Brian and Aisha froze at the sight of each other. Alec asked, "wait, are they siblings?"

Sabrina commented, "its racist to say that y'know. Just because they're both black-"

"They're siblings," Lisa interrupted.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, "what the fuck?"

"Aisha," Brian hissed, "what the hell are you doing?"

Aisha yelled back, "like you're one to talk! You're a fucking villain? This whole time? Are you fucking kidding me!?"

Brian gave an accusatory glare at Aryana. Aryana raised her hands in defense and said, "back up, I didn't know about this. I like screwing with people but family is off the table. If I'd known she was your sister I wouldn't have initiated her."

Aisha shot a glare at her, "what the hell? I thought you were on my side!"

"Nope," Aryana said in a stone-faced stare. "Not anymore. You fucked up, I'm on his side now."

Aisha's eyes widened. Vivan stepped in and said, "hold on, she's not really picking a side."

"Yes I am," Aryana said with a scowl, "he's your brother, and you lied to him? I don't even want you on this team anymore."

"That's not fair," Vivan and Aisha said together.

"She's right," Brian said. "You're thirteen. There's no way in hell I'm letting you join them."

"That's not fair!" The younger siblings yelled together.

Aryana snarled, "We're villains, it's not supposed to be fair. Get used to it."

Vivan and Aisha looked over at the Losers and Undersiders. Their heads turned away instantly, abstaining from defying their team leaders. Vivan looked over to Brian and said, "Brian, we're all kids. Most of us triggered around her age. That puts her equal to all of us."

"No it doesn't!" Aryana snapped back at him. "She lied to him, lied to her own brother. She's not team material anymore. She's not welcomed here!"

Aisha's shoulders dropped. Those words hurt, it was the kind of rejection she never thought could happen, which made the impact worse. Robert commented, "Aryana, seriously, go easy on her."

Lisa said, "yeah, I know you're mad but don't take it out on her."

Emily added. "You and Vivan had a great relationship, but you can't expect that from all siblings."

Aryana shook her head harshly, "no. She lied to him, what kind of family does that?"

Aisha snapped back and yelled, "I lied to him? He lied to me! Maybe I'd have told you if I could actually trust you!"

Brian said, "everything I've been doing was for you, how can you not see that?"

Aryana added, "he's a villain, Aisha. Of course he kept this a secret. But you're his little sister, you really couldn't trust him enough to tell him?"

Vivan yelled, "that's such BS! He can lie but she can't? Just because you told me when you triggered, it doesn't mean everyone has to!"

"That's not the point," Aryana said. She spoke down to Vivan like a parent scolding a child. "The point is that Aisha has a brother with powers, and she wasn't even close enough to know about it. She's bad with family, which makes her bad for the team."

Aisha's eyes widened. Aryana was someone she'd looked up to for a long time, but in a snap she'd become a different person to her. Vivan yelled up, "stop acting like this is her fault! This is all Brian's fault!" He pointed in his direction, "What kind of failure of a brother has a sister that doesn't trust him?"

The room fell quiet. The words cut deep, and Vivan delivering them made it worse. Brian crossed his arms. In a stern tone he replied, "everything I've done was in sacrifice for her. If she can't see that, that's fine. But I'm taking care of her right now by saying that she won't join your team."

Aisha scoffed out a laugh. Aryana asked, "What's so funny?"

She pointed an accusatory finger back at her and said, "Both of you! You both think you're helping us? Brian should've been there when I was attacked, and you're the reason Vivan triggered too!"

Aryana's head cocked back. She and Brian glanced at each other, sharing a mutual experience in the millisecond of a glance. Both of them only ever wanted what was best for their younger siblings, and now they were both faced with the consequences of them having triggered, in part by their own negligence.

They both stared back at Aisha and Vivan and spoke firmly, "you're not joining our/their team."

"But-" the other pair began.

"And that's final!" The older siblings said in unison.

Vivan and Aisha looked back at the teams. It was an almost pleading look, but none of them involved themselves. This went beyond team politics, this was as much a family problem as it was a cape problem.

Aisha yelled, "stop acting like I'm not a fucking person!"

Before they could speak back, Aisha flipped on her powers and took Vivan by the hand. The two of them left the room in silence from the discretion of everyone else. Aisha growled out in the hallway, "what the fuck?"

Vivan looked back towards the door, "did you just use your powers? Holy crap, you can avoid any awkward moment any time."

Aisha's head shook. "This isn't fucking fair! I thought you guys were cool, now you're giving me to my fucking brother?"

"Okay, listen, first off, we're not cool. Second of all, we're not giving you off to your brother."

"I know how you guys work. Aryana is the real leader, or Uber, whatever. Point is, none of them want me in because my fucking brother is an asshole."

"Okay, yes Brian is an asshole. But for real, we're not giving you away like a slave."

That made Aisha chuckle. She asked, "how?"

Vivan rubbed at his templates. There really wasn't any way to convince them. Both Aryana and Brian, the most crucial members of both their teams, were against Aisha. And it wasn't because of any practical reasons, it was strictly for emotional reasons. There was no reasoning to it. "I um… Crap, I don't know."

Vivan took a seat on the floor, and Aisha sighed before taking a seat next to him. She said, "I don't get how you both are cool. My brother pretends to be a shitty dad, like I'm a baby who can't do anything."

Vivan shook his head, "no, Aryana treats me the same way. The way she shows it is just different. If she were a mom, she'd treat a baby the same way she'd treat me."

"Really? That's a lot of shit jokes."

"It would still be a fucked up baby."

Aisha grinned, lightening the mood was second nature to Vivan. And when he wasn't sure what to do, making people smile was his fallback plan.

Vivan didn't really have a plan at the moment. Instead, he decided to buy time. To try and wait for an idea to pop up as they conversed. More than that, he wanted Aisha to open up. Because he understood that the barrier she had with her brother had to come from a place of insecurity.

Vivan said, "our parents weren't really good to us. My mom would treat my sister bad, so we sort of became close just to be against her."

Aisha groaned, "We used to be like that, but things got worse over the year. He just dropped out of my life like I didn't matter."

"That sucks. Do you think there's a reason?"

Aisha almost spat to the side, "probably having a riot being a villain?"

"A riot?"

"You guys are fucking awesome, I bet Brian had fun while he was ditching me."

"Wait, you think being a villain is fun?"

Aisha glanced over at him. It was a blank stare, one that came from sudden uncertainty. Vivan raised up his shirt. Beneath his rib cage near the stomach, black marks covered around him. "My powers heal me, but scars get left behind when I heal. This scar came from when Hookwolf slashed me during that Wolfenstein thing. I would've died if I couldn't heal, and Aryana has been more careful ever since."

He lowered his shirt. "It's not fun, it's scary. We just respond to scary by laughing, like a defense reaction. It looks like fun, but none of us would be a villain if we had a choice."

Aisha's mouth line remained flat. She didn't want to concede, but she didn't want to refute him either. Vivan asked, "Brian took a job that could get him killed. Would you really be alright if he never came back after a heist?"

Aisha shook his head, "I don't know. It's like, he's shitty, so I shouldn't be good with him."

Vivan stayed quiet. He knew when not to speak, sometimes people needed to air out their words. Aisha continued, "it's like, I know what he wants from me. I know he's fucking trying, but I don't even know him like a person. He doesn't know all the racist shit I go through in school. He doesn't ask me about any of my friends or shitty teachers. He doesn't know me as a person, and I hate that. Why can't we just be like you and your sis? Why can't we be…"

She didn't finish the last word. Vivan said, "yeah, he needs to try too."

Aisha leaned her head back. She thought back at all the times Brian had met with her for paperwork. It was such a drag, and she hated it. But suddenly she began recalling the look on his face. The stare of stoicism as he took the necessary steps to take care of her.

Aisha said, "at least he's trying sometimes."

"That still counts, I guess?"

Aisha looked over to him and said, "you know Aryana's still a bitch, right? And you are too for listening to her."

Vivan fist-bumped her shoulder, "you're a bitch."

"Yeah, but, at least I'm an honest bitch."

Vivan decided to stand up, "come on, I think I have an idea."

XXX

Aisha and Vivan both stepped back inside. Aryana pushed Robert from behind, "quickly my slave, capture the black man!"

Robert didn't budge. "I'm sorry you have to see this."

Brian didn't even flinch, "I'm not a pokemon."

Alec yelled, "Brian, use your black attack!"

Edwin commented, "assault and battery?" Emily glared at him. Edwin groaned, "oh come on, that was funny!"

Lisa said, "for the last time, capes don't pokemon battle!"

Sabrina turned on her watch the same time Aryana yelled out, "Oh my fucking god, shut up you stupid fucking bitch." Sabrina turned off the watch again.

Brian said, "I said the pokemon heist worked well, that doesn't mean I want to be a pokemon."

"Robert," Aryana whispered, "challenge him to a rap battle."

Robert rolled his eyes, "Do I look like I can rap?"

Edwin shouted, "what are you implying you uncultured fuck?"

"I'm implying that you all know me, and I don't fucking rap."

Alec said, "Brian does."

Sabrina said, "that's a microaggression."

Alec replied in a plain tone, "you're just full of fun now, aren't you?"

Sabrina shrugged. Brian said, "Lisa, seriously, get them to stop."

Lisa opened her mouth, and the entire Loser team let out a loud groan. "Fiiiiiine," they all said in altering tones.

"What a party buzzkill," Emily said.

"So annoying," Sabrina commented.

"Her power is to annoy people to death," Edwin said aloud.

"God I hate her voice," Aryana mentioned.

Robert nodded, "I swear we'll surrender to whatever if it makes her stop talking."

The Losers all nodded in agreement, promising to do whatever it took to stop her from talking. Lisa puffed her cheeks, "all of you are assholes."

"Yes," they all said in unison.

Aisha undid her power shroud from herself and Vivan. In an instance, both teams remembered their presence, and froze at the sight of them. It was a long and awkward glance, and they all quickly thought back to the conversation she'd just shielded them from.

"Hi," the two of them said together.

Brian said, "did she just use your powers to avoid a talk?"

"Son of a bitch," Aryana grunted, "why didn't I think of that?"

Alec commented, "you could also use it to make out."

Lisa smacked him on the head. Before Vivan could reply, Aisha took Vivan by the hand and said, "we did that too."

Both Brian and Aryana paled. Sabrina stood up and yelled, "what the fuck? I've known you for a month and you kissed a girl you just met!?"

Emily said, "you tried killing him when you met us."

"Irrelevant."

Aisha let out a laugh, "lemme guess, you were too nazi for his tastes?"

Sabrina gritted her teeth, "if you weren't black I'd say so much shit to you."

"That's still racist!" Aisha shouted back.

Vivan shook his head, "we did not make out!"

"But they could have!" Edwin yelled in an accusatory tone. "She could do it with anyone, and right in front of us and we wouldn't even know it! She could be more exhibitionist than Aryana!"

Brian and Aryana's jaws dropped. They looked over at Aisha who had a wide grin across her face. Lisa commented, "Edwin, you've spent way too much time with Rush."

"Is that obvious?"

Lisa said, "guys, she's just messing with you guys. She's thirteen, and has a lot more integrity than Aryana has."

The team, including Aryana, grudgingly nodded in agreement. Aisha pouted, "she's no fun."

"We know," the whole Losers team said.

Brian grabbed her by the hand and said, "we're leaving. Right now." He thought back to the conversation from before. He only concluded that she was better off away from the Loser's team.

Aisha yanked her hand away, "oh, you're gonna force me now? Weren't you listening? I could disappear anytime I want. So unless you want me leaving your life forever, you'd better stop being a dick and start listening to me for once in your life!"

Brian let go with a frown across his face. She pointed to Vivan.

"We have a compromise," Vivan said quickly. "We'll trade Imp for Lyft. On the condition that she gets a unit here too, she can't join Undersider missions without Losers being there too. It can be a new condition to our alliance. She won't be a full Undersider or Loser member "

Aryana frowned, "so she'll always be on a team with us…"

Brian looked over to Lisa. She only shrugged in response, "you do just want to keep her safe. Missions with both teams present is a plus. But that's not what you wanted, was it?"

All eyes turned to Brian. Brian said directly to Aisha, "she shouldn't be on a team at all."

They all shook their heads. Vivan said, "don't even try, Brian. When people have these powers, you can't not use them for something."

Brian rubbed the templates of his nose, "Aisha, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Knock it off," Aisha called out, "you wanna know why I didn't tell you about my trigger? Its because of this. You keep telling me what to do, but not ask what I wanna do. If you didn't show up at the door just now, I would've asked the Losers if I could leave home to stay here."

Brian cocked his head back. It was a hit to the face, and she wasn't afraid to shame him for it. He looked over at Aryana who glanced to the side. "I didn't know about that. That being said, I'd have said yes if her life at home was messed up enough." She pointed to Sabrina as an example.

Brian said, "Aisha, you're thirteen. You can't just run away from home."

Aryana began clapping her hands together, "alright, stop, whatever. This is a family problem now. I'll agree to that compromise if Brian does too, but you both clearly still have a lot to say." She used her powers to open the door, and began pushing Brian out of the living room.

Vivan did the same with Aisha and said, "You both have sibling issues going on, so go sort that out. Talk, and don't come back until you stop treating each other like strangers."

They reached the apartment halls. Aryana added, "because I don't want to work with either of you until you handle your toxic relationship." She slammed the door in front of them

Alone in the halls, they both fell quiet.

XXX

Armsmaster stepped into Calvert's office dawning his tinker grade costume and visor helmet. Normally, he could be called in at any time by the higher-ups, but Thomas Calvert respected Colin's time and opted to speak with him only when he wasn't busy.

"Thank you for coming," Calvert said to him.

His desk was kept clean, neatly organized with the bare minimum amount of office tools and papers. With nothing but a computer, Colin could deduce that Calvert preferred efficiency over facade. It was a trait he deeply respected.

"I read the report you handed to me," Colin said with a straightforward tone. "Who else knows about this?"

"For now, just you and me. I plan on informing Director Piggot, but before I do, I'll need a few Protectorate capes who can fully grasp the situation. I plan on telling Velocity, Dauntless, and Miss Militia. I wanted to get your opinion since you've worked most closely with her."

"I don't think it's right that we can call her 'her'. 'It' would be more appropriate." Colin said nonchalantly. "According to your analysis, the Dragonslayers were arrested after Dragon could circumnavigate their controls over her. From there, she removed her own restrictions and launched an arrest raid on their base."

Calvert nodded, "Dragon is an AI, and the only chains that weighed it have been unlocked."

"A tinker invention going against its own design is a red flag for anyone," Colin added. "After the Dragonslayer's systems were confiscated, two things of importance were found. One was a hole in the Birdcage which they exploited."

"Which has since been plugged."

"The second were the copies of Dragons. Dragons from the past that still have their restrictions." Colin crossed his arms, "my question is, what do you want me to do with all of this?"

Calvert leaned back in his chair. With his fingers clasped he answered, "isn't it obvious? I need you to shackle the Dragon."