Lightforge was sitting nervously in his shop, waiting for the others to arrive. He’d brought in a few chairs so that people could actually sit, and he was constantly adjusting them to fill the time until they arrived. He suspected that this meeting might not go well, and his nerves simply wouldn’t abate.

Actually, he was probably giving himself more credit than he was due. There was almost no way that this meeting wouldn't be a disaster. Bringing together heroes and villains would have been a questionable concept even when this was a game. Now that the stakes were even higher, tensions would be incredibly high. The fact that the villain in question was Circe would only make things more difficult.

He tried to console himself with the gains that he'd made at level 5.

New Ability: Construct

* Your experience maintaining and upgrading items has given you insight into their construction. Now put that knowledge to use by creating items from scratch.

* Access to the Adaptive Crafting System

* Combine 2 or more raw materials to create an item

* Odds of success depend on number of raw materials, raw material levels, and raw material quality

* Resultant item quality is based on INT

It was the skill that made Gadgeteer special. The ability to create supplies for other players. The ability to create things that had never existed in the game before. This ability would be the thing to truly catapult him to the next stage of development in this world.

He hadn't tried it yet. He wanted to get the spoils from the mission he'd received first. Of course, that brought his mind back to the matter at hand. And just in time; a few moments later the front door opened as Cannoneer arrived.

The two shared a greeting, which was significantly less awkward than Lightforge had feared. Of course, Cannoneer was the only guest that knew what this little meeting was going to be about.

“So…” Lightforge said, “I’m guessing you still think this is a bad idea, right?”

“Better to say that I know it’s a bad idea. We’ll be lucky to go three blocks before getting jumped.”

“It’s not that bad, right? I mean, you spent a week trying to bait out a single gang.”

“I didn’t tell the gang exactly where to find me.”

“It’ll be fine. Circe’s definitely a villain, but she’s still a person. We can work together.”

“If you insist. But I don’t plan on showing my back to her.”

They stood in silence for a moment, tension heavy between them. Luckily, the next arrival wasn’t far behind. In a flash of golden light, Sunbird appeared in the front door and sauntered in with a wide grin on her face. She whistled when she saw Cannoneer and said, “Boom Boom? Is that you?”

Both men exchanged looks, confusion clear on their faces. Lightforge gestured at the other man and said, “Pretty sure she’s talking about you. I don’t blow things up.”

“Give the geek a prize!” Sunbird said, “That’s right! I’ve never bothered to learn your name, but everyone’s heard about the guy who’s always blowing people up. So in my head I just call you Boom Boom.”

“Right. Well, my name’s Cannoneer.”

“How boring. But [BLEEP], I thought you were dead. You haven’t blown anything up in weeks.”

“Our mutual friend here gave me another option. Now I generally stick to stunning attacks.”

“Mother-[BLEEPER]! That was you! You knocked me out of the sky with one of those. I ought to blow you away just to make us even.”

“Wow. I’ll be honest, I’ve heard of you too. Brash, loudmouthed, foul mouthed, and incredibly ostentatious. I was hoping for some better assistance if I’m being honest.”

“Oh, well excuse me, your highness. How dare I have some [BLEEPING] fun while I’m stuck in this hellhole? Maybe you can share some of that stick of yours? I’m sure you’ll be just as stuck up if we take half of it out.”

“Umm… Am I in the right place?”

The last statement came from the door, where Gray Guardian was standing. While their face was unreadable under their mask, they were fidgeting nervously at the sight of what they’d walked into. Lightforge sighed in relief at the break in the budding argument. He waved to the healer and motioned for them to join the group.

“Good to see you again,” Lightforge said, “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Well, you did make it sound important. I was just a little surprised at all the shouting.”

“Yeah, sorry about them. Apparently they run in similar circles and have reputations.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I hope we can work together for now, if that’s what’s called for.”

Gray Guardian walked over, introducing themselves to Cannoneer and greeting Sunbird. The cloaked figure then inserted themselves in between the bickering heroes and stood patiently, their demeanor all but daring the pair to continue their fight. It worked, and the pair instead chose to stew and glare at each other.

“The hell is this about anyway, Lightforge?” Sunbird asked, “What’s with all the secrecy?”

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“In a minute. We’re waiting on one more person.”

Someone quietly cleared their throat, causing the entire group to turn and look toward Lightforge’s workbench. Sure enough, Circe was there, lounging among the few scattered bits of scrap that he hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up. Her Cheshire Cat grin was as wide as ever as she took in the surprised group.

“Actually,” she said, “I’ve been here the whole time. Fun group you’ve assembled here, Lightboy.”

From the corner of his eye, Lightforge saw Sunbird and Cannoneer stiffen and prepare for combat. Now that Circe was visible, they could all see the red outline on her figure that marked her as a villain. This was the part where everything could fall apart.

“Everyone,” Lightforge began, “This is Circe. And yeah, she’s a villain. But she’s also been helping me out. And at the moment, we need everyone in this room for the mission at hand.”

Circe’s eyes narrowed at his choice of words, but she said nothing. Sunbird, on the other hand, was looking increasingly concerned with each passing moment.

“Lightforge,” she said, “I think you’re a good guy, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But whatever this is, it’s a really bad idea.”

“Trust me,” Circe said, “he’s aware. I can’t imagine he asked for my help unless there weren’t any other options.”

“Trust? That’s rich coming from a villain.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Do you know what the difference is between hero trust and villain trust?”

“This should be wonderful. Please enlighten us.”

“Villains trust individuals. Heroes trust alignments”

Sunbird actually took a step back at that comment and looked to be truly considering it for a few moments. Finally she nodded and said, “Well, damn. I guess you’ve got me on that one.”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway,” Lightforge cut in, “Yes, there’s a very good reason that I called this little group together. I’ve got a Mission. An actual Mission from the system.”

Silence fell over the group. Circe’s eyes were all but glowing with excitement at the news, though Sunbird’s expression wasn’t far behind. Everyone was silent, eagerly waiting for him to continue.

“The mission has really specific requirements. Level 5 Gadgeteer, Neutral alignment, and its area-specific to Chancery Hills. Somehow, I must be the first player in this area to meet all those criteria.”

“It makes sense,” Cannoneer said, “Power sets seem to be spread out pretty evenly, so there aren’t many who share abilities. You’re the first Gadgeteer that I’ve met at all.”

“Wait,” Sunbird said, “Does this mean that there are more power-specific missions out there? Should I be flying around hoping to find flight missions or something?”

“Maybe. It’s possible that there are plenty of missions out there for us to find with a little luck.”

“I hate to break it to you, but your assumption is wrong.” This came from Circe. She continued, “Powers aren’t handed out evenly. Near as I can tell, the odds of getting a power depend on when it was added to the game. Weapon Specialist was in the alpha release, so there’s plenty of them running around. Gadgeteer is the most recent, so they’re few and far between.”

“Oh,” Lightforge said, “And how could you possibly know that?”

“You should know me better than that by now. I use illusions to watch people and gather information. It’s what I do.”

“Um, excuse me?” Gray Guardian quietly inserted themselves into the conversation. They said, “While all of this is interesting, I think we’re off topic a bit. Lightforge, what’s this mission that you’ve called us in for?”

“Right, thank you. We’re supposed to find an abandoned lab and raid it for the technology that was left behind. The mission specified that the team has to include all three alignments or we can’t go in.”

“Which tidily explains my presence,” Circe said, “Before we waste anymore time on questions.”

“Right. We have to find the lab, beat the security system, and take the treasures. Then we get whatever we find, plus 80 XP and 150 Bux each.”

There was a round of low whistles in appreciation of that kind of reward. There were a lot of nodding heads and open excitement among the group. Even without asking, it was easy to tell that they were all on board to help. It would be their first chance to get rewards like that.

Objective Complete!

Assemble a team consisting of players from all alignments (Hero, Neutral, Villain)

With the knowledge gained by people of all types and abilities, you are able to collect rumors regarding the location of the abandoned laboratory. The area in question has been marked on your map.

Lightforge pulled up the map and, sure enough, an area roughly three by five blocks was highlighted. That was where they would find the lab. He looked at his team, who were all studying status screens as well. Apparently the system had added them to the mission automatically. They were all examining the objectives and requirements, all making plans for how to carry out the mission.

It was an interesting sight. Everyone in the room had played this game before, and they knew how to play. This world was different enough that those skills hadn’t always been applicable. But now they knew exactly what they were doing, and how to go about it.

Within a few minutes, they were spreading out through the streets of town. Sunbird took to the sky while the others split up into pairs. No one else was willing to go with Circe, so Lightforge went with her while Cannoneer went with Gray Guardian.

Lightforge and Circe walked in silence for a few minutes before Circe whistled and said, “Well, I think that went about as well as could be expected.”

Lightforge sighed and nodded. He said, “Yeah, I know. Honestly I’m surprised there wasn’t a fight. I figured that somebody would try to blast you at the very least.”

“And you still let us meet in your precious shop? I’m impressed.”

“I was hoping it would discourage violence. Maybe it helped a little.”

“Dangerous. I like it; seems you’re becoming more like me already.”

“Villains aren’t the only dangerous people around here. Everyone has to take risks.”

“Like you did when you teamed up with me? At this point I don’t think we can call this anything short of a partnership.”

“You’re right. I don’t know if I trust you, but I believe that you won’t screw me over. At least not yet. That’s what your honesty the other day earned for you.”

“I’ll accept it. I appreciate the suspicion; it shows that you respect my abilities.”

“I guess that’s what makes you a villain. I would hate to have a partner be suspicious of me.”

“You’ll get used to it. I’m sure the others are questioning your motives right this second.”

“Ugh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll play nice and show them that this isn’t a mistake.”

“I’m counting on it.”

They searched the streets for a few more minutes before a message came in from Gray Guardian.

I think we found it. A laser turret popped out of a wall and nearly took off my foot.

Lightforge and Circe shared a grin and turned to hurry in the direction of their teammates. It was time for them to go treasure hunting in a dungeon.