Chapter 6: The Interveiw (part one)

Dr. Flug Slys prided himself on his technical abilities. It took a lot of engineering and technological expertise in order to invent all of the items that they sell. Even the hatbots, hatbot-lers and the hat ship were made by him. So it stands to reason that he was also responsible for repairs.

A fact that he especially hates.

"Stupid Hero ruining the hard ware with his lava" The scientist grumbled waist deep in the melted machine. The damage to the ship may not have been that hard but the deceased Magma-man wrecked the communication device. He had to fix it fast otherwise he may not have head any longer.

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he dreaded to give his boss the report. Not only did they got trashed by a low-level hero , in the end be got killed by a random stranger. ' I could take the credit for it ' But he quickly dismissed the idea. His boss probably knows already. He may as well tell the truth and take the lighter punishment.

" Hah…I should've brought that woman along" he sighed bitterly . Not only did she kill a hero , if what she said was true she was an ex-hero. Someone like that could be valuable to their business. Flug just sighed knowing his boss was going to punish him greatly for a missed business opportunity.

The doctor nearly hit his head when his phone went off. Cursing in a string of several different languages , rubbing the bump on his head as he glared at his work phone. It was a modified burner phone ; highly untraceable , indestructible and equipped with a self destruct function that could destroy a city block.

It was mostly used to talk to clients while on one of the numerous missions their boss send them on. He took a glance at the caller ID.

An unidentified number. But that didn't bother him . Most of their clients were secretive about their locations so they used numbers like that frequently. Of course this really didn't hinder Flug's ability to track them down. To him it was a mild inconvenience.

" Hello I'm Doctor Flug Slys lead and only scientist of Black Hat Inc. How may I help you?" Flug asked not bothering to fake politeness with this customer. He had to fix the ship before his boss skinned him alive. It was a long day add that up to the load of work waiting for him , ugh just thinking made him want to actually sleep.

"H-h-hello?" His sleep deprived brain snapped awake at the voice of a young nervous woman. Her voice was shaking so hard, you could hear heavy breathing. ' Who?' His brain blanked as he tried to place her . Her voice would normally be considered normal if not for the rasp in it.

Could it be…?

"Miss Love Arrow? " He was faintly surprised that the woman from earlier was still alive. She seemed rather shaken. The hero on the other end took a sharp intake of breath as she answered, " C-call me Hanna please."

" I assume you accepted my offer. And rather quickly" He totally expected her to dispose of the card and forget the events. Something must've happened to her after the pharmacy. And he will find out. Exposing a person's deep dark secrets is a skill every job interviewer must have.

"So Ms. Hanna where are you right now ?" Flug asked as he quickly sat down inside the ship. With practiced ease he booted up the super computer. He freed up his hand by sandwiching the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"In a p-phone booth" She answered a hint of confusion in her voice. " Hmmhmm" Flug's fingers danced across the control board as he quickly hacked into satellite video while simultaneously pinpointing her location via the tracker. He may look foolish for a villain but like any he couldn't really accept what she said before at face value.

For all he knew it could be a trap. She could still be in contact with the association despite being out of action. Although he thought it would be very unlikely that would be tge case. He didn't got a glance she looked way too malnourished . But it never hurt to be careful. Within only at as minutes he was able to get her on video, and secure her location. ' Huh she seems to be alone but it's hard to tell with this bird eyes view' He then expertly took control of the street cameras.

With ease he remotely zoomed in on the small built woman standing in the phone booth. The street was bare of people with it being dusk. Most people would be home by now, with a few out an the roads. " Are you alone Miss. Hanna?" He asked wanting to see if she had any tricks up her sleeve. He knew firsthand that heroes couldn't be trusted any more than villains. But through his experience villains are ironically more trustworthy. Even ex-heroes.

" Y-yes I'm alone -"

" Please refrain from saying my name on an unsecured line Miss Arrow, unless you have any plans to capture me?" Flug nonchalantly said as he paid attention to her body language through the video feed.

" Wha-no sir!" Unaware of Flug's watchful eye on her Hanna jumped , her static nerves making her to jump. She may be crazy enough to call on a villain's 'help' but not dumb. She paused taking a few shaking breaths not caring that he could hear her. "I'm- I'm not sure they're aware I'm alive"

"That is what you say but is it true ?" It was obvious by the tone of his voice that he didn't trust her. " For all I know ," He continued his voice like ice," You could still be in contact with any of your friends from the association"

Hanna's heart twinge as his words brought her friends face to mind. Not the bag. His actual face. She bit her lip preventing the surge of emotions from rushing out. "No-" Her voice thick with emotion threatened to break, " No n-not any more , we had a huge fight a few weeks before I 'died'"

" May I ask what it was about"

Hanna became silent as she contemplated whether she tell him what happened. After what she had been through she couldn't trust anyone any more. That went double for her lip she replied," It- its rather personal. I'm sorry ,sir. I can tell you anything else except that"

" That's okay I understand" Dr. Flug said as he gave her location to a few hatbots. He hadn't talked to her for long and he could already tell she had a lot of issues. " Miss. Hanna I find that this interview will go better if we meet in person" He still wasn't sure she could be trusted but her reluctance to tell him showed the distrust was mutual. And that was a good point in his book.

In the villain world trust is a tool that you use to get by. For people who got burned badly by trusting the wrong people it made sense you would treat fellow villains with the expectation that they would betray you without second thought. Unlike the hero world where power struggles and one up man ship lied under the surface , villains were more clandestine. Such an offer caught her off guard since he saw her jump so hard that the phone receiver fell out of her hand. He watched and listened as she fumbled picking back up. He watched her with a critical eye thinking what on earth is she thinking calling here. There were more effective ways to become a villain if it was for revenge. But coming here? To Black Hat? Is she that desperate ?

He came back to the task at hand as she got a hold back on to the receiver. " S-sorry you , um caught me kinda off guard heh" She hunched her shoulders nervously. To say she was 'kinda' caught of guard was an understatement ! Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat. A villain with mkre than a thousand crimes wanted to her see her in person. She hoped he couldn't her the thumping of her heart. " You- uh want to see me?"

"I mean !" She hurriedly went to correct herself knowing how stupid she sounded, " I mean of course ! At what time tomorrow would you like to meet?" She mentally went through her closet wondering what type of outfit she could throw together. Maybe something formal? But she had no formal wear. Maybe she could shop at a thrift store before it. Or she could ask her neighbor if she borrow her clothes.

"Do not worry . I'm not going to be here in this town for long." He answered , " I have already arranged transportation for you" Before she could even ask he hung the phone. " Well, let's see what you have here Miss. Arrow" He said as he flexed his hands smirking evilily as he went to unearth all of her files. It would take the hat-bots only a half hour to retrieve her. By that time he would already have all the information on her.