“Any news on Silent Observer?”

“You’ve asked that at every monthly meeting.”

Liberty Warrior grit his teeth. “Well?”

“No, as usual,” said the woman. She wore a revealing, dark purple dress. Purple curls bounced against her pale skin as she talked. “There have been no sightings, none of their accounts here have been accessed, no tournament registrations, no nothing. Ever think that maybe they don’t want to be found? Stop wasting our meeting time on this wild goose chase of yours.”

“Quit your insolence, Night Watcher,” said another, older hero. He wore a blue admiral’s jacket, which draped over his chair onto the floor behind him. His short brown hair was just starting to grow gray. “Silent Observer was the number two hero after only Liberty Warrior himself. Don’t forget that. And besides, our leader misses his partner.”

Night Watcher scoffed. “It’s been two years, maybe he should get a new one. And the number two hero now is me, don’t you forget that, Argon.”

“I’ll fight you bitch,” growled Argon.

“Come at me, bastard.” Night Watcher raised her hands, and dark purple energy began to gather in her palms.

“That’s enough PDA-ing,” demanded Liberty Warrior. He was a broad man, and wore red white and blue armor. His helmet was on the table in front of him, exposing his blond hair and hardened black eyes. “This is, what did you call it, a waste of meeting time.”

Nine heroes sat around the long boardroom table, leaving mostly empty chairs. They watched the spat mainly with indifference.

“For your information—” started Argon.

“We are in the process of divorce,” finished Night Watcher.

Argon glared at her. “That was my sentence.”

A soft voice cut in. “Pardon me, Liberty. I have news that may interest you.”

The heroes all looked to the young woman who spoke. She wore a long black hoodie, with cyan and pink floral designs, that went to her knees. Underneath, she wore black stockings and combat boots. The collar of a dress shirt poked out at the neck. Her hair was split between cyan and pink sections, and a ponytail draped over her shoulder.

"Go ahead, Posy." Liberty Warrior nodded his head towards her.

She flexed her hands nervously. “Low level hero Justice Fist has recently retired. Two days later he was killed. I have footage I would like to show you.”

She tapped a tablet. Security camera footage flashed onto the two screens either side of the table, showing the interior of a dingy apartment building.

“Please watch closely,” said Posy. “First Justice Fist enters, then these two enter. We recognize this one.” The video zoomed in on a formally dressed man. He wore a white half mask with purple cheeks. “This is Misery, a rising star villain. He’s killed a few heroes already.”

The camera then panned to his companion, who wore a white full mask. It had red circular eyes and a cartoonish grin. They were otherwise dressed in a ratty brown jacket which concealed their body shape, and patched brown slacks. A news cap crowned their head of short copper hair.

“We do not know who this is, but they seem to be with Misery,” said Posy.

“What is your point?” asked Liberty Warrior.

“The two go up the stairs and get in an altercation with Justice Fist. They never go down afterwards.”

“So they jumped out a window,” said Night Watcher. “Villains do that all the time.”

Posy pushed a sheet of paper forward on the table. “This is a transcript of an eyewitness interview. They claim that they saw the two instantaneously disappear. It is possible that they teleported.” She pointed up to the screen. “We know Misery’s unique skill is some kind of telekinesis, so the teleportation ability must belong to this new individual.”

“That’s not possible,” said Liberty Warrior. “That’s Observers’s unique.”

“We have considered that it might be some kind of invisibility or other ability. Still, it is worth investigating. It could be a copycat ability, which would imply some kind of contact with our esteemed friend, or even an alternate form of teleportation. I think we all know how dangerous a teleportation ability would be in the hands of a villain.”

The image on screen zoomed out, now showing both of the villains again.

Posy turned to face Liberty Warrior. “Two days after this footage, Justice Fist was killed by Misery. He left behind his signature, a card with a hand drawn frown in purple ink. We are unsure if they were both involved in the murder.”

“Posy, continue your investigation,” said Liberty Warrior. “Capture this unknown individual and interrogate them.”

Posy nodded. “You are not the only one who misses Silent Observer. I hope that this investigation will give us clues to where our friend has gone.”

Liberty Warrior looked into the red lenses of the unknown masked villain. We will find you, Cleo.

“What is this place?” asked Harbiter, stepping out of a dark tunnel. “And why did we have to go through the sewers to get here?”

They appeared to be in an underground shopping mall. Well-lit building fronts lined the edges of the expanse, but the ceiling was an exposed cavity of rock. Menacingly outfitted humans walked through the building, some holding cotton candy or other treats and conversing joyfully.

Harbiter scanned the field of nametags. “Killjoy,” “Locust Lich,” “W. Eevil.” They certainly weren’t hero names. She settled her eyes at the edge of the crowd, where two villains chatted on a bench, a man in a blue jacket and a woman in a short purple dress. The woman handed him an ice cream cone.

“This is the district where villains go to shop in safety,” said Misery. “Especially highly wanted ones. Did you remember the route?”

“Some secret doors and whatnot. I’ll just teleport next time.”

“Don’t be complaining to me when you’re out of mana and looking for refuge,” said Misery.

It was a fair point. The man took an extra large bite of ice cream, angering the woman who stood up and began to curse at him. They reminded Harbiter of a certain couple.

“Well c’mon, I want to show you this cool store.” Misery threaded his hand into her elbow and walked towards the crowd.

Harbiter pulled her arm away. “I have eyes, you don’t need to guide me like a child.”

“Are you sure about that?” Misery turned towards her and grinned. “Follow me.”

He slipped into the crowd, becoming one with masses. Harbiter groaned and followed him into the sea of bodies, chasing glimpses of his vest and swishes of his ponytail.

“Watch it newbie,” growled a tall lizard man as she passed.

Other villains cursed at her as she bumped into them.

“Get away from me!” “Fucking noob.” “Hey!”

God, she hated crowds. She hated villains. She absolutely hated crowds of villains. She was going to have strong words for her “partner” when she saw him again. Within minutes, she completely lost track of Misery. Was she even in the right wing of the building? She cursed under her breath and tried to orient herself.

If Misery didn’t want to accompany her, she would just have to explore the place on her own. She walked past storefronts, looking into the windows.

Swords were for the idealistic. They were heavy and took too long to become skilled in. In her opinion they made amateurs cocky. Now a good blunt weapon in the hands of a burly man, that could do a lot of damage.

Potions. She could use a good restock of those. She leaned against the window, looking at the prices. They were expensive. She would rather buy them at her usual place.

Her eyes caught on a store titled “EVIL Minions of DOOM.” At the front window, a goblin man sat in a cage. He looked to the floor, glassy eyed. A chain anchored him to the metal bars.

Not my problem.

Harbiter entered the store.