RJ And Martin

by Emersonian

She wanted to be free from her sheltered life, so she ran away from home and joined HenchCo's Y.E.A.R.N Program. He had grown up training to follow his family legacy. Both live in the same evil community, something seems to grow, yet they seem to be unaware that they were meant to be enemies and that a bigger threat is coming to destroy what they always dreamed to achieve...as one.

10. Let's Make A Bad Bet

RJ and Martin:

Chapter 10: Let's Make A Bad Bet

I find you dangerously alluring.

Just the way he had told her that was enough to keep RJ from sleeping at all in the evening. Her brief third encounter with Martin Fiske had troubled her enough that she had to excuse herself from the party, putting the lie that she had a headache from all the energetic actions she dealt with today. Fortunately, Melgo's mother had been nice enough and offered to drive RJ back to Y.E.A.R.N in her green Volvo car, but despite the soothing car ride and Shego entertaining her with stories of her husband's ridiculous but creative machines to conquer the world, RJ could still not cope with the confrontation she had in the green room.

"Fiske Junior got you jumbled?" Shego had ended up asking her when they approached HenchCo.

"How did you find out?" RJ had asked.

"I don't have to. His apathetic personality always hits other people the first time they meet him." The woman had shrugged.

"He's definetly confusing." RJ had shaken her head. "Was he always like this?"

"Only after his parents got cursed and he had to spend seven years without them. And when they were released, their time with him was overshadowed by the time they wanted for themselves in retirement, which deepened his want to be alone from others aside Gilliard. Consider yourself lucky that you don't have to deal with parents. If there's one thing worst than not having parents, it's having parents that are never around for you, which puts a strain on your relationship."

RJ had been more confused than ever. Luckily for her, the Y.E.A.R.N library was still open after Shego dropped her off, so she was able to locate and borrow old newspapers and villains' magazines for her to read. All the way until 11:30, she had read the glorious days the older villains she had met had experienced years before she even was born. Hypnotizing shampoos, covering the world into one golf course, stealing monster trucks, robotic invasion, etc. Reading these deeds was much more interesting to RJ than watching dull politic news on TV.

Some of the articles had hit on the Fiskes, with pictures of a much younger and beautiful Simian Witch and a man whom RJ assumed was Monkey Fist because he looked like an aged version of Martin aside from the shadowy grey eyes and the youthful handsome physique Martin had...

"GAAH!" RJ had slapped herself physically for even thinking that the jerk of a snob was handsome.

The articles had been bragging that while the world was full of amazing villains, the Fiskes were by far the best evil couple. Planning on turning all humans into monkeys while at the same time getting engaged, throw the best wedding and baby birth party the villainous community had ever seen... RJ had to give it to them, the Fiskes sounded quite impressive. The articles then got grimmer, talking about how much the villains missed the Fiskes after they turned into and out of statues and finally retired from evil because of side effects, and that while everyone was glad that Martin was keeping on their legacy through his impressive works, there were still words on how much he was hated. A total recluse from social peers, rejecting women who barely had the chance to start wooing him, and making the authorities focus solely on chasing him than the others... He was as hated as he was loved and he didn't really seem to care what others thought of him.

But if he's such a cold-hearted villain, why did he call me dangerously alluring? Such thoughts were enough to keep her tossing and turning, she wasn't able to properly sleep even at 3am. 'Dangerously alluring' kept echoing like heart beats whenever she tried to close her eyes and the vision of her making out with the bastard on a roof was enough to make her bolt out of her bed and run to the bathroom to splash herself with cold water. Hopefully it brought her senses together as much as it now kept her awake.

RJ checked her drenched reflection and felt a mix of relief and confusion. Relief speaking, she was glad to find her average self: aside from her new talents, she had nothing that could physically appeal the others unless she was at Très Chez Léon shopping for clothes. She wasn't an ugly mouse nor was she one of those Minalshari villainesses with insane beauty and curves, which meant she was normal looking and therefore she risked nothing. But why the Hell did he call me 'dangerously alluring'? That was all she couldn't figure out.

Unlike him, she was nothing. He had firm yet present parents while hers practically abandoned her, he had gone around the world while she mostly stayed in Colorado, he had little friends since childhood while she just started making some, he was rich while she didn't even own a bank account, and while she was barely above average, he was downright gorgeous.

"GAAH!" RJ splashed herself with more water. Her power certainly did not help at all, since it agitated once RJ splashed herself on the face the second time. It electrocuted the humid areas and made her body feel so jumped, she saw her hair looking frizzled. "It's fine..." She took a deep breath and grabbed her hairbrush, taking slow strokes to even out the ends. "I just have to avoid him to remain sane."

Avoid that hunk? Judging by her power weirdly vibrating at the same time as her worst self, RJ instantly guessed that the power must have had a conscious of its own. "Shut up," she told it.

Why should I? After all your newborn denial, he fascinates you as much as he disgusts you. Even I find his power attractive.

"What are you talking about?" RJ stopped brushing herself and looked in the mirror. She saw her normal self until she saw her reflection changing. Her hazel eyes were now icy blue and her smirk cruel while the original body itself did anything but smile. "Who the Hell are you?"

Who do you think? The reflection smirked. I'm you. Only I'm willing to embrace what I am.

"A reincarnation of Mystical Monkey Power?" RJ asked drily. Unsurprisingly, the reflection smirked.

In a way, yes. Except I'm far better than you. I am much stronger... I am pure evil, and unlike you, I have no problem spilling blood and impaling hearts. Unlike you, I am not weak...

RJ didn't want to hear the rest of it after she smashed the mirror. Despite her bleeding hand, she grabbed her coat and threw it over her nightwear, stuffed her feet into her sneakers before running out of her apartment, hearing the evil laughter echo behind her.

Later

Martin wished he could slap himself if it weren't for the fact that he was driving out of the Minalshari on a rental bike. You just HAD to admit you find her dangerously alluring! His brain screamed.

"Not my fault if she's tormenting me!" Martin protested.

Someone's in denial.

He grumbled as he drove closer to the main exit tunnel through a trail in the artificial woods. Despite the real-life odors, he could easily tell how manmade they were because of the night sky reflecting on the branches and the distant blue blast from across the field...

Martin hit the brakes and looked at his right. Just behind a hill, the only one without a sign of trees or wild life, was being illuminated by a series of blue flashes that kept coming and going like small fireworks. Judging by how his Mystical Monkey Power-perked senses were agitating, Martin could tell that this wasn't a HenchCo stunt or one of Drakken's old gizmos goofing off in the middle of the night. He pulled his rental bike into a thicket for hiding and cautiously knuckle-walked his way before poking from behind a tree.

He was surprised to find RJ all by herself in a clearing, but what shocked him the most was her state. She was kneeling on the grass, her hands gripping her ginger blonde mane, and her body was glowing in an intense electrifying blue aura that burned bolts terrifying nearby squirrels. Hearing the bolts make screeching noises as it moved caused Martin to gasp.

"Impossible." He said it quietly. "RJ... has Mystical Monkey Power?"

"Please! Just leave me alone!" He heard RJ scream and looked further. The girl looked like she was going mad from a hallucination that she was talking too. More blue bolts covered RJ, darkening some of her skin like burns and making her scream even more.

Great Hanuman, the power is trying to consume her!

No time needed to be wasted, he ran out of his hiding spots, ditching the passing bolts, and hammered two of his fingers on RJ's temples, pressing in. The power sunk its way back into RJ's brain and hissed angrily like water being dragged in a vortex. RJ stopped screaming, but the moment her eyes saw Martin behind her, she pulled herself at least two feet away from him.

"RJ, you... you have Mystical Monkey Power too?" He asked in awe. Her eyes went wide and the next thing he knew, she was practically groveling.

"Alright, you caught me! Just don't kill me, I BEG YOU!" Tears came to her face and drooled their way down to the earth. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Martin grabbed her by the shoulders to restrain her. "RJ, stop it! The more emotionally stressed you get, the more the power will overwhelm you!"

"You... you saw her too?" RJ stammered.

"Her who?"

"I don't know who she was! I just..."

"Deep breaths, RJ."

"Alright!" RJ breathed. Despite her lungs slowing down towards calmness, Martin could still see she was stressed. "I saw this... thing that looked like me, except she... it said she was everything that I wasn't. It said things on how it had no problem... being a heartless murderer."

Martin nodded. "Figures."

"Please don't kill me," RJ begged.

"For crying out, I'm not going to kill you!" Martin said, trying his best to remain calm himself. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be incinerated in the middle of this clearing!"

RJ looked around her. A couple of trees got their barks burned pretty badly and the grass was coal black. "I did that?"

"I certainly didn't." He put a thumb under RJ's chin and forced it up, paining her to look at him right in the shadowy grey eyes. "So. About you possessing Mystical Monkey Power..."

"Right." RJ gulped while he kept staring at her. " Look, I don't know why I have it and I don't really want to find out, but I was told that if I hardly used it, I wouldn't be caught and..." She gulped one more time. "You and your folks would kill me for being competition."

Martin scowled. RJ had made a good point. If she had been an enemy of the Fiskes like Ron Stoppable and possessed the power, then he would have certainly killed her. But honestly, he didn't know how to make of their current relationship, and since he was already planning on making her his... Good Lord, what if this was another sign about the reasons of his traumatic pursuit? Not only did she obsess because he 'deserved' her but she also happened to have powers Martin himself owned?

He must have hit the jackpot!

"We're leaving," he said firmly. He reached his hand out to grab RJ's shoulder and pull her up, but she was far too quick and jumped up first.

"Whoah, whoah, WHOAH!" She waved a finger at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you of all the crazy people I met! No, I'm sorry, you're not one of the craziest, but the craziest!"

"Is it because of the monkeys, because that wouldn't be the first time I heard it?"

"Please!" RJ rolled her eyes. "I've met a bunch of weird people that go from crazy cat ladies to world cruising monster trucks drivers this week, but you are the only jackass I met!"

Martin scowled. "I see you're still living in your little fantasy," he muttered. "Your mere weak, naive self was the reason why your power was rebelling. If the Mystical Monkey Power saw how helpless you really were, it would give it a good reason for it to viciously manifest, possess you, and then you'd be the empty shell controlled by the monster you fear of becoming." He pulled the same stunt he did back at the party and held her by the neck. "Face it, vixen. Without any proper tutelage from me, you are nothing!"

RJ's face gave out an angry expression and her body glowed again. She aimed to burn his hand with her bolts, but he also glowed. His light was more red and strong enough to create a shield protecting him from her power and reflecting back at her. She got an electric shock that just perked her up rather than knock her out.

Martin chuckled. "You see?" He let go of her and she fell back on the grass. "Your lack of discipline lets your emotions and power burst to their leisure. But with me, all the knowledge you'd have will not only grant you control but a powerful villain status."

RJ got up and spoke up, undeterred: "I don't care if I can become a powerful villain. I can very much keep myself under control without you in the picture!"

"Really? If that's the case, I think that a little bet is in store." He used his right hand to grab hers, and before RJ could say anything, he mumbled something that sounded like a Hindu incantation and it caused their hands to glow with red skeletal simian smoke.

"What...what are you doing?" RJ gasped.

"Making an oath for our bet," he said. "Here's the deal, RJ. We're still in the middle of April and I'm guessing you'll have your first heist coming up soon. If you can manage to keep your Mystical Monkey Power under your control without anyone's guidance, I'll sincerely apologize for calling you weak and will leave you be. But, if you fail, you'll quit Y.E.A.R.N and take the next step by becoming my apprentice, therefore belonging to me!"

RJ looked infuriated. "I could never be your slave!" She hissed.

"You could always forfeit," Martin shrugged, "but that mean taking you by force right now."

She bit her lip. Obviously she wasn't going to forfeit. "How much time do I have to prove myself?"

"Two weeks maximum, just before May 1st, or until you weaken to the point where I need to save you again, therefore placing you in a debt."

"That's fair for the first but creepy for the second." RJ sighed and shook her glowing hand. "Fine! You get your bet."

He smirked and let go of her hand, ceasing the glow, and waved at the direction of the road. "Shall I give you a ride back to Y.E.A.R.N?"

"I hope your crazy," RJ said. "Besides, didn't you tell me that I should be keeping myself under control?"

"This is not about you taking control but me being a mocking chivalrous 'jackass'." Martin quoted her insult with the same tone. "Not to mention that strange things can happen in the woods. Imagine what I would do if I were a 'creep' lurking in the woods and I stumbled upon a helpless, half-undressed girl."

To his amusement, RJ blushed in embarrassment and desperately tried to cover with her jacket the black strapless slip she was wearing. Martin had to admit it but that fashionista Camillo Leon did have a way of making women night clothing to the point that even a simple rag could help average sizes like RJ's stand out.

The girl groaned in frustration and scowled as Martin offered a mocking 'gentleman prepared to escort lady to a ball' hand.

"I hope you eat dirt when you lose," she said as she took his hand.

"Well I can personally bet that you'll be wearing an average-sized furisode when you lose," he replied with a smug.

Meanwhile, unaware to anyone else

A green computer screen had managed to hack into an Earth satellite and report to the hacker the conversation of two certain people. As alien dialect moved on the screen, doing analysis on the two individuals, it instantly froze on the girl. The hacker, disguised in the shadows of wherever he was, got up and used his fingers to zoom up the image until the image gave him a better visual of the girl's facial characteristics.

"The resemblance is uncanny," he snickered. "Ronilda Stoppable."

Elsewhere, at the Global Justice Headquarters

"Dr. Director?" Agent Will Du knocked and stepped inside the office of Global Justice's main leader. "We have news."

"How bad is it?" The woman had quite aged into a woman in her fifties, but she was still strong and healthy enough to run Global Justice with all her gray hair.

"Concerning. Our global security system has noticed that someone hacked into a military satellite and no matter how much we tried, we couldn't figure out who sent the virus."

Dr. Director aimed her frown at a board on her wall. It was filled with a map of the Earth and its hovering satellites and the outer space, multiple areas pinpointed with push pins or connected with red yarn. Sticky notes full of question were pasted everywhere. She frowned at Will Du. "Tell them to keep tracking. I don't want to end up with the same scenario from two decades ago."

Will Du nodded. "I'll be the agents and scientists on watch..." He stopped when there was a sudden knock on the door and an agent stepped in, accompanied by some old woman with grey hair, a purple wool dress and flats, and striking blue eyes.

"I beg your pardon, Director," the agent said, "but Dr. Possible is here?"

"Dr. Possible?" Dr. Director and Will Du when they saw the mother of the retired teen heroine inside the office while the agent left off.

"It's a surprise to see you after so long, Mrs. Possible," Dr. Director said as she and her fellow senior shook hands. "Global Justice has stopped hearing from ever since Team Possible went underground and your husband died in that rocket accident. How are things?"

Dr. Possible sighed and sat on the nearest chair. Judging by the fight against her tearful eyes, the Global Justice agent and director could tell that something was up. "My granddaughter... she's gone!" She dropped her head in her palm.

"Your...granddaughter?" Dr. Director frowned.

"There was no data about Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable having children," Will Du said. Before he could pull out his PDA and have an info lookup, the old woman pulled out a photo and showed it to them. They gasped when they saw what looked like a teenager clone of the former teen heroine and her sidekick combined. "Her mother's body structure, her father's skin tone and eyes, and the two hair colors combined into one... No doubt about it! I'd have to be blind to not see that this teenager is the daughter of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable!"

"How come we never knew about her?" Dr. Director asked Mrs. Possible as Will Du passed the photo to the former.

Kim Possible's widowed mother sighed and wiped away her tears. "Let's just say my daughter inherited her father's overprotective nature except she went paranoid. Right when I retired after my husband's death, I was going to move into my new retirement penthouse until Kimmie and Ron came, bringing along their only child. The sweet thing was napping while her parents placed her in my guardianship and made me promise that she would never set foot outside nor have contact with anyone from outside my penthouse. For the last fourteen years, I had to raise her by myself in the apartment while making sure nobody knew she existed..."

"Hold on!" Dr. Director cut her off. "Are you telling me that for the last fourteen years, you raised Team Possible's child while keeping her locked up in an apartment?"

"They made me promise not to let her out!"

"So you did all the tutoring, the medical attention, and the nutrition?"

"Anything that would be part of raising a child." Dr. Possible sighed. "But I never thought the child would succeed in escaping!"

"Do you know how she escaped?" Will Du asked.

"Well..." Now the woman looked terrified. "When I went to check on her in the morning earlier this week, I found her bed empty and the window open with a rope dangling from a sticking pipe and it's a seventy-foot tall building! I searched the ground area where the rope seemed to extend to, but I didn't find her there! I drove all over town to see if I could spot her, but she was nowhere in Middleton, Upperton, and Lowerton!"

"Have you contacted the police?"

"No. If I did, they would have asked for her records, and her parents had Wade burn them. You see, they were worried that if the supervillain gallery found out their main enemy had a child, they'd use her to get to them. Therefore, without information on her, they couldn't get to her. Kimmie and Ron still don't know yet that their little girl is missing, and that's why I came to you. Could you help me find my granddaughter without, you know, giving away her existence to the world and having her parents murder me?"

Dr. Director rubbed her chin in thought as her eye examined her board. "Global Justice is already in a pickle with tracking down and preventing any possible sign of another alien invasion," she said, "and the last thing we need is for Earth's supervillains to have a civil war because Team Possible's kid went rogue."

"If I may, Director," Will Du spoke up, "I could gather a mere dozen of agents to lead a discreet investigation and find the girl's whereabouts."

"Very well."

"Oh, thank you!" Dr. Possible almost ran to give out a hug until the other woman stopped her.

"But let's be clear. I can't have my entire agency dragged into one investigation. If we don't find the girl, you'll have to tell her parents the truth. Understand?"

Dr. Possible pulled back and nodded.

"I do have one more question," Will Du said. "Does she have Mystical Monkey Power?"

Back at the Minalshari

"What?"

This was by far the weirdest Saturday ever. After getting a ride back to Y.E.A.R.N from the Lord-Of- Slavery-Bets, RJ had been unable to sleep that she ended up taking a cold shower and drinking caffeinated soda at 6am and using the Tai Shing Pek Kwar book as a guide in meditation. Fortunately, meditating for two straight hours has helped her calm down her power, but it didn't help feel less nervous about the bet she had made with Martin Fiske. Deciding to take a chill pill elsewhere, she changed and decided to troll around the Minalshari Mall, a place she grew to appreciate, and just to her luck, Camillo Leon wasn't opening his shop until later in the day, so when they stumbled upon each other on the first floor, he offered to take her to brunch at the café next door.

"A furisode is a kimono worn by unmarried women," Camillo Leon said. RJ had just told him the story (with hidden details) of how she made a bet with Martin Fiske that if she didn't show him she was capable of self-controlling herself (and her Mystical Monkey Power, which he now knew she had), she'd become his apprentice. She said the 'what' and almost chipped her cup of coffee after she told Camillo of Martin's furisode comment and the latter told her what it meant.

"I'm not surprised, given his tastes in Asian mystics." Camillo shook his head. "I won't lie, chérubin, furisode kimonos are fascinating to wear, especially during the cherry blossom seasons, but just hearing that the most complex high classed man thinks that a virgin roughly six years younger than him would look good in a furisode makes me want to vomit."

"I feel ya, I don't know what's worst!" RJ facepalmed herself. "The comment, or that I could be forever stuck with the worst man ever!"

"I wouldn't say he's 'the worst man'." Camillo put some sugar in his jasmine tea while the waitress brought over their appetizers filled with hash browns and croque-monsieurs. "Like I said, he's the most complex high class."

"But... he insulted you the first time I saw him!" RJ poked her fork at the tantalizing potato cubes.

"Is that why you constantly dislike him? Because of his temper over a high-priced piece of clothing?" Camillo shook his head and chuckled with nice amusement. "Chérubin, it's sweet that you wanted to stand up for me, but you jumped too quickly on conclusions." RJ frowned as he continued. "I've seen people come and adore my works or hate them and leave. It's the way the world works. Honestly, aside from Fiske, I've dealt with a majority of paysans complaining to me that the prices are outrageous."

"And his usual jerk attitude?" RJ questioned.

"Granted, he has his moments. But I'm aware that he's got his main reason from isolating himself. He has la peur of making multiple friends outside of his family's circle, I've never seen him interact with any other young folk Gilliard aside."

RJ blinked and almost missed her bite of hash browns. "He's... afraid of social interaction? But why?"

Camillo shrugged as he took bites from the croque-monsieurs. "How can we all know? Martin was born in a time before most of us, back in an era where villains were célèbres among the wanted ads. In an era where he was forced to spend seven years without his parents since he was a baby, never knowing when he'd see them again and spending all his time preparing for their reunion. Naturellement, they now spend more time with each other in their retired status than with him, full of energy and eager to please them. The next fourteen years have made him rather...cynical about trying to reach out to others emotionally, unless it was an emergency.

"And I can say it's the same for us." He waved his hand to indicate the café and the city before them. "Look autour de toi, RJ. Most of us from the younger generation were born from villains that made history, but now the world prefers to ignore us and we are now sheltered in this hidden paradise living the way normal 'evil' people would. We try to be epic like the first generation, but everyone ignores us. Fiske is not even trying to attract people and yet countries want him behind bars!" He sighed.

RJ was so stunned by what she was hearing. "I...never thought about it that way." The British snob was so cynical merely because he feared reaching out to others and failing? This just sounded awkward from the perspective of a sheltered girl succeeding at making friends without even trying.

The waitress finally brought over the plates of French toast and mushroom quiche. Camillo snuck a one dollar bill at the waitress' apron pocket and gave the woman a wink. The latter giggled and blushed as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"Is that bribing?" RJ wondered.

"It's tipping, chérubin. Just to get the advantages." Camillo shrugged as he cut through his quiche. "Concerning your bet, I'm still surprised that Fiske dared to pull it off. His reputation with young ladies is rather one-sided."

"One-sided?" RJ took a bite of her French toast and marveled at the taste of delicious pastry covered in sugar.

"What I did with the waitress? Physically attractive villains have a way to rely on their physical charms and smooth words to get to others. I've been in the Minalshari for years and whenever I see Fiske passing by with Gilliard, all the young ladies swoon at the sight of him. His human appearance as a tall, dark, handsome British man in his early twenties is enough to make them ignore his...particular appendages." He paused. "Or maybe they just go for l'argent."

RJ scowled sourly. "Well I ain't interested in him, even if he's good-looking and rich." Her cheeks burned while her conscience chided her for saying that the snob was good-looking.

Camillo chuckled in amusement. "Sadly, chérubin, I fear that by showing him you're not interested him, you caused him to be interested in you. Cynical Englishmen don't go around calling American girls 'vixens' for nothing, you know?"

RJ impaled her food with her fork and clasped her hands together. "So you're saying I'm screwed for the bet?"

"Honestly, the odds are mixed. If he wants you as an apprentice, he could have just gone to HenchCo and fill up papers with Jack Hench, therefore sealing the deal."

"Please tell me that's not the way becoming an apprentice at Y.E.A.R.N works." RJ begged.

Camillo rubbed his chin. "Well I was never a Y.E.A.R.N pupil, mais I've lived long enough to meet Y.E.A.R.N alumni and hear their experiences. Once you start doing heists, you must have performed at least twenty successful heists by your sixth month of training. Jack Hench usually waits until his new pupils are formed after six months before sending out the ads to reach out professional villains who could use apprentices. Interviews are done, and if the étudiants are lucky, they get hired by the villains to train under their tutelage. If they are successful enough, the apprentices move on to become the villains' sidekicks, and if they are willing, they can finally move on to the level of méchant professionel." He straightened himself on his chair. "Then again, it does happen when pupils get their apprenticeship faster than others either because they are talented enough to work harder than others, have connections, or the professional just agreed to pay Jack Hench a reasonable sum to get the pupil."

RJ grimaced. "So you're telling me that Jack Hench could sell me off to Martin Fiske if he could?"

"If Fiske was the only one willing to hire you, Hench would play the game of seeing how far the client would go to actually get the pupil: thousands of signed paperwork, contracts, raised prices, etc. He's a businessman after all, and his company is tight these days."

"Alien invasion, I know." RJ rolled her eyes.

"Then you know how hard the evil economy is getting." Camillo nodded. "Without the world's attention on their schemes, professionals stop going to extreme lengths to go after doomsday device articles that cost a fortune. Hired goons stop seeing the reason to no longer serve professionals as reduced housekeeping and therefore quit, losing money while saving their former employees a fortune. Fewer join Y.E.A.R.N in the hopes of being hired and the pupils find it harder to earn careers, they are reduced to common part-time jobs."

RJ felt herself slipping in her chair. She felt embarrassed that she kept forgetting the domino effect the evil economy was having these days. "Mais, Fiske has given you the advantage of time in your little game," Camillo pointed out. "Just going to Jack Hench to sell you off before your first heist would have been less than amusing, don't you think?"

"I guess, but how can I manage to keep my...thing under control if I have only two weeks?" RJ asked. "And without guidance on how to do it? I've never put a foot outside of my apartment for fourteen years and just being in the Y.E.A.R.N common bathrooms freak me out!"

"How you control your power is your problem, but I can give you this small piece of advice." He leaned so that she could see how his eyes were giving away his seriousness and mischievous nature at the same time. "Time is your advantage and your opposing party is a villain who uses his brains and cunning more often than he uses his brawns and magic. The best you can do is at least stall Fiske by using your cunning against his."

RJ straightened herself in her seat and processed Camillo's words in her head. Use your cunning against his translated into outsmart him. If she could trick an old cat lady into giving her a ride out of town and make everyone in the Minalshari believe that she was RJ the awesome Y.E.A.R.N rookie rather than Ronilda the parentless idiot who lived in a seventy-foot tall building with no outdoor contact, then she should have at least 10% of chances of outsmarting a cunning villain with two decades of evil experience. So I do I stall a professional in order to buy myself time? She wondered. Maybe a wild goose chase...

A light bulb dinged in her head.

"Say, Camillo," she said while tapping her fingers together, "you wouldn't happen to have the address of the snob's number one stalker?"