Chapter Sixty-Nine - Glowing Betrayal

"So, she just waltzes right into the theatre, bold as can be, no mask on, little bear ears poking out of her hair, and she walks right up to the manager."

Jezebelle nodded. The story was funny so far. In fact, the boy sitting across from her was... actually kind of just funny overall. Not in the traditional way, most of his jokes were self-deprecating, and he was...

Well, Alea Iacta was a bit cringy. But he kind of owned up to it, and when he wasn't too self-conscious he could be pretty cute, in a sort of sad, geeky puppy kind of way. For someone with such a dangerous power, he came off as exceptionally inoffensive.

Jezebelle wasn't sure what to think about that. He was not a villain, but he was certainly on the wrong side of the morality divide.

"Then what?" she asked.

Alea leaned forwards. He was maskless. As was she, though she was hiding her status for once, which afforded them a little bit of privacy. They weren't anywhere too special. A kinda crappy pizza place a few blocks over from the school. It was the kind of place that you could smell from halfway down the road.

The kind of place she'd usually avoid, because there was no way she'd stay fit eating here. Still, once, on a date of sorts? She could bend her diet a little for a couple of slices and a can of soda. Alea Iacta seemed to enjoy it, in any case.

"Right, so she comes right up to me and just straight up threatens me," he said. "My friend just wrote me off, said it was my problem basically. So we went to the costume room, and she has me grab some things. That's where the Boss's costume comes from, by the way. It was an extra costume from... urgh, I can't remember the play. Something gangsterish."

"Wait, the Boss's costume is stolen?"

Alea laughed. "I know! I used a bit of luck finding it, which is why I think it fits so well. But yeah, stolen right off the rack."

"Does she know?" Jezebelle asked.

"Yeah, if she does then she doesn't care. Ted-- the bear girl left with this big pimp coat. I have no idea what happened with that, but I'm kinda glad she didn't use it as part of her costume."

Jezebelle wasn't sure what to focus on there. "A pimp coat?" she asked.

"Massive, all purple, fake fur. It came with a feathered hat."

"No," she said.

"Yeah! She was drowning in it. It was kind of cute, actually. But can you imagine a grizzly in that kind of outfit? Terrorising the neighbourhood?"

Jezebelle giggled. It wasn't even hard to laugh.

She... was not here for the date. Well, that's what she'd been telling herself all day. She was here to dig up information on the Boss and her kids. Alea Iacta wasn't just giving her everything she wanted to know.

But...

Jezebelle tugged the neck of her blouse a little, laughed again, then leaned her elbows onto the table. "Then what?" she asked.

Alea's eyes dipped for a fraction of a second. He gulped. "Uh? Then... I guess that's about when I got recruited. By force. Ursa really didn't give me many options. It was join up or get eaten. Mind you, I think I could have made a run for it, but I don't really regret it. The Boss is... actually not the worst boss? Ironically enough."

"I've got to ask," Jezebelle said. "You seem... a little scared of her?"

"Huh? Oh, she's not scary once you get to know her. Actually, I think she's a bit of a hot mess. Not hot that way," he hurried to add.

"Uh-huh," she continued.

"Yeah, but she's nice. Mostly to her sisters, but to the rest of her minions too."

"Minions?" Jezebelle asked. She filed away that 'sisters' mention for later. It was just confirmation.

Alea laughed it off. "That's what the brats call the people that work for the Boss. I guess it included powered people too."

"Are there that many?" she asked.

"Well, no, but yeah? It feels like every time I go to the bunker there's a couple more minions that I haven't met yet."

"I guess she does need a lot of help, with so many sisters."

"Yeah," he said.

Jezebelle backed up on the topic. They started talking about TV shows they liked, then that veered to movies, and books. She had a soft spot for the Orb of the Ings series since her dad had read them to her when she was young, and they debated over whether the movies were better than the books for a bit.

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In the meantime, she was thinking.

This wasn't an admission that the Boss was a villain, but... well, it was adding to Jezebelle's collection of hints. At this rate, she was almost certain that Rattles hadn't been lying.

She didn't get to question him, of course. The villain was locked away in some HRF facility somewhere, and soon enough he'd stand trial and probably be tossed into some deep, dark hole. There were prisons for masks out there, and they weren't pretty places. She'd seen the offers to work there. The pay was actually pretty decent, but the work looked awful.

In any case, Jezebelle's suspicions about Emily were all but confirmed.

Emily was on the wrong side of the morality chart.

It made so much more sense. Her rapid growth, her refusal to work with the HRF, her strength, and the way she was so evasive all the time, so cagey.

It was all because she was secretly... well, probably not an actual villain. Maybe a scoundrel? Jezebelle wasn't entirely familiar with the evil moralities, but she couldn't imagine Emily being near the bottom, she wasn't that bad.

Not unless she was secretly influencing those children she was with.

The date ended on a bit of a flat note. Jezebelle looked at her phone and said she had to go. Alea stood, and escorted her out. It looked like he wanted to go for a hug, but he awkwardly shuffled and turned it into a handshake. She was almost laughing as she headed out.

She tugged her blouse back on properly, then zipped her coat up because she didn't plan on catching a cold.

She had plenty of worrying thoughts to keep her company as she made her way back to her car--parked a couple of blocks over--then back through the city.

Jezebelle had been lucky her entire life. She was aware of it, unlike some of her family. Sure, they weren't a big name, they weren't the uber-rich, but they were very comfortable, and for the most part, so was she.

It had always been easy to do the right thing. To be a good girl, to help others, to reap the rewards of being good. She'd thought of doing some bad things plenty of times, but she'd never act on that. Yes, she was a little keen on being the centre of attention, but she also tried to help others break out of their shell.

In highschool she'd been literally everyone's friend, and had been in all the clubs. Being a hero felt like an extension of that, at least initially.

Now... now she was driving around with a secret like a millstone around her neck.

Almost without realising it, she arrived and parked her car. She was out a moment later, after checking herself in the mirror and turning on her status once more. To anyone looking, there was a small piece of text in their language of preference over her head. Glamazon, Hero. It was better proof of identity than any paperwork.

The guard at the door of the HRF headquarters checked her ID, scanned her eyes, and looked at her prints anyway. She even had to give her weekly code word. All measures to stop the trickiest of villains from getting in.

Once inside, she went to a section of the headquarters that no one wanted to visit, but everyone knew the location of. A small office at the very back, where she pressed a buzzer and was let into a room with a chair and a mirrored wall and nothing else.

This was the place to go if any member of the HRF suspected that something was amiss, or had to report something strange, and she had hoped that she would never have to enter this room.

"Glamazon," a neutral voice said over the loudspeakers. Someone likely several cities away listening in. "Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes," she said. "I'd like to report on the identity of a suspected villain. One that has been masquerading as a hero."

She hoped that she was still doing the right thing. And that maybe one day Emily would forgive her.

***