There was a tension in Brockton Bay’s night air, a current of unease that sank into Evie’s being. She was perched atop an old warehouse, careful not to crunch the gravel beneath her boots while she leaned forward on a rusted railing. If anyone spotted her, they’d see a teenage girl in something of a rogue’s outfit. She had long, flowing hair, a platinum blonde that she let down to frame her face. The lower half of her face was concealed by her mask, while her hood stayed tucked over her head. On her back, she wore something of a cross between a cape and a cloak, something few capes could genuinely pull off while looking good.

Of course, none of this was of much consequence at that point, because nobody spotted Evie.

The Docks stretched out before her, a maze of shipping containers and abandoned buildings. As Wraith, she’d spent the past few months carving out a reputation that put fear in the hearts of even the most hardened criminals. She was a ghost story come to life: an invisible teleporter, there one moment and gone the next. Wraith was the boogieman of the streets, the whisper in the dark that nobody wanted to cross paths with.

All of this made the text she’d received the night prior very interesting. The sender? Unknown. The purpose? Yet to be revealed. All she knew was that she’d attracted the eyes of an “interested party” that requested her presence at the Docks: 11 PM tonight, by the old East Coast Logistics building. And so, here she was. Invisibly, of course.

Evie’s senses were on high alert as she stood atop the warehouse. Not that she’d gone out of her way to make enemies, per se, but this was Brockton freaking Bay. In a city of pyrokinetic gangsters, metal-bending Nazis, and everything in between, it couldn’t hurt to be too careful.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps below. Three figures entered her vision on the street: two boys and a girl, their features barely visible in the dimly lit street.

The tall one, muscular and dressed in motorcycle leathers, Evie recognized as Grue. The darkness collecting around the skull design of his motorcycle mask made him genuinely intimidating. Evie knew he’d been active for the past few years, mostly in small-time crime, but that he was escalating things with a new crew. This, she inferred, was the crew.

The other boy was dressed in renaissance-era clothing, wearing a loose-fitting white shirt and black leggings. He was tossing a scepter in the air and catching it as though he were bored. His face was behind a white venetian mask, the type you’d expect to see at a masquerade party, with a silver coronet crowning his head.

That left the girl with blonde hair. It was hard to make out the darker colours of her costume in the night – it was either purple or dark blue, Evie wasn’t sure. Her boots went up to her shins, and she donned a utility belt on her waist. A domino mask covered her face.

There should’ve been a fourth, if these people were who Evie thought they were. She frowned. Did she get the boot, or was she skipping on their meeting?

Wraith watched curiously as the three of them passed below. These were clearly the people she was here to meet. Should she go say hello, or wait where she was? It was only a moment’s hesitation before curiosity won out, and she teleported behind them silently.

“…sure she’ll show?” The renaissance boy was saying, still fidgeting with his scepter.

“Aw, I’m hurt that you’d doubt me,” the girl pouted, before stopping suddenly. “Besides, she’s already here.”

That stopped Wraith cold in her tracks. Who was this girl, and how had she known? It wasn’t like she made any noise when teleporting, and it wasn’t like anyone could see her. Some kind of precog? The ability to sense people nearby, maybe?

The blonde girl turned and smiled, seemingly looking straight through Wraith despite her invisibility. “No need to be shy. We’re here to talk, not fight. I’m Tattletale, by the way. This is Grue and Regent,” she said, pointing a thumb to the two boys.

Wraith dropped her invisibility as the other two turned to face her. No point in hiding if they knew where she was anyway, and these three didn’t seem hostile.

“Alright,” she said. “You wanted to chat?”

“Straight to the point then,” Grue said, his voice deep. Wraith noticed that he wasn’t generating darkness around his helmet anymore. “We’re here to offer you a spot on our team – The Undersiders. Good pay, and a solid team that compliments your particular approach.”

Regent held a hand to his hip. “Plus, we’re way more fun than those Nazi douchebags that’ve been sniffing around you.”

“Too true,” Wraith said with a snort, trying not to betray her own anxiety. “But I’ve been getting by. What makes you think I need a team?”

“You don’t,” Tattletale said matter-of-factly. “You’re a capable girl. But you want one. People who’ve got your back when shit hits the fan, people who’ll do right by you. And that’s not mentioning the considerable signing bonus.”

Wraith raised a brow, barely visible in the darkness. “Signing bonus?”

Regent scoffed. “It’s bull—"

“We’ve been over this, now shut up before I kick you in the balls,” Grue interrupted, and Wraith could practically feel his glare on Regent, even through the mask. “We have a boss, of sorts, who’s willing to add incentives to have you on the team. They’ll give you a one-time payment that matches what your cut would’ve been had you been part of the team for all our previous jobs.”

“Which would be well in the five figures, by the way,” Tattletale added.

Wraith stood silently for a moment, processing the offer. The money alone was tempting. But more than that, there was something about the three villains that intrigued her. They were young, like her, and refreshingly down-to-earth. Nothing like the Empire goons that had tried to recruit her previously.

“Okay,” she said finally. “You’ve got my attention. But I’ve got questions before I commit to anything.”

“Shoot,” Grue replied simply.

“You guys have a fourth, don’t you? She didn't show?”

“About that,” Grue said, almost sheepishly. “Bitch is sitting this one out. She didn’t agree with this particular meeting.”

Wraith tensed. “As in, she didn’t agree with recruiting me?”

“She never does,” Regent answered. “Doesn’t like splitting the money, doesn’t like new people.”

“She’ll come around,” Grue added, Tattletale nodding with him.

“You’ve recruited people before?” Wraith asked, shifting her weight to one leg.

“Not exactly,” Grue said. Was Wraith imagining it, or was he embarrassed? “We tried with Spitfire, and she got too spooked before we even got to the recruitment. Our fault for bringing Bitch.”

“Then there was Circus, who was… very firm, we’ll say, about remaining independent,” Tattletale mentioned.

“She goes it alone,” Grue nodded.

“Gotcha,” Wraith acknowledged. “How about your boss? Who’d I be working for?”

Tattletale waggled a finger. “That’d be privileged information, members only,” she said. “But you wouldn’t be a lackey. They offer us jobs, and we’re allowed to say no if we want. Plenty of resources from them, too.”

“Fair enough,” Wraith said, folding her arms. “So, what’s the agenda here? Your goal as a group?”

“Uh, none,” Grue replied.

“None?”

“Grand larceny for nothing more than fun and profit,” Tattletale clarified lightheartedly. “No agenda, no responsibility, no strings attached. We have a few general guidelines we like to stick to – no drugs, no territory wars, no killing – but other than that, we’re pretty flexible.”

Wraith nodded, taking in the information. Everything sounded almost too good to be true. A team to have her back, no ideological commitments, and a hefty paycheck to boot.

“And what happens if I want to leave?” she asked, a hint of caution in her voice.

“Then you leave. Simple as that,” Grue answered with a shrug. “We’re not the Empire or the ABB. No blood oaths, no threats to your family. You’re free to jump ship whenever you want.”

“Though we’d prefer you stuck around,” Regent chimed in from beside him. “We’re a fun bunch, promise.”

Wraith couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I’m sure,” she said, before regaining her seriousness. “Last question: why me? What do I bring to the table that you guys need?”

Grue stepped forward. “You’re good, Wraith. Really good. Everything you do compliments our team perfectly. We specialize in quick, precise jobs. Get in quick, get out quick, minimal confrontation. Your teleportation and invisibility? That’s a game-changer for us.”

“You toss out the ‘break’ in ‘break and enter’ entirely,” Tattletale added, grinning. “A nice thing to have for a band of thieves.”

“Makes sense,” Wraith nodded, before crossing her arms pensively.

She ran the pros and cons through her head. On one hand, joining a team would mean giving up some of her independence. She’d been operating on her terms 24/7 up to this point, doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. On the other hand, the benefits were hard to ignore. A team to back her up, a significant boost to her own income, and none of the bullshit that came with the other villainous gangs in the city.

Then there was her civilian life to consider. It was like a balancing act, managing her nighttime activities as a cape with the mundanity of everyday life. This would be a massive tipping of the scales, a huge commitment to her life as a villain. Finding excuses to explain her outings to her parents was already proving exhausting – this was taking it to another level.

Finally, she made her decision.

“Alright,” Evie said, extending her hand. “I’m in.”