For an hour, the pair was in bliss. Words of science, of lift, of sustainable power sources, of lithium-ion batteries and mitigating risk, tumbled over each other, the sound of glee radiating off the syllables. Ken, no longer desperately huddling in the plush blanket, let it slip down to his shoulders.

"Wait, that's where I know you from!" Penelope exclaimed. "The lightweight battery you mentioned, I've heard of it before. I saw it on Channel 4. I can't believe you invented that and you're a highschooler!"

In some part of his mind, Ken figured that he should not give any more information to this strange woman.

But.

She noticed . She was impressed. The recognition...it was intoxicating. Ken couldn't let go of that. He grinned ear to ear.

"Yes, well, I thought something like that would have a lot of applications." He picked up a cup of water that he didn't remember appearing on the coffee table, and sipped it, feigning modesty.

"You're right, there are so many projects you could collaborate on with that. If it ever gets mass produced, I'll be first in line to buy it for my flying machine. Some of the greatest minds at the Mad Science Expo would, quite literally, kill to have technology like that."

Ken coughed a little and lowered his cup. "Oh, I've seen some good science there on the internet but you won't be seeing me at the actual expo. It's for villains."

Penelope shrugged. "Villainy is where the progress happens."

"And how do you know that?"

Penelope leaned back in her chair and stared at the wall behind her guest. "Atreno City registered villain Penumbra, at your service."

Ken furrowed his brow and cocked his head. "You're joking. You saved me! You're a hero."

"I'm no hero," she said with resigned certainty.

Ken put his mug down and blinked. "You're not...you didn't pick me up for a ransom or anything, did you? Because you would never get-"

"Oh, no!" Penelope laughed. "No, I understand, some villains do that kind of stuff. But we run the gamut. I'm not trying to hurt anyone, not all villains do. Some of us are just trying to disrupt systems of oppression, or save plants, or make a statement. It's really not as black and white as you might read in the newspapers. The city government is always throwing around the word 'terrorist' any time someone throws a brick through a window. Robin Hood was a villain."

Huh. Ken had never thought he'd meet someone defending literal villainy before. That was like saying "it's good to be bad." But if this woman, so kind, smart, and dedicated, could be a villain...maybe they weren't all bad.

But it still didn't make sense. "If you're good, why not be a good guy?"

"I tried to be a good guy," Penelope explained. "You see that diploma on the wall? From the Academy of Heroics. I was meant to be a hero. But when one of my inventions exploded, I accidentally hurt people instead of helping them. So I got hit with the 'villain' label and I had to be one."

Ken's mind was reeling. He felt soft ripples of pain ebb and flow in his head. He pulled the plush blanket up over his head again. "That doesn't seem fair."

"You're telling me!" Penumbra responded. "But, it's not all bad. I used to spend all my time writing grant proposals; it took years to get my first experiment funded, and it wasn't even up to the scientific standards I had wanted. Too much paperwork! But do you know what villain-affiliated labs get?"

"What?"

"Instant funding."

" Instant?"

"And generous."

"Generous funding? For science?!"

"You really have to read the fine print on the contracts, but yes. I've never had more opportunities to do more work, and create more amazing things, than when I affiliated with Universidad del Diablo."

Ken stared at her, looking bug-eyed behind the thick glasses. She leaned forward.

"Far be it from me to corrupt the youth, but, Ken. Your mind is incredible. It would be a tragedy for you to be stuck in an ivory tower, doing everything by the book, waiting for permission to begin creating. With what you've accomplished already, you could get a full ride to BHO Institute. If you partner with some of the great minds in villainy, by the time you're my age, you could have created a dozen earth-shattering inventions."

Ken's heart thudded in his chest. Come to think of it, he had seen villains using incredible technology, and not always for evil. Sometimes they just created anthropomorphic robots that animals could operate, or bio-enhancements. Certainly, villains had the most fashionable and advanced flying machines.

"Do you know what else I get, now that I'm a villain?"

Ken leaned forward, loud silence declaring his interest.

"Recognition, Ken. Everyone in Atreno knows me, and a lot of them love me. A lot of them hate me, but they all care about what I do. I'm always in the news. Every villain this side of the country knows my name, and our network is strong. If you're connected, the villainous community can protect you."

Ken was silent, looking into the woman's eyes. One hand was keeping his blanket closed, the other holding up his glasses. He had never thought about this before. He had always imagined himself creating endlessly, never worrying about funding, seeing his inventions impact millions of lives, the world in awe. He continued looking at her, as though he could divine the truth through her expression.

No….he could never be a bad guy. The waves swelled. "But villains hurt people."

"So do heroes," Penelope countered quickly. "You saw when Heavy Punch put Heliophagus in a coma, right?"

Of course he had seen it; the footage of the battle ran on Channel 4 for a week straight. Ken threw up his dinner the first time he saw it. For just an instant too long, he felt as though he was underwater.

Penelope stood up. "I'm sorry, this is all complicated. You have to do a lot of research and make your own decision. I'm not trying to sell you on anything." She opened a cupboard and pulled out an orange bottle with a white cap.

Ken had never thought about villainy as a possible path forward before today. His head was throbbing. The sea was rising. Slowly but steadily, the waves returned, and he dipped beneath them. Villainy was wrong; even someone with a traumatic head injury should know that. His family was all heroes. His father would never let him-his father would-his-where was-

Something in his pocket was vibrating.