"Wow, that Dementia can throw a punch," Lita said, rubbing the back of her neck.

It was dinnertime and Dementia had made some mush involving guacamole and shark fins—heaven knows how she'd managed to obtain that. So, Lita had taken Flug up on his offer for pizza. The two of them were sitting on the lab floor with 5.0.5., surrounding an open box of pepperoni.

"Surprised she didn't break any of your bones," Flug said, cutting his slice with a fork and knife—this was so he could slip the bites under his bag. "Either you're a really good fighter, or she must like you."

"Don't get me wrong," Lita said, massaging her back with one hand, holding her slice in the other. "I can't remember the last time my bones ached this much. Been a while since I've fought someone stronger than me."

Putting down his slice, 5.0.5. scooted over to Lita and began massaging her shoulders with his big, furry paws.

"Thanks," she muttered, proceeding to munch on her pizza. "By the way, speaking of Dementia…" She narrowed her eyes at the scientist. "How come she gets to wear a tracker on her ankle while I had mine injected?"

"Well, we tried injecting a tracker," Flug said flatly, "but she wouldn't stop trying to claw it out."

"What about that whole electrocution risk thing?"

"Oh," he said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "An electric shock for Dementia is like a papercut for a normal human. Slightly annoying, but not lethal. Besides, she rarely bathes anyway."

The woman huffed angrily. "Lucky bitch."

"I must say," Flug said after taking a bite of his pizza. "You've done surprisingly well for your first day. I can see why Black Hat hired you. With your physical strength and manipulative skills, you're already on your way to becoming a supervillain."

Lita cocked her head. "Manipulative skills?"

"Of course," he said brightly. "The way you distracted Dementia at lunch today was brilliant! You convinced her not to fight me by offering her to fight you!" He laughed. "She didn't even think you'd be a real fight, yet you talked her into it!"

"That wasn't manipulation!" she insisted, putting down her slice. "That was…persuasion."

Flug waved his hand. "Same difference."

"No, really. I was just doing what I did as a salesgirl. Offered her something else and convinced her it was better than what she wanted in the first place." She picked up her slice again. "Even if it really wasn't."

He blinked. "You just described the goal of a con artist."

She scowled at him. "Fine, whatever. But I didn't do it to be evil or manipulative or whatever you call it. I just wanted her to stop picking on you."

He tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

"Because she was being a bully," Lita said, leaning her hand onto her fist. "That's worse than being a criminal. Just being mean for the sake of being mean. And what she said was stupid too." She looked at him sincerely. "She shouldn't have teased you for sleeping with a teddy bear."

After staring at her for a moment, he went back to slipping pizza bites beneath his mask. Lita glanced over at 5.0.5., who'd gone back to eating his own pizza.

"You wanna know a secret?" she asked, leaning towards Flug.

He lowered his fork. "What?"

She whispered into his ear. Well, where his ear should've been, anyway. Light flashed across his goggles as he listened.

"Seriously?" he said, facing her.

"Mmm-hmm," Lita said with a nod.

"A stuffed…?"

She smiled. "Yup. You're not the only one who likes to cling to whatever innocence they have left, Flug."

He chuckled awkwardly. "I suppose that's one way to put it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You know? It's been so long since I've conversed with anyone…well, for lack of a better term…normal."

Frowning, Lita returned to her meal. "Is there even such a thing as normal?"

"Well…level-headed, I should say. I don't know how you've managed it so far."

"You're not the first criminals I've encountered."

"Yes, but surely you've never encountered any high-rank villains like us." He gestured proudly to the diploma on the wall. "Like one who graduated from Evil and Crime University."

Lita rolled her eyes. "I was homeschooled in that department. Minus the 'evil' part."

"Ha!" Flug laughed. "Like evil and crime are any different!"

"Evil doesn't exist."

Gasping, as if she'd said a dirty word, Flug put a hand over his heart. "What the…wha…how can you say that?!"

With a weary sigh, she explained her moral beliefs to him. Flug's shock slowly turned into intrigue.

"I know it's a stupid thing to believe," Lita said, finishing the rest of her slice. "Especially while working here. But that's how it is."

"Hmm," Flug said, rubbing his chin. "I must say, from a philosophical standpoint, you propose an interesting argument. I wouldn't go voicing this to Black Hat though."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I already did."

As if Black Hat were in the room, Flug flinched. "And…how did he respond?"

Lita paused. "I think I amused him."

"Well," he said, sighing in relief. "I suppose that makes sense. Mr. Black Hat gets bored easily, and it's not every day someone says something like that to anyone."

She huffed. "Glad he finds me funny."

"Not sure that's the word I'd use. The boss spent half the night going over the research I'd put together about you. I, err, know this because I fell asleep in the lab and woke up to find him still there."

"I know. I saw the file."

"Then consider the fact that he hired you before the background check."

She muttered, "Usually that's what throws people off."

"Believe me," Flug said, shutting his eyes gleefully. "Black Hat wouldn't hire anyone who didn't have the potential. Even if you didn't graduate from Evil and Crime University."

Lita didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he was right. This was probably the only job in the world she was qualified for. On the other hand, she wasn't so sure she wanted Black Hat to be impressed with her.

Thieving was one thing. Villainy was another. Take Flug, for instance. He was acting nice now, probably out of respect for a new colleague. But Lita had seen the orientation tapes. He performed mysterious, likely painful, experiments on others; he shrunk airplanes and put them in his collection without letting the people out, not to mention he'd electrocuted her father just yesterday.

Lita had stolen from others, but she hadn't hurt anyone. Physically, anyway. Not counting those she'd fought in self-defense. And she didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. That's what villains did.

These thoughts ran through her head as she walked to her room with her hands in her hoodie pockets. When she arrived, she could tell 5.0.5. had been busy cleaning up. Everything had been dusted, the bed had been fitted with fresh sheets, and there was even a vase of flowers on the bedside table. Her things from home remained in a pile. Seeing as there was time before she'd have to go to bed, she went through them.

In the mess, she found her laptop and quickly went to charge it alongside her phone. She found the rest of her clothes and began folding them into the dresser. She was about halfway through when the aches in her joints started getting on her nerves.

"Gee," Lita said, rolling her shoulders back. "What did Dementia do to me?"

To answer this question, she went into the bathroom to look in the mirror. Once her hoodie was on the floor, her jaw dropped at her reflection.

Bruises. Bruises everywhere. Her wrists, her arms, her elbows, her neck. She remembered Dementia strangling her, and having gripped those other areas at some points, but she hadn't noticed any bruises then. They must not have formed immediately. Lifting the front of her tank, she realized her rib cage was banged up as well!

Nothing was broken, but seeing that purplish color plaguing her olive skin brought back painful memories…

"Mom, are you okay?" asked the voice of her nine-year-old self.

"I'm fine, honey," said the voice of her mother. "It's just a few bruises."

"Gee, Mom. You sure bruise easily."

Lita shook the voices out of her head. The bruises would eventually fade, but she couldn't let anyone see these! Still, she should probably do something about the pain. Eyeing the tub in the corner, she had an idea.

Rolling down her top and throwing on her hoodie, she went back into her room and to her charging phone. During the confiscation of her cell, Flug's number had been added. He said it was in case she needed anything from him when he wasn't nearby.

"Yes, Miss Gris?" Flug said once he answered the call.

"Sheesh, call me Lita, will you?" she said. "Feels weird being called something so formal from a colleague."

"Uh, sure…Lita." There was a pause. "Is this the reason you called me?"

"No. I was just wondering…if it's not too much trouble," she said, massaging her sore ribs, "could I get a few buckets of ice in here?"

"Ice? What for?"

"Uh…for a bath. You know, today's workout was pretty…intense. I mean I'm fine! Just a little sore and—"

"Say no more. The Hatbots will be right over with some ice. If you're going to take an ice bath, I'd recommend staying in there for no more than ten minutes, or else you'll risk hypothermia. And you know the boss won't care if you're sick."

"I'll remember that," Lita grumbled. "Thanks, Flug."

"See you in the morning!" he said chipperly before hanging up.

She smiled a bit as she put down her cell. Sometimes, it was really hard to believe Flug was an evil scientist when he acted like such a friendly dork. Then again, Lita had always been aware that there were two sides to each person. Thanks to her mother.

"Mom, how'd you fall in love with Papi?" she had once asked her.

"Oh, it's a funny story," her mother had said with a laugh. "He broke into my house."

"Then how'd you fall in love if he was bad?"

"Honey, there are no bad people in this world. Just people, who sometimes do bad things. You know your father did bad things, but he's also good to you and me. You do bad things sometimes too, but that doesn't make you a bad person. Not one person is one-hundred-percent bad or one-hundred-percent good. But a mix of both."

Lita could feel the salty water in her eyes. Remembering the cameras, she blinked them back. The thoughts of her mother reminded her of something else.

After a few minutes of digging through the pile of suitcases, she at last came across the item she'd been searching for.

An old stuffed goat with gray fur, black curved horns and glassy blue eyes. Billy was his name, as cliché as it was. Her mother had given it to her on her tenth birthday. The last birthday Lita had seen her alive.

No longer caring if Black Hat was watching, she clutched the goat to her chest and sobbed quietly.

"I won't be weak, Mom," she whispered, giving the plushie a squeeze. "I'll keep on fighting. And I'll make it back to Papi. Like I promised."

Once again, Black Hat had fallen victim to the most agonizing side effects of immortality.

Boredom.

It was way past midnight, and all was dark and quiet. He could never get used to it, no matter how many sleepless nights he endured. Everyone else was in bed, but he, not needing to sleep, was still awake, in need of something to pass the time.

But there was no paperwork left to complete. No more of Flug's blueprints to approve of or reject. No need to peruse resumés now that Lita Gris was here. He'd already gone over the budget ledger five times in the last hour. Surprise, surprise. The corporation was making one hell of a profit.

He sat at his desk, glancing at the red skull sitting beside his nameplate. Taking it into his hand, he stared idly into its vacant eye sockets.

"Sometimes I envy you," he murmured, turning the skull from side to side. "Your problems ended centuries ago."

Sighing, he set it back down. "I've conquered the world. Twice! Politically and financially! I've rid this world of thousands of pesky heroes, I've made billions off assisting other villains in doing the same!"

With a frustrated growl, he slammed his fist onto his desk, breaking it in half. "What more is there left to do?!"

In all the centuries he'd lived, boredom was the one plague he could never escape. It was the whole reason he'd retired from ruling the world. After a while, having absolute power with no real opposing force had become…well, dull. He figured he might as well give other villains a chance at conquering the world, since they all wanted it so bad. And make a profit from it in the meantime.

And it was fun, making deadly deals with desperate souls. He reveled in watching others' attempts at total world conquest, and watching the numbers in his bank account increase. And when those morons failed, he would take pleasure in punishing them for their incompetence.

But no matter how good business was, there would always be these quiet late hours with nothing to do. He considered just going to bed. Even if he didn't require sleep, he could still close his eyes and space out for a few hours. Though he always had to be careful when he did that, as it would make him lose track of time. One time he ended up blacking out for three days.

After using his powers to reassemble his desk, Black Hat opened the top drawer and took out a remote. Pressing the red button at the wall across from him, he caused the security monitors to lower from the ceiling. He was curious to see what his subordinates were doing at this late hour.

In all honesty, Black Hat didn't need employees. If he wanted to, he could do everything himself. Pull heists, crunch numbers, build deadly machines, even clean the mansion. After all, with no sleep, he had all the time in the world to do things. And, if he didn't know how to do something, he'd spend that extra time learning how to do it.

He mainly kept employees for entertainment, and so he wouldn't go mad talking to himself all the time. Though he wouldn't hire just anyone. They had to be the most despicable beings alive, to keep his reputation in order. But not quite as evil as him, so they wouldn't think to overthrow him. Of course, in the case of 5.0.5., it was so he could have someone to delight in tormenting over and over again.

His eye moved across the monitors. Flug had fallen asleep at his worktable. Again. His head was down and drool was coming out from under his paper bag. 5.0.5. was snoozing in his bed of stuffed animals. Dementia was in her room, hanging upside-down with her ponytail tied to the rafter, snoring contently.

Black Hat considered waking them from their pleasant dreams. But he also needed them focused the next morning. He'd rather have them well-rested and slightly chipper than groggy and likely to accidentally set off explosives.

Then his gaze fell upon the monitor to Lita's room. The gossamer curtains to her canopy bed were drawn, but he could make out the faint silhouette of her sleeping form. For a while, he watched this silhouette move slightly with every breath.

Ah, yes, Black Hat thought, leaning his cheek onto his fist. I have something new to occupy my time with now.

Lita Gris was a…curious creature. Based on the evaluation he'd received from Flug earlier, she was already fitting into her position well. She'd scored a hundred on her video comprehension test, she'd prevented a brawl between Flug and Dementia using manipulation, even talked down Dementia! Oh, he wished he'd been there to see that.

Oh, wait, Black Hat thought, bringing out his red laptop. I can.

He pulled up the archive footage from the gym and watched as Lita slammed Dementia to the floor. Her aggressive speech caused the corners of Black Hat's mouth to crawl up his face, his lips remaining closed.

This girl was nothing like Flug had been when he'd first arrived. Certainly not like Dementia. She wasn't utterly helpless, nor was she out of her mind. Adelita Gris had the skills, the guts, the competence. Everything that was needed for a proper villain.

There was only one thing missing. The drive.

She'd only agreed to steal for him to save her father. To be a true villain, she had to want to be evil. But she didn't believe in evil.

"Not believe in evil," Black Hat said with a huff.

What could lead a person to say such a thing? She lived in the town with the highest crime rate in the world! She was a thief herself! Her own father was a thief! She'd been under his roof for over twenty-four hours now! How could she not believe in evil?

The very idea annoyed Black Hat. And yet…it provided a challenge. A challenge, yes, in figuring this girl out. What made her tick? Why was she so insistent that there was no good or evil? What were her fears? Her insecurities?

He needed to know, so he could take advantage of them.

After some thought, he switched to the camera in Lita's bedroom and rewound the footage. He stopped when he saw her bring a stuffed goat out of one of the suitcases the Hatbots had brought from her home. He hadn't paid attention to what the Hatbots had packed, only told them to pack up everything they found in her old room. But seeing her hug a stuffed animal made him chuckle in amusement.

"So," he said, showing his teeth. "You do have insecurities."

Of course, he'd already known about Flug's teddy bear and Dementia's disgusting puppet—he'd destroyed THAT footage—but it was delightfully surprising to see someone who put up such a tough front be attached to something so childish and trivial. Well, he'd let her keep the pathetic toy for now. It was something he could always take away as punishment, should she ever fall out of line.

The footage continued and Lita opened her door to let three small Hatbots in, each carrying two buckets of ice cubes.

"Thanks," Lita said, pointing to the bathroom. "Just dump them in the tub, will you?"

Black Hat cocked his head at this. What could she possibly need all that ice for?

Sadly, he never found out, as there were no cameras in the bathroom. Not that he had any desire to see her naked. Honestly, he preferred not knowing what his subordinates hid under their clothing. Though, thanks to her full knowledge that he watched the cameras leisurely, he'd seen more of Dementia than he would've liked.

She came out dressed in simple, white long-sleeve pajamas, the ends of her long black ponytail wet. Her blue eyes looked tired as she picked up her stuffed goat and climbed into bed. Glancing around, she shut the curtains around her. Black Hat smirked, knowing she must've figured he'd be watching her.

"I think I might like you, Miss Gris," he had told her earlier.

It had been the truth. His conversation with her this morning had been…stimulating. With every word he'd said, she had a smart reply. He was so used to utter fear and incompetence from his subordinates, but not once during that conversation had he any urge to obliterate her. Even when he'd discovered her copying his moves. That had been slightly annoying, of course, but he couldn't help but smile at her playfulness. And her responses to his mock flirting had been simply hilarious!

Indeed, Black Hat liked this girl. He certainly wouldn't mind keeping her around for her company alone. And just imagine how she would be as a villain! She could do more than simply pilfer and pummel. With the right guidance, she could bring heroes to their knees.

If only he could correct that moral grayness of hers. On one hand, her indifference would make it easier for him to convince her to do evil. On the other, it could lead her to doing something relatively good, holding her back from her full evil potential.

It seemed as if he'd found a cure for his boredom. He now had a new project. He would turn this girl into a villain worthy of his organization, convert the grayness of her heart to the blackness that inhabited his own. Who knows? She might even one day replace Flug as his second-in-command.

Returning to the archive gymnasium footage, Black Hat watched Dementia train Lita, the latter putting up quite a fight no matter how many punches were thrown at her. He drank it all in. Her swift kicks, her swinging fists, her graceful flips, her frustrated grunts, her fiery blue eyes.

Needless to say, boredom never made its return that night.

Yeah, Black Hat's a creeper. Is that really surprising?

When it was confirmed that Black Hat didn't require sleep, all I could think was...wouldn't that leave a whole lot of free time open? How does he not get bored? And I imagine for want of entertainment he'd just spy on his subordinates. That's another thing. With Black Hat's powers, I kind of wondered if he needed subordinates at all. Again, he probably just didn't want to be talking to himself all the time.

Feel free to leave a review! If anyone also wants to make fan/cover art, I'd also welcome it!