breath knocked out and she reappeared.

  Visi grabbed a pearl necklace and jumped up onto his shoulders from behind, wrapping the necklace around his neck. Lightningstruck let loose with his blaster, leaving a burnt path of destruction along the wall and ceiling as he was viciously choked. He finally lost his strength and Visi knocked him to the floor.

  She approached and stomped a triumphant foot onto his abdomen. “I’m no hero… fuck, no, let me try that again.”

  She stomped again, this time near his neck. “Now you see me… Wait, uh… What about… lights out, Thundercuck.”

  He struggled for a second longer, then passed out.

  “That’s the one,” Robert said. “Would’ve been better if you said it first.”

  “Right,” she smiled up at the camera. “Cuz lightning, thunder. Struck, cuck. Fuck. So close!”

  By the time Invisigal walked back into headquarters with Lightningstruck in handcuffs, the rest of Z-Team had arrived. As soon as she walked into view with the struggling villain, they all lit up.

  “Sup, Thundercuck,” Golem rumbled.

  “Hey, Bangle Boy,” Flambae added. “More like Bangle Bitch!”

  “Or Bitch Boy!” Prism yelled.

  “Hey Bangle Bitch Boy fuck you!” Punch Up said quickly.

  They were all applauding Visi who adopted a confident smile as she walked past. Malevola was waiting directly in their path with her arms crossed, but as they approached, she smirked, stepped aside, and applauded as well. That seemed to surprise Visi for a moment, then her smile returned, even more confident.

  Robert was watching across the room with Blonde Blazer next to him. “Why are those assholes not being assholes?” he asked.

  Blazer laughed. “Isn’t this what you were going for?”

  “Yeah,” Robert shrugged, “but I didn’t think it would work. I don’t get it.”

  Blazer pointed to the blue button on the headset resting around the back of Robert’s neck. “This one keeps the comm line one on one.” She pointed to the green button, “This one connects to the whole team, and this one—” she pointed to the red button, “goes out to the entire branch.”

  “Fuck,” Robert said, closing his eyes. He’d pressed the red button when he found Visi at the playground.

  Across the room, Malevola, Prism, and Flambae were all posing for a picture with Visi.

  “Yeah, you got off light,” Blazer sighed, crossing her arms. “One dispatcher broadcast the details of his botched circumcision. HR nightmare.”

  After a moment, she turned more fully to Robert and asked, “Did you mean all that? You really think she has a shot? All that stuff about fate sounded good but, I don’t know if you were just saying what you thought she needed to hear.”

  “Yeah,” Robert nodded. “Everyone has a shot. People are who they choose to be. If Invisigal wants this, she has to commit. It’s too easy to quit when you’re not good at something.”

  “It’s a steep learning curve,” Blazer said, then stepped away.

  Robert took a look at the leaderboard. Sonar and Coupé were tied for second to last, and Invisigal was still at the bottom. He sighed and looked at his team, which were all congratulating Visi. He turned and headed to Blazer’s office.

  But when he got there, he was surprised by the two files on the desk.

  “So,” Blazer said, “it’s between Sonar and Coop.”

  “What?” Robert asked. “That’s not, no—Invisigal’s still at the bottom of the board.”

  “Oh, the one in the bullpen?” Blazer asked casually. “That thing updates every hour. Invisigal moved up. Catching Lightningstruck really gave her a huge boost.”

  “Bangle Boy?” Robert asked, sinking into a seat across the desk from her. “Really?”

  “The donut shop escape,” Blazer started counting on her fingers, “slipping past Malevola, now the jewelry store… really bumped up the wanted levels.”

  Robert chuckled. “That’s like missing the free throw on purpose to get the put back.”

  “Y-yeah, exactly…” she pointed at him. “I don’t watch football, but I get it.” She took a breath and sighed. “Look, I know I’m not supposed to play favorites here, but even if she was on the bottom, I’m not sure I’d have let you cut her.”

  “Then it’s a good thing she’s not,” Robert said.

  “Yeah,” Blazer agreed. “So. These two are now tied for last place. Who do we cut? Sonar or Coop? It’s your call, I support it all the way.”

  Robert took a second to consider it. Either option felt tough, and whichever he picked, there would be a ripple effect throughout the team.

  Finally, he said, “Coop. If I’m being honest, she still feels a little…”

  “Evil?” Blazer finished for him.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah… it’s too bad,” Blazer said. “Alright. I’ll get started on the paperwork.”

  “I’ll let her know,” Robert said, standing up. “Feels important that I do.”

  As he was leaving the office, Blazer called after him, “Hey, uh, Robert?”

  He looked back.

  She looked like she was deciding exactly what she wanted to say, then finally told him, “Great work today.”

  He gave her a confident nod and walked out.

  Robert sat in the quiet conference room, his hands clasped on the table in front of him. Coupé sat directly across, her arms crossed defiantly.

  “Coop,” he started, “I’m sure you already know why I’ve asked you here.”

  “You would be mistaken,” she said with a shrug.

  “Oh. Okay,” he leaned back awkwardly. “Well, I’m letting you go. You’re at the bottom of the leaderboards. I guess all those penalties for, you know, cutting people, added up. I’m sorry.”

  “But I cheered for Invisigal,” Coupé offered back.

  “You did. I saw that. That was cool of you.”

  Coupé hissed, “I only did that because I thought she was being cut.”

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Robert said. “A lot of sense, actually. Yeah, well, she snuck past you with her last dispatch.”

  Coupé stood suddenly, pulled a dagger from her back, and threw it into the table right in front of Robert. Shadows danced around it like smoke.

  “That’s uh, wow, look at that,” Robert said nervously. “That’s very menacing. Well, thank you.”

  Instead of responding, she walked towards the ceiling-to-floor windows that overlooked the office, then threw another dagger at the glass and shattered it. She walked through, ignoring the door. Out in the office, she took flight, hovering several inches above the floor, and glided away.

  On the far side of the office, Sonar’s head poked up, looking first at Robert, then at Coupé as she flew away. Robert let out a heavy sigh and looked back at the dagger in front of him.

  Back at his desk, Robert put Coupé’s dagger into the cup where he kept his pens, then took a step back to see how it looked.

  “You accessorizing?” Chase asked behind him.

  “You could call it that,” Robert answered.

  “Where’d you get that?” Chase nodded toward the dagger.

  “Coop. She left this souvenir for me after I cut her.”

  “She threatening you, Robert.”

  “I know,” Robert sighed. “Trying to put a positive spin on it.”

  “Hey, check it out,” Chase gestured towards his cubicle. “I’ve been doing some accessorizing myself.”

  Beef was laying on his back in a brand new dog bed surrounded by new toys.

  “You are spoiling him,” Robert muttered.

  “Nonsense,” Chase spat back immediately. “What are you talking about?”

  Robert kneeled down and picked up Beef. “You ready to go home bud?”

  But when he stood back up, Chase nudged his shoulder and nodded toward the leaderboard. Invisigal was standing there, staring at it with her arms crossed. The scores suddenly updated and Invisigal’s name was no longer at the bottom. After staring at it for a second, she excitedly pulled her phone out and took a picture. She turned around, staring affectionately at the screen before she realized Chase and Robert were watching her.

  With a look of immense surprise, she disappeared on the spot.

  Chase and Robert just glanced at each other and Chase gave him another encouraging nudge. Then Beef suddenly turned, sniffed, and sneezed.

  “I still would’ve cut you,” Chase said, crossing his arms.

  Invisigal reappeared right next to Robert. “Well, no one fuckin’ asked you, old man.”

  “Lucky, fuckin’ for you,” Chase shot back.

  Visi quietly petted Beef for a second before looking up at Robert. Her eyes darted away and she muttered, “Thanks.”

  Then she disappeared.