The Undersiders were all seated around a round table in Tattletale's conference room. Their assault on the PRT's headquarters had gone off without a hitch. Not only that, it was one of those rare times where nothing serious was going on in the post-apocalyptic city of Brockton Bay. which meant it was the perfect time to discuss a very important issue.
"So," Grue said. "Now that we have territory, we need to make a new reputation for ourselves. Set ourselves apart from the others and move away from being the masters of escape. Got any suggestions?"
"What about gang tags?" Imp asked. "Gang tags are cool."
"I was thinking... gang tags," Grue said. "As a start."
Regent chuckled. "Glad you brought that up." He snapped his fingers and one of his minions brought a file to the table. After making an elaborate bow, the minion stepped into the shadows created by Grue's darkness. It also cast an ominous light on the room itself. "Go ahead, take a look."
Tattletale did, and smirked as she paged through the file. "I like it. You were waiting for someone to bring this topic up, weren't you?"
Regent shrugged.
"Can I see?" Imp asked.
Tattetale's smile grew three sizes. "Want to take a look, Skitter?"
"Not really." She looked at Regent. "No offense, but I don't see the point of me having gang tags. Seeing my bugs would make anyone in my territory know where they are."
"'Cause nothing says you're in Skitter's hive like seeing bugs protest with pitchforks and torches," Regent said, leaning back on his chair. "Totally not creepy."
Skitter bowed her head. "I only did it the one time, and it was with matches, not torches."
"Wait, seriously?" Imp asked.
"Her name's Skitter," Regent said. "I'm willing to bet that the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that isn't 'wannabe hero'."
"I didn't choose the name," Skitter said. "But if you were wondering why I didn't pick my own name, I couldn't think of one that wasn't dorky and didn't scream 'villain' like Skitter does."
"At least you got a badass name," Imp said. "Could be something stupid like Roach or Worm."
"Imagine if you got something lame like Roach or Worm," Tattletale said, her smile becoming more smug by the second. "Or Tailor."
Regent chuckled again. "Taylor naming himself Tailor would be even dorkier than Grue making his name a shoutout to some old video game."
"That's the sort of shit those lame geeks Über and Leet would do," Imp said.
"I know, right?" Regent set his hands behind his head, clearly satisfied with himself.
"It's also Old English for scary or creepy," Skitter said.
"Thank you, Skitter," Grue said. "I named myself Grue for the reputation it would give me from people who really got the reference."
"Looks like you didn't think that one out all that well, big bro," Imp said, before she cackled.
"Let's get back on topic," Grue said. "Tattletale, give me the file."
Imp stood up and yanked the file out of Tattletale's hands. She whistled in appreciation. "Damn, Regent, this ain't half bad."
"Imp," Grue said, stressing his sister's name. "Give me the file."
"Oh sure, now you notice me," she said. She shut the file and slammed it down next to Grue. Grue was about to do something to Imp, but then he forgot why he was so mad.
"You were saying, Grue?" Tattletale asked, her smile having slipped after being so rudely interrupted.
Grue shook his head, and looked through some of the gang tags before answering. "Regent, are you willing to do a few more designs? I've got some ideas I want to share with you."
"Sure," he said. "Come over to my place when you aren't busy and we can work something out."
"What about you, Bitch?" Tattletale asked. "Got an opinion on this?"
"I don't need gang tags to mark my territory. My dogs do that for me."
"Aw, sick, TMI," Imp said, sitting on her chair like a good little villain. Grue had a feeling she was - or had been - up to something.
"That's too much information," Skitter said. "Just in case you didn't know."
Bitch glared at her. "I didn't ask for your help."
"And I helped you because I wanted to," Skitter said, facing Bitch. The bugs she kept on her body began to buzz.
"Enough," Grue said before the argument could get too heated. He stared at Bitch. "We'll get you a tag just so people don't bother you. It's an extra precaution, and it'll help people know where they are."
Bitch shrugged. "If it keeps those fuckers out, then go ahead."
"Great." Grue put the file down and slid it over to Regent. "Anyone else have something to say?"
"I'm totally getting paid for this, right?" Regent asked. "I won't just have to do your tag, I'll also have to do Tattletale's and Bitch's tags too. I need a little incentive."
"If you want money, go offer your services to the Travelers," Grue said.
Regent gasped. "How lewd!"
Grue took in a deep breath.
"Why doesn't Skitter have to get a tag?" Bitch asked. "If I have to get a tag, so does she."
Grue stood up. "We'll discuss this tomorrow at Regent's place. Everyone's required to come so we can finalize designs and talk about other stuff. Even you, Imp."
Imp crossed her arms. "What's the point? You won't give me my own tag anyways."
"If you come, I'll think about letting you design our gang tags."
She sighed. "Fine."
"Then we're done here," Grue said.
"Wait," Skitter said. "I have a few ideas for new costumes."
Grue smiled. For once, someone was taking the initiative, and high-quality costumes would definitely help boost their reputation. "We'll discuss that tomorrow."
"Why not now?" Tattletale asked.
Grue stood up. "Because I need a break from all of this," he said, waving his arms in a wide circle. "This meeting's over."
As Grue walked away, he wondered about the point of doing all this extra work if it was just going to give him a headache. But then he remembered that he was doing this to boost his and the Undersiders' reputation.
And if it required him to suffer a bit so that he could gain that rep, he could live with having to take one for the team.