"Phoenix program."

Blonde Blazer looked up at you from her desk.

"And a Z-Team in particular, I suppose?"

"Yes."

"No."

"No?"

"You can't dispatch a team that includes your girlfriend," seeing your expression, Blazer continued, "And I know you both are adults and can keep your hands to yourselves, but still."

"We won't even be in the same room!"

"You know what I meant."

Miss Blazer could be really stubborn sometimes. You could see her logic, you really did, but still—damn! At your age, being treated like a teenager whose mom won't let them sleep over at a friend's house was downright insulting.

You huffed. And puffed. And spent your evening on a video call with Malevola, trying to find a solid reason to change Blonde Blazer's mind or a solid reason to drop it. Unfortunately, no matter how you looked at it, the whole situation just made you mad.

──────────

You lazily clicked on the screen. Mr. Sharpener here, The Iron Ball there. Working with seasoned heroes was so easy to the point it was boring. Of course they knew exactly what to do, where to go, how to resolve a conflict. Your only job was saying an address. What were they even paying you for?

"No, Sonar. I said, 'Kick his ass', not 'Lick his ass'."

Your eyes flicked to the partition that separated your cubicle from Robert's.

"What, you really want to drag this joke? Fine, yeah, I'm an ass-licker, whatever. Are you gonna do your job today?"

What hero jokes about ass-licking?

Oh!

Sonar was Malevola's friend! She mentioned him, like, yesterday, when she told you about a prank he'd pulled on Robert for not sending him to some crypto-thingie conference.

Which meant, Malevola was working right now.

You leaned back, groaning. You missed your girlfriend! But you couldn't call her or even text her—she might be kicking someone's ass right that moment.

Sonar stopped harassing Robert with ass jokes, and so you lost at least some source of entertainment.

"Yeah, good job, guys," you murmured into your headset, receiving woo-hoo's and hooray's. These guys were cute. Really boring, though.

You jumped as something hot licked your leg. What the hell—Beef?

Not Beef. A pointy tail.

"You can't be serious," you whispered, flicking your headset off and sliding a bit back just enough to peer beneath the desk, "Malevola?"

A pair of amber eyes smiled at you from below, "Scared you?"

"Like hell," you smiled at her snicker—she loved when you mentioned Hell, even casually, "What're you doing here?"

"Rob's got no job for me, so I asked for a break," she rested her head on your knee, "He gave me five minutes, though."

"And you couldn't spend those five minutes—I dunno—not under my desk?" you glanced at the partition again, "Are you hiding from him?"

"I think Blazer knew I'd try to see you, so she told Robert to keep an eye on me. And so—now he's trying to find me on the map—"

"Guys, if anyone sees Malevola, tell her to turn her earpiece back on."

"—As I said."

You shared a look with Malevola and stifled a laugh. This was so silly.

"We're one step away from an HR violation, by the way," she smirked, running her nails over the underside of your leg. "Any ideas what you'll say to Blazer if she finds out?"