"Alright everyone," said Luke, clasping his hands, "thank you for your time. You're free to go."
There were several audible sighs of relief. The Heroes for Hire employees had gathered in the conference room for their monthly debrief. Jennie Royce, Jessica Jones, Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, Claire Temple, and Jeri Hogarth were all there. It was the last meeting they would have before Luke Cage and Danny Rand left for the week.
Everyone began to gather their things. Misty stayed at her seat, looking at Luke. She wanted to chat with him real quick before she left. Luke and Danny had distributed their duties among the other employees during their absence. Misty wanted some clarification before Luke dropped out of contact for the week.
"What's up, Misty?" asked Luke, catching her glance.
"I just wanted to see if you could clarify exactly what my responsibilities are and what authority I carry."
"Jeri will handle the operations end of my job," said Luke, "and you'll handle the management end."
"Right," said Misty, "I remember that. I was hoping you could be more specific about what we can and can't do."
"Come on, Misty," said Luke, "You know how I usually run things around here. Just don't, like, go mad with power or anything."
"Alright," sighed Misty, figuring that was the best she was going to get.
He had a point. It was only a week. The chances that anything serious would come up was low. Chances were that Misty would never even have to know her exact authority. Especially since Jeri was covering as well.
"You two enjoy your trip," smiled Misty.
"We will," smiled Luke back.
Misty chuckled to herself as Luke walked out of the conference room and joined Danny. Those two were so close. She loved it. The two of them had rented a nice cabin for the week and were just planning to hang out there together.
"If I didn't know any better," said Misty to Claire, who had just gathered the last of her things, "I'd think your beau was having an affair on you."
"I get that a lot," said Claire plainly.
"Sorry," said Misty uncomfortably.
Claire looked around. They were the last two in the conference room.
"They did once, you know," she said.
"Did what?"
"Each other."
"Really?" beamed Misty.
"Yeah," nodded Claire, "They're basically platonic life partners already, they figured they'd at least try it."
"And?"
"There's a reason they don't bring it up very often" chuckled Claire, "I don't think either of them had a good time. I guess they're just not compatible in that way."
"Huh," scoffed Misty, "Go figure."
"Ms. Knight," addressed Jeri, returning from the hall into the conference room, "I missed you on the way out."
"I hadn't left."
"I see that," nodded Jeri, before adding, "Claire, Luke's about to leave if you want to catch him."
"Oh, thanks," said Claire, rushing out.
Misty began to gather her things to leave. She was about done with this nonsense for the week.
"Don't get up," ordered Jeri.
Misty raised an eyebrow to her. What was her problem?
"I'll make this quick," said Jeri, "I have a very specific way of running things. A way that works very well. It will not work well if you are trying to work against it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Misty.
"Simply put," said Jeri, "Stay out of my way or else."
Jeri left without saying another word. Misty shook her head and dismissed it. She was not going to let herself think about this job again until Monday.
Misty tapped her foot as she rode the elevator up to their office. When the elevator doors opened the first face she saw was Jessica Jones's. Jessica didn't usually spend a lot of time in the office, but this week she was helping fill in for Danny. The moment Misty made eye contact with her, Jessica awkwardly looked away and walked in the other direction.
Then Misty saw something weird. There was a computer with a bunch of paperwork and desk supplies piled outside one of the offices. Then Misty realized it was her office. Then she realized it was her computer, paperwork, and desk supplies. Misty rushed into her office, shocked to see the entire place rearranged with Jeri using the desk as her own. Misty was at an absolute loss for words. That's why Jessica had awkwardly looked away. She knew Misty was about to see this.
"What?" asked Jeri casually, "I needed an office. I don't have one here yet."
"Why mine!?" demanded Misty, "Why not use Luke's or Danny's?!"
"I wanted this one," said Jeri plainly, "You can have Luke's or Danny's if you wish."
"Wait, no!" shouted Misty, "You can't do this!"
"Are you seriously asking me to take apart this entire set up and put it together again after spending hours over the weekend on it?" demanded Jeri.
"You're… Ugh…" groaned Misty.
She gave up. They could stand there arguing about this all day. Jeri was a lawyer; she'd talk circles around the conversation for hours. Misty couldn't very well physically force Jeri out either, so she took the path of least resistance.
Misty proceeded to carry her computer, her desk supplies, and her paperwork into Danny's office. She then had to disassemble his set up, knowing full well she'd have to put it back together for him, and put together her own setup. It took most of the morning, but she did it.
"Ms. Knight," said Jeri, walking to the entrance to the office.
"Yes?" asked Misty irritably.
"Give me an update," she ordered, "What have you accomplished today?"
"I… I just finished putting together my desk," said Misty, trying to contain herself.
"You spent all morning just getting set up?" scoffed Jeri, "Misty, what's the point of you helping fill in for Luke if you spend half of your time transitioning anyway?"
"You know something!?" demanded Misty angrily.
"...yes?" asked Jeri expectantly.
Misty stopped. She knew how this would look. She needed to handle this calmly.
"You know full well that the only reason I even had to do this," said Misty, "is because you insisted on taking my office first!"
"I don't see why that falls to me," said Jeri, "I also had to disassemble and reassemble an office. I came in over the weekend to do it on my own time. You wasted the company's time doing it. Well done."
"I-" began Misty, but she couldn't think of anything to say. That was technically correct, but clearly Jeri was twisting the words in her favor. Would that be enough to convince Luke? Would he believe her?
"...yes?" asked Jeri a second time.
"Nothing," said Misty.
Jeri wrote something into her notebook. Whatever it was was quite long, because Jeri took some time writing it. She then gave Misty a cold stare before walking away. Misty groaned and laid her head down on the desk. Was the whole week going to be like this?
"Alright everyone," said Misty, "That's all I've got. Does anyone else have anything else to discuss?"
Misty had just wrapped up their Monday meeting. Though she didn't care for these, they pretty clearly fell into her jurisdiction of management. She looked out over the conference room. No one said anything at first, but the moment before Misty dismissed them Jeri spoke up.'
"I have something," she said, pulling a small pill bottle from her purse, "I found this in the kitchen."
She turned the bottle around so everyone could get a decent look at it. It was an extra strength gas relief medicine.
"So?" shrugged Jessica.
"So," said Jeri, "These are only for very serious stomach conditions. I am merely concerned for the health and safety of the office. You know, for operations' sake."
"I don't see how-" began Jessica.
"Is it yours, Jessica?" asked Jeri impatiently.
"No," said Jessica, reeling away in disgust.
"You are right to be revolted," said Jeri, "Like I said, anyone taking these has some very serious gas problems. And I think it's you."
"Me?" said Jessica.
"Yes," said Jeri, "If anyone else was taking them, we'd have seen it show up before now."
"Jeri," said Misty, "Let's not-"
"They're not mine!" insisted Jessica.
"Oh please, Jessica," said Jeri, "I know it's embarrassing, but I just wanted to check and make sure you were in healthy condition."
"I don't have gas problems," said Jessica emphatically.
"Guys!" said Misty, "Can we-?"
"Then whose are they, Jessica?" demanded Jeri, "If you're so certain they're not yours-"
"They're mine!" shouted Misty, frustrated.
The room fell silent. It was true: those were Misty's pills. She was over it now, but she had had a bad stomach bug for a couple of days that made her mortifyingly gassy. She had managed it with the help of those pills, but she still didn't want anyone to know the details of her stomach problems. Still, it was better than having it pinned on an innocent person.
"I- It's," muttered Misty, "Uh…"
"Oh, that's right," smiled Jeri, "I didn't find this in the kitchen, I found it in your old desk - my new desk. Sorry about that. My mistake."
Misty glared at Jeri, unable to bring herself to say any of her raging thoughts.
"Anyway," said Jeri, standing up, "I believe we're done now. Let's go, everybody."
The whole room got up to leave. Misty, indignant to have been undercut by Jeri, struggled to think of a way to assert her authority.
"Wait!" she exclaimed.
"Yes?" demanded Jeri immediately, "Do you have anything to add, Ms. Knight?"
"...no," admitted Misty.
"That's what I thought," she said, "Please don't waste our time any further, Ms. Knight."
Misty felt her cheeks go hot. Every one of the employees had seen Jeri tear her down like that. She felt incredibly inept and powerless.
Jessica paused next to Misty on her way out, waiting until they were the last two in the room.
"You didn't have to do that," muttered Jessica, "So, you know, thanks."
"You're welcome," nodded Misty.
"It's just humiliating you know?" asked Misty between kicks into the punching bag.
"I know," nodded Colleen, "In fact, I think it's on purpose."
Misty and Colleen were at the gym next door to their office. They often came here after work to blow off steam or train. Right now the two of them were the only two in the gym. Misty was going at the punching bag while Colleen was standing behind her, towel around her neck.
"On purpose?" asked Misty, "I mean, yeah, but what purpose do you think it is?"
"She's making a power play," explained Colleen, "Trying to establish dominance."
"Dominance?"
"Yeah," said Colleen.
Colleen picked up two target gloves, put them on, and beckoned to Misty. Misty rolled her eyes and turned her attention from the punching bag to Colleen. She alternated between kicking the targets and punching it with her biological arm.
Misty's prosthetic arm was capable of performing punches as well, though not as precisely. The way the arm interfaced with her nerves meant her perception and precision was pretty severely limited. She found it better to use the prosthetic defensively in close quarters.
"Why would she have to establish dominance?"
"All I know is she's putting a lot of effort into emasculating you," shrugged Colleen between kicks.
"Emasculating me?"
"Or efemulating if you'd prefer," said Colleen, "The point is she's bullying you."
"No she isn't!" protested Misty, standing up and dropping her fighting stance.
"Are you kidding?" laughed Colleen, "You're going to tell me you liked the way she treated you in that conference room?"
"Shut up!"
"Admit it! You're being bullied!" teased Colleen, shoving Misty's shoulder
"No I'm not!" shouted Misty, shoving back.
Colleen went to strike Misty from the side. Misty threw up her mechanical arm to block it, using her biological arm to throw a punch at Colleen's head. Colleen ducked the punch, spun around, and threw Misty over her shoulder.
"Nerd!" yelled Colleen.
She punctuated this by reaching into the back of Misty's leggings, grabbing the waistband of her white boyshorts, and hiking them up toward her head.
"Yeow! Colleen!" squeaked Misty.
"Admit you're being bullied!"
"Ah!" cried Misty as the underwear cut into her more, "Fine! Alright! I'm being bullied."
Colleen stood up, satisfied. Misty meekly got to her knees and shoved her hand down the back of her pants to fix the massive wedgie. Colleen snickered at her.
"Real mature," scoffed Misty.
"Now that you've identified the problem," smiled Colleen, "What are you going to do about it?"
When Misty arrived in the office Tuesday morning she was not greeted with any awkward eye contact nor the sight of her belongings outside her office. Instead, she found the entire place seemingly empty. That is until she heard her name called from the conference room.
"Ms. Knight," called Jeri, "Please join us. We were just about to begin."
Misty scowled. She didn't like that Jeri was hosting meetings now. That fell into Misty's jurisdiction of management. Colleen was right. Jeri was making a power play. Misty would have to do something about that.
"You've got to be kidding me," said Misty, reading the whiteboard as she walked in.
Gas in the Digestive Tract
"What the hell is this?" demanded Misty.
"I thought the office would benefit from some health and wellness advice," said Jeri plainly, "Is there a problem?"
"Come on, Jeri!" shouted Misty, "We all know you're doing this just to get to me!"
"Not to bruise your ego," said Jeri calmly, "but this is not for your benefit. Or are you suggesting that you are the only one here with these issues?"
"I… no," said Misty in frustration.
"Ms. Temple," continued Jeri, "Would you kindly read the medical research I sent you?"
"Sure," said Claire hesitantly, looking at a sheet of paper in front of her, "Symptoms of gas in the digestive tract range from abdominal pain to burping. The individual may also experience an increase in burping or passing gas-"
"This is ridiculous!" shouted Misty, "This meeting is over!"
Nobody moved. A few of them glanced nervously at Jeri. They were all terrified of her.
"Ms. Temple," said Jeri calmly, "Please continue."
Claire looked apologetically to Misty. Then she caught Jeri's glare and went right back to reading.
"Gas in the digestive tract can be caused by bacterial growth in the small intestine," she recited, "It can also be caused by irritable bowel syndrome or various abdominal conditions, including dumping syndrome."
Jessica held in a laugh.
"Let's take this seriously," said Jeri, "After all, anyone with gas issues may have any of those conditions."
Misty was tapping her heel up and down uncomfortably. She couldn't believe this woman. Why was she targeting Misty like this? Did she really want the entire office to have a low opinion of her? What did she have to gain from that? Misty looked uncomfortably over to Colleen. Colleen nodded to her.
"That's enough!" shouted Misty, "Jeri, cut this out or else!"
"Or else?" asked Jeri with the hint of a smile, "Do tell."
"Colleen," ordered Misty confidently, "If Jeri speaks agan, dock her pay by 2%."
No one spoke. No one even moved. Jeri continued to almost smile. Misty looked over to Colleen, who was frowning at her.
"What?" asked Misty.
"It's just," said Colleen, "finance falls under operations, not management."
"Excellent observation, Ms. Wing," said Jeri, "Now kindly dock Misty's pay by 5%."
Colleen subtly nodded.
"What!?" cried Misty.
"Sorry," whispered Colleen.
"This is a load of shit!" yelled Misty directly into Jeri's face.
"Ms. Jones," said Jeri, not breaking eye contact with Misty, "Please escort this agitated employee from my sight until she has settled down."
"Agitated!?" cried Misty, "Why you little-! Hey!"
Jessica had approached Misty from the side and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Misty could feel Jessica's enhanced strength in just the pressure of her hand. Was Jessica really siding with Jeri on this? Security wasn't even a part of her job.
"Let's go," whispered Jessica calmly.
Misty, ready to leave at this point, complied. Jessica took Misty out of the conference room and into one of the elevators. The moment the doors closed Misty was in Jessica's face.
"What the hell was that!?" demanded Misty.
"That was me keeping my job," said Jessica, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but Jeri is making sure she's in full control. She will bury anyone that opposes her. I've dealt with people like that before. They're not worth taking on directly."
"Directly?" asked Misty.
"You want to beat Hogarth?" said Jessica, "You're going to have to play dirty."
Misty considered that for a moment.
"And I'll be more than happy to help you do it," added Jessica.
"Are you about done?" asked Misty impatiently, "They'll be here any moment."
"Relax," said Jessica, typing away, "I didn't program this thing; I just got it from Peter's roommate. It's taking me a minute."
"Well we might not have a minute," whispered Misty, looking around the office again.
Misty and Jessica had come in early that morning. They had snuck into Jeri's office and were downloading a particularly incriminating virus onto her computer. If Jeri caught them in the act though, this would all be for nothing. Both of their jobs would also be at risk.
"Done," said Jessica, hitting one last keystroke and getting up, "Let's go. Hogarth will never believe I got here early to do actual work."
So they ducked out before anyone else arrived at work. After grabbing some coffee, the two returned as others were starting to filter into the office. When they got back Jeri had set up a projector along with her laptop in the conference room. Misty almost squealed with joy. She couldn't have planned this better.
"Alright everyone," said Jeri once everyone had gathered in the conference room, "Before we get started, I wanted to go over the health concerns from yesterday one more time."
Misty didn't say a word. There was no need. Once Jeri began her presentation, Misty wouldn't have to worry about her anymore.
"Let's begin," said Jeri, powering up her laptop, "Now- ...Oh no…"
The moment the projector began to show Jeri's laptop screen an enormous flashing red pop-up appeared. Jeri panicked and clicked on the "X" in the corner, but three more boxes popped up, several with advertisements for porn websites and sexual medication.
"No, wait!" scrambled Jeri, frantically typing at her laptop, "This isn't-! I was-! How did-?!"
The porn advertisements were getting more and more explicit, until eventually fully nude bodies were appearing on the projector screen. Jessica, Colleen, and Claire were all trying to contain their laughter. Jeri had gone red in the face.
"Jeri!" demanded Misty, "What is going on here?"
"I swear!" insisted Jeri, "I would never do anything like this. I have no idea how- Wait a minute."
Jeri disconnected her laptop and did something on it, eventually grinning and standing up confidently.
"Did you fix it?" asked Misty.
"More than that," said Jeri calmly, "I've reverted my computer to a backup. This backup was automatically created when the virus was downloaded, which means that I can see exactly what my system looked like when this happened."
"Oh no," whispered Jessica.
"Oh no indeed, Ms. Jones," said Jeri, "Tell me, since the drive the virus came from has your name on it, why did you give my computer such a dangerous malware?"
"Um…"
"It wasn't her," said Misty suddenly, "It was me. I took her drive."
"Oh?" smiled Jeri, "I should have guessed. Did your repeated humiliation finally get the best of you, Ms. Knight?"
"...yes," said Misty quietly, "I apologize."
"I see," said Jeri, "We will deal with this later. In the meantime, I'm going to perform a full systems check on my laptop. Thank you for thoroughly wasting this company's time. Again. I look forward to discussing this with Luke upon his return."
Jeri gathered her laptop and walked briskly out of the room. Claire and Colleen soon followed. Colleen gave Misty an apologetic look. Claire gave her a judgmental one. Finally, Jessica approached Misty.
"Thanks," she muttered, "You didn't have to do that."
"It was my responsibility," said Misty, "Besides, it wasn't for nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you see how she reacted when she saw the virus?" asked Misty, "Genuine fear. That's not a common look on her, is it?"
"It really isn't."
"So why did this get to her?" asked Misty, "She's hiding something for real. I'm sure of it."
"Well I'm onboard," shrugged Jessica, "You've stuck your neck out for me twice now, after all."
"Let's think," said Misty, pacing up and down the conference room, "What could she have been afraid of?"
"That the virus was real. That it was something stupid she had done," suggested Jessica.
"Maybe," said Misty, "but that woman is so meticulous about her choices. What would have caused her to doubt herself?"
"A vice?" suggested Jessica.
"Go on."
"Even the smartest people make mistakes when they're temptations are in front of them," she explained.
"She'd never do that on a work computer though," said Misty.
"What about her phone?" said Jessica, "She always has that with her. I bet she uses it for both professional and personal stuff."
"How do you suggest we get ahold of her phone?" asked Misty.
"Leave that to me," said Jessica, rushing off, "just distract her!"
"Distract her!?" called Misty, before hushing herself, "How do I do that?"
Jessica had already run off. Misty had to act now. She couldn't risk Jessica getting them caught again. She left the conference room and stood out in front of all the offices.
"Excuse me, everyone?" called Misty, "Can I have your attention?"
Colleen, Claire, and Jeri all walked out from their offices to see the commotion.
"Thank you," continued Misty, "Um… I know this is unorthodox, but I thought it would be best. Um…"
Misty saw Jessica sneaking around behind Jeri. Misty had to keep them distracted.
"I wanted to, um, apologize!" said Misty, "Right, apologize for my behavior."
Jessica had just made it into Jeri's office undetected. Misty had to keep this up.
"...and for my gas," said Misty, trying to contain her embarrassment but knowing she had to keep talking, "I wanted… to apologize for my gas."
Claire snickered.
"Is that all, Ms. Knight?" asked Jeri.
Jessica was just now sneaking back out of Jeri's office.
"Almost!" said Misty, trying to think of anything to say to keep their attention, "I just wanted everyone to know to… Um… Avoid my mistake and watch your diet."
Claire outright laughed at that one. Misty could feel her cheeks growing hot, but at least Jessica was clear from the office.
"Thank you for your time," added Misty quickly before rushing into her own office.
Misty let out a long sigh of relief. That was rough. She hoped the phone would be worth this, especially since Jeri would end her for good if she found out about the theft. Colleen walked into Misty's office a moment later.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"Long story," sighed Misty.
Then she got a text.
holy shit its even better than we thought
Misty got up without hesitation and rushed past Colleen and into Jessica's office. She prayed that Jessica was being serious with her claim. Maybe she could finally free herself from under this sociopathic lawyer's thumb.
"What is it?" asked Misty excitedly and quietly, "She have something we can use against her?"
"I'll do you one better," said Jessica, handing Misty the phone, "Someone beat us to it."
The phone was open to a text correspondence with an unspecified individual. Details weren't included, but the conversation made one thing clear: Jeri was being blackmailed. Whoever this was wanted something from Jeri badly.
"What are you two doing?" demanded Jeri, walking up to the office.
"I don't know," said Misty, handing the phone back to Jessica, "I could ask you the same question."
"Give that back!" ordered Jeri, reaching for Jessica.
"I don't think so," said Misty, raising her robot arm to block Jeri's way, "We're confiscating that as evidence of employee ethics violations."
"You can't do that!" spat Jeri.
"I'm starting to learn that this is less about what we can do," said Misty, "and what we're willing to do. Isn't it, Ms. Hogarth?"
"You have no idea what you're opening up," warned Jeri.
"I don't know," said Jessica, casually scrolling through the phone, "It seems pretty clear to me."
"What's going on?" asked Colleen casually as she and Claire approached Jessica's office as well.
"Nothing!" insisted Jeri.
"Oh!" smiled Jessica, "Look at that! Blackmailer reached out again!"
"Stop!" whined Jeri, stomping her foot.
"They want you to send the client list to them now," read Jessica, "or else they're going public. What's this about a client list? And going public with what?"
Jeri looked around. Everyone was staring at her now. She was nervous. She collected herself with a deep breath.
"Very well," she said, "No use hiding it anymore. My former associates at Rand Enterprises reached out to me. They acquired some… information on me that would be… unpleasant were it publicly known."
"You're leaking our info to Rand!?" cried Colleen, "After they ousted Danny?"
"I don't need to explain myself to you!" hissed Jeri.
"Go ahead," texted Jessica, reciting it out loud, "Go public. I dare you."
Jessica's thumb hovered over the enter key.
"Don't!" begged Jeri, "Please!"
"Then tell us what's going on!" demanded Claire.
"Rand Enterprises acquired blackmail on me," explained Jeri hurriedly, "They threatened to release it unless I sent them information on the company."
"You were leaking our secrets to Rand!" realized Colleen, "You snake!"
"Nothing serious!" defended Jeri, "Just the occasional case file and-"
"That's why you took my office!" realized Misty, "You stole those files from my computer before you disconnected it!"
Jeri looked away in discomfort and shame.
"Keep talking or I hit 'send,'" said Jessica, "What else did you give them?"
"That was it," said Jeri quietly, "but they did want more in time. I was positioning myself to be the sole manager the next time Luke left the office."
"Traitor," said Claire sadly.
"Oh grow up!" said Jeri angrily, "We all do what we have to do. Now can I have my phone back now?"
"Not so fast," said Jessica, fiddling with the phone in her hands, "Now that we know Rand Enterprises wants our info, why don't we leak them fake- Oops."
"Oops?" said Jeri, eyes widening in rage.
"Jessica…" muttered Claire.
"You didn't…" whispered Misty.
"I… Might have just hit send," admitted Jessica.
"NO!" screamed Jeri, "YOU DIDN'T!"
Jessica frowned and shrugged. Then they all got buzzed on their phones. Upon checking them, they all saw that they had received the same email. Jeri frantically begged everyone not to open it to no avail.
"Evidence of Jeri Hogarth's pornography addiction," read Claire out loud, "See attached the history of Jeri's erotic purchases, including several with professonal credit cards or even clients' accounts."
"It's not true!" cried Jeri desperately, "It's a lie! They created it just to-"
"I don't know, Jeri," said Colleen, looking at the attachments, "These are pretty damning."
"They're… faked," claimed Jeri.
"I know a few guys who could take a look at it," suggested Jessica, "Prove whether they're fake or not."
"Okay they're not fake," admitted Jeri, "but none of you can tell anyone. My career would be-"
"Um, Jeri?" said Misty, "There are a lot of CC'd email addresses on this. I don't think we're the only ones to get this."
"How many!?" demanded Jeri, "How many others!?"
"...hundreds," said Claire.
"No…" muttered Jeri to herself, shaking her head, "No, no, no…"
She ran to gather her things and frantically fled the office, evidently having a lot to take care of.
"You know," said Misty, "I almost feel bad for her."
"I don't," scoffed Jessica.
"Yeah, we had a good time," smiled Luke, "Probably ate more shit than we should have. Wouldn't be surprised if I gained a few pounds."
"Luke, you're basically made of steel," smirked Misty.
"I know," he said, "That's the joke."
"A shame about what happened with Jeri," frowned Danny, "I wish she had told me. I would have tried to smooth things over at Rand."
"I don't think she would have gone for that," said Misty, "She seemed to be certain of her ability to handle it herself."
"I know," sighed Danny, "It's just that I've known her for a long time. I'd come to trust her."
Misty, Luke, and Danny had gathered in the conference room. Misty was bringing them up to speed on what had happened. Following the outing of Jeri's blackmail, she lost most of her other clients. She had come back to Heroes for Hire begging to be kept on, apologizing profusely for her betrayal. Luke ultimately decided to let her go anyway.
"Thank God," said Misty, "I'm just glad I won't have to deal with her being in charge again."
"I left you in charge, Misty," said Luke, "and from what I can tell, you did a fantastic job."
"I- Really?"
"Absolutely," said Luke, "Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I expected you to be the one running things. It sounds like Jeri didn't make that easy for you, but you managed to handle what could have been a disastrous leak of our client's private information."
"...I did," smiled Misty confidently.
"What's more," said Luke, "Claire told me everything it took for you to do that. That sort of tenacity, honesty, and selflessness is hard to find."
"Should we tell her?" asked Danny.
"I was getting there," said Luke.
"What are you two talking about?"
"We were talking during the trip," explained Danny, "There's this office space available in Brooklyn. It'd be a sizable investment, but under the right management we're confident a second branch of the Heroes for Hire could be sustainable."
"A second branch?" said Misty, "We're expanding?"
"Don't worry," assured Luke with a smile, "We're not selling out or anything."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Well," said Luke, "you did just prove exceptional management skills."
"...don't play with me," said Misty, trying to contain her excitement and pride.
"We're not," said Luke, "Misty Knight, how would you like the position of Manager for the upcoming Brooklyn branch of Heroes for Hire?"
"I… I mean I'd be happy to," said Misty, still processing the offer, "but don't you need me on staff here?"
"Jessica is talking about coming on full-time," said Luke, "and we only need so many private investigators. I believe your skills would be better utilized in management, don't you?"
"...yes," smiled Misty confidently, "Yes I do."
"That's great!" exclaimed Colleen.
"Yeah," said Misty, jabbing at Colleen's open palm, "Of course I can't officially start until we have the new space. Plus there's staffing to consider."
"Still!" smiled Colleen, calmly deflecting Misty's hooks and blocking her jabs, "Good for you!"
"Thanks," sighed Misty happily, wiping sweat from her brow, "I definitely feel like I've earned it."
"Got that right."
The two were back in the gym again, casually running through their usual sparring drills.
"You know," said Misty, "Speaking of staffing, Luke said some of the Harlem staff might be coming with me."
"Yeah?"
"What do you think?" suggested Misty, "I'd hate to give up these sessions."
"I'll think about it," nodded Colleen with a grin, "I'd also hate to give these up. I'd miss kicking your ass."
"That reminds me," added Misty, "There's one last thing I need to take care of."
"What's tha- Hey!"
Misty swiftly used her robotic arm to grab Colleen's shoulder and shover her face first into the wall. Misty then used her free hand to reach into the back of Colleen's leggings, grab the black waistband of her white briefs, and yank them up for several seconds before letting go.
"Oooohohohhhn," moaned Colleen, rubbing her behind and carefully dislodging the fabric.
"There!" laughed Misty, "Now we're even!"