I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

She had settled some doubts, but in the end, the more pressing issues hadn't been resolved. And that was a problem in itself.

 

Alexanders had confirmed that their minds were being tampered with, and while it should be a relief to find out that she didn't need to deal with Alexanders as an enemy...

 

The fact that he also had his memories being tampered with was a problem, he was the [Manager] of her powered side, and he was allegedly responsible for how her [Skills] worked, or at least the ones responsible for how her body acclimated with the mana.

 

She had gotten a boost into her level and her body was stronger, but somehow hadn't had trouble acclimating to it, as shown by her fight against the berserker.

 

"Is everyone rested enough?" Asked Zoe from the door of the room they had settled in.

 

It was a rec room if all the games and sofas were something to go by. They even had a [Skill] proof vending machine, not like that had stopped a few of them from trying to cheat it anyways.

 

"...Like talking to a wall." Said the girl while making a motion to follow her.

 

They quickly filled after the girl, she paraded them while masked people walked by, giving them a wide berth. Some of those in the procession seemed to shy further into the middle while others took this chance to try and watch the masked people more closely.

 

Alice for her part didn't seem to mind either and just settled in trying to spread her [Shadows] around, without much success. The [Shadows] around here seemed to wrestle her control away from her and return to a neutral state.

 

And while that was an interesting phenomenon to see, if annoying for her intentions. She didn't want to send one of her scouts to a place that would probably wipe them out either...

 

So she grumbled and quietly carried on.

 

"Seat wherever you want...But please...Do not make small islands isolated from the rest, we don't have enough spots for that." Said Zoe while pointing to a school classroom.

 

It had...just enough seats so everyone that had made it to this point would be able to find a spot...And maybe a few extra options, but not nearly enough to create the effect she warned against.

 

So she went ahead while everyone warily looked at each other...And sat right in the front and in the middle, was this a power move?

 

Perhaps.

 

But almost instantly they all started to fight for spots in the corners and sides, and slowly but surely they all started to trickle down and sit themselves... A few decided to stand in the back and just stand there with their backs against the wall...Trying to look cool and edgy.

 

She of course didn't turn her head to look at them, she could [Sense] them with her [Shadows], she ought to be close enough to awaken a subset skill for this with all her use of that facet of her [Skill].

 

...No?

 

Oh well, it would come with time, she didn't really need more bloat in her [Status] anyway...

 

"Now this is the part of the induction where I explain the rules...And I do this because any other lieutenant would say you to either kill them, eat them, torture them, or dispose of them..." Said the girl with exasperation.

 

Yikes...Talk about [Villains].

 

"First... We don't go after civilians unless they make an effort to obstruct our work and have the power to do so." She said while writing in the whiteboard behind her.

 

"What about metahuman civilians?" Said one of those standing against the wall.

 

Because three had decided that standing against the wall was cool or something, uuugh...Men.

 

"If they have the power to stop you, you are either doing a bad job or found a retired [Hero]. Either way, you are screwed." Answered back Zoe.

 

She seemed to deflate at the comment she eventually turned back to the class, "But yes...If a [Meta] tries to stop you and those around you aren't enough to intimidate them, you are allowed to fight back." Then from her hand, a purple fog started billowing out.

 

The fog didn't go towards them but was floating around Zoe, "If you are working as a [Minion] then either a lieutenant or a [Villian] should be near you. Their presence should, with some luck, make it obvious that preventing your work is a bad idea." She said and with a flicker, the fog coalesced into a dart that lodged itself 5 centimeters away from the head of the edgelord in the middle.

 

The one that had made the question.

 

And then the wall started sizzling as it melted away, "Do not try to make my words an excuse to attack civilians, [Echidna] makes an effort to not antagonize the powers that be. Not because she fears them...But because we have plenty of noncombatants in [The Hydra's Fangs]. " And then the girl turned to write the next point.

 

"Do not test the limits of our rules." The girl wrote and then turned to her audience.

 

She was met with silence, "We are [Villians], have no doubt of that, but we have limits to all. You might eat, deform, torture, and do as you wish with your enemies." Once more the fog started billowing, this time sneaking across the classroom.

 

But always stood away from everyone else, "But we true [Villians] have [Standards]. We do not attack civilians first, ever." Her hair was starting to turn dark as she spoke, and her eyes seemed to gain a purple shine.

 

"Now, some lieutenants have different rules. Pyronyx will tell you that so long they are alive you can do what you want with them," She said while a projection of a demon-looking girl was shown on the whiteboard.

 

Afterward, the black-masked man showed beside her, "Nyctophagia will smile and let you do whatever you wish, but be warned, he will probably do the same to you at some point if you ever bother him or he gets bored of you." The picture suddenly grew a vicious smile.

 

Yeah, she was not ever going to work with that man if it was possible.

 

"Chimera...Will probably look the other way, but he is usually left with guard duty for high-stakes work, so he doesn't deal with civilians." The picture showed the face of a kid-looking shadow imp. Was he even human?

 

What kind of [Skill] deformed someone to that extreme?

 

And last of all showed the picture of a black-haired girl with a face mask like one would use while having the flu, the girl had the same purple eyes that Zoe was showing now...

 

Then it struck her, that was Zoe in her [Powered] form...Somehow her skill was able to change how she looked...Actually not a single one of the people in the pictures looked normal...

 

"Finally...Nyctoxis...Me." She pointed at herself in the pictures, "I deal with containment, so if you end up in a work with me we will deal with civilians, most [Heroes] know that civilians with me are safe so long they behave." The fog suddenly raised and formed a fence around them.

 

One of the people standing tried to touch it and the sizzling sound followed by a yelp by that person made it obvious that touching that was dangerous.

 

"My [Skill] is highly corrosive, and the [Shadow] properties make it so that it is hard to contain. Most of the [Civilians] around know to not mess with my fences. So the only real problem are new [Heroes] and our new [Hires]." She glared at them. "Do not make my work harder than needed and you will be allowed to work with me."

 

After that the fog all flew back to the girl and was absorbed into her, her eyes and hair returning to a more normal color, her black hair once more returned to the purplish-pink of before, her eyes lost the brilliance in them and settled in a more toned down purple.

 

"You will probably not work with one of us lieutenants that often, more than likely you will work with a [Villian] associated to us. Or if you end up as a [Villian] you will have to make your own ruling about how to deal with [Civilians]." She said while focusing on her for a few seconds.

 

What?

 

"If you wish you may even work as a solo agent," And wiping clean the board she pressed a button and the board turned into a screen showing information.

 

Wouldn't it have been easier to use that function before?

 

"We will provide you with a new [Id] if you need one to work, we will sell you military-grade equipment and provide help with [Suits] or any [Artifact] needed to help you deal with the more pressing side effects the [Taint] had in your [Skill]." The list was long, really long, it showed pricing and possible mentors and teachers on how to deal with the rampant use of

[Skills].

 

It even listed the original body armor her father had sent her, the thing that made the durability of her [Shadow Empress] shift, and that thing was expensive. Zoe might have noticed her eyes wandering to that part as she highlighted the suit.

 

"These are an example of the higher-end stuff you should expect to find when fighting against High C-Tier threats and low B-Tier [Heroes]." That thing was graded for those tiers?

 

Hadn't Akira managed to break her face mask?

 

"Of course, we have a credit program you all can use." Smiled Zoe while saying that.

 

Credit? This was truly a villainous organization...

 

"We are able to lend you these for use and we will sell the goods you get in the black market...By a cut of the final price of course, then you can pay us at your own pace...Of course, you will need to mind the interests." Said the girl while presenting them with the interest table.

 

She...Wasn't going to use that service, if she was reading that right then she would end up indebted to [Echidna] for quite some time...

 

Most of those around her whispered among themselves about how they would use the service as soon as possible, she could only think about the fact that not a single one of the masked people they had seen was using anything in that list.

 

"Are we obligated to use those?" Asked Alice without raising her hand.

 

Zoe smiled her way at that, "Of course not, the only obligatory gear we ask of you is the bracelet, and that is free of charge so long you work for us." Answered the girl, "If you don't have a face mask or a helmet we will require you to use one of ours..." She said while showing another entry in the listing.

 

It was the same mask those around the base were using.

It showed a dark demonic-looking mask, it had several designs available, some with more decorations than others, but overall it was the same design.

 

Bellow had the option to add or remove horns in the finishing design too.

 

"By a rule of thumb, if you use a [Horned] mask you are expected to use your [Skill] while at work." Said Zoe while scrolling down into the options, and highlighting the amount of horns available.

 

"The amount of [Horns] you get depends on how much we expect of your skill, you don't get to decide the type or design of [Horn]. So think carefully about it, but by a rule of thumb [Pink] is reserved for support, [Red] for offensive," Started describing the girl while the color in the horns changed.

 

"[Blue] for scouting, [Green] for field support, [Yellow] for situational use, and [Black] for jack-of-all-trades." Finished saying Zoe.

 

She was wondering how many [Horns] she would get if she asked one, then remembered she already had a mask, "Of course, some of you already have a [Registered] suit in case you came from a [School] or studied at some point in one." Some of those around her seemed uncomfortable at that mention.

 

"We will help you register a new [Identity] if you need it, but it is encouraged that you keep your previous [Identity]." Added Zoe when she saw the reaction of the people around the classroom.

 

"Then there isn't a problem with my current design?" Asked

Alice while manifesting her face mask in her hand and showing it to Zoe.

 

Zoe looked at it and pressed a few buttons near the whiteboard, soon enough a projection of her mask showed itself on the board, "Hmm...." Mused the girl while seeing the projection.

 

"There isn't a problem with it, the design incorporates enough edges to pretend to be horns anyway..." Said the girl while moving around the projection, "Can you edit it?" Asked the girl.

 

Alice just shrugged and made a pair of red-ish horns grow on it, "Sure, it's made of my [Shadows] and the form isn't a problem, so long the design stays close enough to the original some modifications are possible." She answered.

 

Zoe for her part smiled at that, "Good, if you need to make an official statement for [The Hydra's Fang] grow that pair of horns on it while doing so. It shouldn't be needed for your normal work, but it's good to stay on brand." Said Zoe while nodding to herself.

 

What...What would be her normal work anyway?

 

They hadn't said who would be what yet.

 

"Now, if you want to follow..." She stopped talking and looked at Alice...As if asking how to refer to her.

 

And kept looking at her, so Alice just shrugged and said "Alice unless I'm at work." It didn't matter to her much if they knew her name anyway, not that they could do much with it since her identity was a fresh one without any backing.

 

"If you want to follow after Alice's example or not is up to you, by the rule of thumb, don't reveal your face if possible while at work. While nothing stops the law enforcement from going after you in your nonmasked self...They tend to let that half of your life alone so long you do the same." Said Zoe while moving away from the shop pitch and into a more serious topic.

 

"Don't make mistakes, unless you make a good effort of keeping both lives separate people will find out. Not everyone of course, but most [Infosec] powereds can find your identity fast enough, " And on the whiteboard, a new image showed up. It was a news report of a [Villain] that had attacked a [Hero's] Family while he was at work.

 

And how he was nailed to a building with a few [Heroes] keeping everyone from lowering him, that was...brutal.

 

It stood there for half a day till the [Villain] died of blood loss, and even then the [Heroes] didn't let anyone lower his body, she...She wasn't sure what to think about that.

 

"[Echidna] gave orders for anyone from our side to not attempt a rescue, and [The Twelve] endorsed that operation. But after what [The American Crusader] did almost ten years ago the outcome was obvious." Smirked Zoe while putting an article demanding [The American Crusader] to face charges for what he did to the [Villain] that attacked their home when she was five.

 

"Some people think they are smart...What the news doesn't say is that this man," Zoe said while zooming in on the face of the villain, who had a domino mask on that didn't show any part of his face and a bright green full body suit that hid all his skin. "Was caught by the [Hero] whose family he attacked...At work. His [Civilian] work."

 

Then showed another document with a full description of the man, "[The PuzzleMaker] AKA James Walker, was a loved pre-school teacher by day...And a vicious smart-ass killer whose niche was to build death traps and stick people there." Afterward, there was a video of a [Hero] dressed in a classical blue and red body suit walking into the school and dragging the man by his neck.

 

No one did anything to stop him in the recordings, and the only one who tried to do anything was the director, but a glare from the masked [Hero] stopped him, outside of the school was an entourage of both [Heroes] and [Villains].

 

The [Villains] methodically undressed the man and put him in the [Villian] suit, all the while the man struggled to escape, when he saw his [Suit] he even tried to activate his [Skill] but one of the [Heroes] pulled out a weird [Collar] that was placed in the [Villain] and his [Skill] fizzled out.

 

She couldn't help but shudder at the idea, somehow the mere thought of some [Artifact] sealing away her [Skills] made her wary, where would they even get one of those things?!?

 

"Those [Collars] are part of the darker part of our [History] in case some of you are wondering, they are strictly accounted and can block most [Skills]." Said Zoe while forwarding the video.

 

And stopping it at the image of the [Villain] stuck in the building, bleeding out, "So play nice, because [Heroes] are among the most vicious and unforgiving bastards to ever face the planet." And after telling so, she turned off the screen.

 

She then wrote something on her cellphone and after a half a minute wait someone walked in with two different keycards "And now we will speak about what work you will be able to do with us and how you will be assigned work depending on your designation." And she showed them the keycards.

 

Alice just focused more on that and started to plan how to get the [Villain] card.