“Picture this.

You’re an LHU affiliated and the next assignment has just arrived. There are two cases. One of them is a rampaging noob that’s just awakened. The other is a pro Villain that’s been at it for years now.

Which one are you picking?

‘But dude, isn’t it obvious? A newbie will be a lot easier to take down than a seasoned pro!’

And that’s where you’re wrong, kiddo.

See, there’s something most of us tend to forget, whether by ignorance or pride.

Humans are animals. Deep down, we’ve got a crocodile brain, and that’s more often than not the reason we make stupid mistakes in the heat of the moment. And, with years of training, it’s possible to suppress that part of the brain that wants to bite the head off of anything you see. You can see the advantage here, right?

But there’s something a trained brain couldn’t possibly expect to replicate, one teeny tiny advantage on keeping in touch with your inner alligator.

No seasoned pro can hope to replicate the primeval reaction of a caged beast.

So next time you can choose (and that’s a rare thing to see in this life) make sure to fight a trained dog before a rabid one, in case you want to make sure it isn’t the last”

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Panic.

Lawrence’s brain was running at a hundredth RPM, questions flushing in, ideas pumping out like one frantic diesel engine stressed enough to explode at any second. A myriad of thoughts flowed in an instant and were discarded at the moment.

One particular question blinked in and out over and over again.

How did she find me?!

It was a complete disaster.

An LHU affiliate had managed to find him. No, she knew where he lived. And she had called him by his last name. The damned woman probably knew every tiny detail on his life that was ever written somewhere… How had she found out?

Well, she was part of the Logistics office; that had to mean something.

Lawrence took a deep breath, masked perfectly by his façade. The possibility that everything was a mere coincidence was… really low. He had to brace himself for the worst.

Best plans of action:

1. Incapacitate her and run away with Mika. I’ll have to find a new hideout, cut ties with my civilian identity, and there will be a permanent stain in my record.

2. Feign ignorance and keep playing the fool no matter how solid her evidence is, or

He had a hunch none of those would work against her. Option A was a lot safer, if riskier on the long run. It would also mean throwing himself full in the criminal world. He was… Not ready to do that yet.

Option B it is then… Or…

Lawrence silently stared at her, still softly smiling as if she was casually chatting with a long-time friend. The goosebumps on his skin got… Bigger. If that was even a thing. He would have to look into that later.

Then Lawrence noticed something.

She’s alone.

It was a little detail he hadn’t really noticed before, but she had come alone. And, she hadn’t asked him to accompany her, but rather asked to go inside. Some things to discuss doesn’t sound like impending incarceration. It sounded more like she wanted to have a talk with him. Which didn’t make any sense at all.

She’s a part of the hero side. As kind and loving she may appear, I doubt she went through all the effort of locating me just to swing by, have a coffee and say thanks for saving her. She knows, and she hasn’t told anyone else… yet.

At least not the LHU.

Technically, Lawrence hadn’t done anything villainous… Yet. The quarrel with Chase was retaliation to an unwarranted attack, rather than a criminal action for profit. But that doesn’t mean they can’t throw some false charges at me to put me in jail long enough. And by that time, he would have been tagged. Supposing he could turn down the ‘offer’ to fight other Villains (rendering him unable to complete more Quests and therefor cutting his growth for good) he would still be under scrutiny for the rest of his life. The second he tried something, LHU would know and kick his ass.

And put him in Askaros.

Lawrence shuddered. He did not want to go to Askaros.

My biggest chance is hearing what she has to say he concluded. Worst case scenario, I can brain-wash her into forgetting anything ever happened her. Although… I doubt it would work. Not in her.

Besides, we’ve already talked about this. Brainwashing, bad, bad.

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All set. He had the navigation route. Now it was a matter of dodging the flaming asteroids. And supernovas. And black holes, and eldritch abominations and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

He breathed a mental sigh.

Here goes nothing.

“Something you would like to discuss” he finally spoke out loud, after zoning for a fraction of a second (the mental boost he had received was really something else). “Do you have hostile intentions?”

“Hardly” she didn’t skip a beat.

Lawrence scanned her for a couple of seconds.

Well, if she’s acting, she’s really good at it. Best way to deal with this?

Passive-aggressive indifference slash intimidation?

With a pinch of humor.

Lawrence felt like turning a switch, slipping into his Villain persona.

No one threatened him on his own house.

Show’em who’s in charge.

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“Thanks for the tea, Mr. Lakewood” Christiane took a zip of her teacup. Sadly, she had run out of biscuits long ago. Those were really good.

Lawrence put his own cup aside.

“Well, this is rather nice” he said. His tone said anything but. Christiane had to give it to him: he had gotten it together in a fraction of a second after seeing her and no amount of pressure she tried to put on him seemed to get anything out. It was a black box in that regard. He had the skills to resist both reading and intimidation skills.

Oh well, she’d have to play old school fashion then. What was the fun on an easy win anyways?

She waited. It was better to toss the ball to the other side of the field. Let him say something first, that would give her something to work with. Laugh last, laugh more…

Oya?

Christiane looked closer at Lawrence’s face. He was…

Grinning?

“You pique my curiosity” He sprang up up from his chair and started walking around the improvised meeting room (a second living room tucked away in a corner of the house) tapping his chin, still grinning “It is hard to assume such a beautiful young lady so full of courage, and boldness. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised- you came earlier than expected.”

Expected?

“So” he leaned on her, breath tickling her ears in a mildly awkward if not uncomfortable way.

“Tell me your secret” he whispered.

Christiane’s heart bumped. He already knew? No, it wasn’t a question. He already knew. That… Did go over any predictions she had cast. The first time they met, his aura felt underdeveloped and rough over the edges if insanely strong. Earlier at the mall she had noted it had swollen and turned sharper, more refined, but still crude compared to hers or any seasoned pro in the LHU on that matter. Even now, she could still feel that vague assessment hadn’t changed at all.

But here he was. He read her like an open book.

Did I read it wrong? No, his aura gives the very same sensation… So…

Christiane’s eyebrows arched in surprise.

He can… manipulate my perception of him?

Her heart skipped another beat.

Has he been manipulating it all along? Is he that good? Humility cast aside, Christiane was sure she possessed unnatural observation power; before receiving her Meta ability. There weren’t a lot of people that could conceal their intentions from her as she was now, forget about actually deceiving her.

Perhaps she had bitten more than what she could chew…

Her smile grew bigger.

Well this will be interesting.

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Okay she’s smiling. That’s not good. It isn’t good right?

Lawrence pulled away from the woman, whose name he still hadn’t had the decency to ask. Partially because she was putting him in a life-threatening situation at the moment. Details, who keeps the count right? Whatever the case were, he thought he had caught her with the hands in the dough when her eyebrows shot up, but apparently it had been his imagination.

Her smile widened.

“My secret? I don’t have the slightest idea of what you mean, I’m afraid.”

Well lady, that’s an excellent question for which I wish I had an excellent answer! Regrettably, it was rather difficult to have follow-ups for something you made up in the air it went. Alas, such is life.

Well, let’s improvise.

----------------------------------------

He completely saw through me Christiane thought as she delivered her answer as if she had no idea what Lawrence was asking whatsoever. It didn’t matter, as her answer had been more of a challenge than an actual retort. Say it she thought. How much do you know about me? I want to hear…

Lawrence laughed.

Christiane shook.

It wasn’t a pleasant laugh. It sounded hollow, though not forced. She noticed a cold glimmer of light on his eyes, shining in an eerie purple tone that made her skin crawl despite her self-control.

He is dropping the act.

“Ah, yes. And my name is Charles Darwin, pleased to meet you…”

He stared at her. Her breath slowed down to nothing as the maddening stare that seemed to gaze at her very soul kept her locked in her place, not on fear, but in awe. He was reading right through her. The thought someone so trained as her could be so easily defeated in her own game by a recently awakened villain was… comical. And concerning.

He spoke again.

“Why are you here alone, Christiane Agatha?”

He knows my name. She flinched. Her smile grew brighter.

I might be in trouble.

His voice was distant, full of power, like a thunderous roar echoing in the mountains. The lighting in the room dulled to the point where everything she could see were his eyes, twin windows to an eldritch reality.

“All alone. Despite what you know, and you know me, you know what I am capable of. You stand here, facing me despite the all the danger. So I want to know.”

A thousand knives were pointed at her soul.

“What stops me from putting an end to your life?”

She gulped.

He knew everything.

She was a child scorned by an adult. Caught in the middle of a prank.

So that’s fine.

Let’s be childish.

----------------------------------------

Lawrence was panicking. A trickle of sweat ran dawn his forehead. Nothing he did or say seemed to get on this woman’s nerves. She merely sat there, smile growing bigger as he talked. She was dangerous.

So he had to blow an insane amount of smoke to make it work. All or nothing.

Deciding course of action.

Priority No. 1? Mikaella.

No. 2? Dignity.

No. 3? Self-preservation.

Seems about right.

He stepped forward.

“What stops me from putting an end to your life?”

Did I do it right? Oh God I hope I didn’t screw up. Ah shit, I definitively screwed up. What was that?! Even if I did it in the spur of the moment that was one fucking lot of improvisation! I’ve never been so cornered up in my fucking life! What the hell is wrong with me lately? I keep messing it up over and over again! First with Chase’s cronies and now with this Christiane Agatha. She’s go observation powers for Odin’s one sane eye, she’s the last person I should be blowing smoke against- I’ve got to get my head together! The spark is there and running, so maybe there’s a way I can fix up this whole mess I made- Maybe if I used Chaos Borne to max effect? Gran Charisma hasn’t recharged yet. Oh shit, I’ve got to clean it up somehow! Okay! Okay, I can do that! Yeah, I can do it! I’m a criminal mastermind for fuck’s sake, I’ve got to man up and drop those balls! Alright, I’ve…

I’m dead as shi-

“I yield!”

...

……

…I’m not dead?