THE TECHNO QUEEN
1.4
Lisa was annoyed.
"So… you're saying our boss has been arrested?" Alec asked.
"Yes," she said.
"So… nobody's paying us?" Alec asked.
"Yes,"
"So… wait, so you're saying our boss has been arrested?" Alec asked.
"Yes," Lisa gritted out, and as Alec opened his mouth again she interrupted him, "and if you ask one more time if nobody's paying us, or if our boss has been arrested, or if nobody's paying us, or if our boss has been arrested, again, and again, and again, I will hurt you, Jea-"
"Okay, okay," he said hurriedly.
"What are we going to do now?" Brian asked, which was an actually valid question, and not just repeating what she'd just said, except in a whinier tone and with a question mark tacked on at the end.
"Well… I did receive an official invitation to work for them from one of the local villains in the form of a video emailed to me." Lisa said hesitantly.
"There's a but there." Brian said.
She nodded.
"It's from the villain that got our boss arrested in the first place. It's more of a sorry for getting rid the guy that gives you your paychecks offer than an I thought you guys were so awesome that I got rid of your boss so that I could have you for myself offer. I'm not sure which is worse."
"Can we see the video?" Brian asked.
Rachel looked up from where she was rubbing Angelica's belly.
Lisa hesitated, but nodded in the end. She retrieved her laptop and opened the email, wondering how the villain had even gotten her email address in the first place. She found the video and hit Play.
"Undersiders!" a booming female voice said, and Alec groaned.
The video feed showed the cape known as the Techno Queen sitting atop a medieval looking throne, flanked by two of her trademark armed robots.
"I apologize for leaving you unemployed, as I discovered after going through all of Coil's-"
"Coil?" her teammates said.
"-stuff. But I do not regret my actions, and if I was given a chance to do it differently I wouldn't change a thing. Because one shouldn't involve children in cape business. I'm sure you agree with me Tattletale. I may have read your psyche file, just a bit, before I realized what it was. I wouldn't want to pry into the business of someone who hasn't given me reason to do so. But nonetheless, I am rambling."
She stood up from her throne and posed.
Shadows falling perfectly on form to create dramatic shadowing; maneuver practiced repeatedly.
Well she didn't need to be a Thinker to know that.
"Undersiders! I, THE TECHNO QUEEN, formally ask of you to ally with me against the forces of good! I totally stole all of Coil's money and then sold all of his stuff, so I think I'll be able to pay you for some time. Like, twice your regular pay for years."
At the word twice everyone perked up. Lisa grinned.
"Email me back if you want to, you know, join forces or whatever. BWAHAHAHA!" The Techno Queen threw a smoke bomb down on the ground and ran out of view of the camera.
"Okay, turn the camera off now." She was heard audibly whispering.
The video feed ended.
Silence.
"We'll be a laughing stock if we're ever seen with her." Was the first argument.
"But we'll never be in any real danger. They never send the Protectorate out against her." Was the counter
"But who could take her seriously?" was the rehashing of the first argument.
"Twice our regular pay. Twice." Was the counter to that.
And, as always, money, just couldn't be argued with.
