<strong>Ace</strong><br/><br/>"Wait, an alien planet was scoping us out for invasion?" Onyx said suspiciously.<br/><br/>"Oh yes, that happens now and again. Where have you been dear? For what it's worth I'm glad you didn't invade." Silvia said before returning to Ace's question.<br/><br/>"Being a villain isn't all fun and games," Silvia said, "there are stakeouts, and surveillance, and analyzing the information you have, and laying in wait, and every now and then someone tries to get revenge for something you've done. But there's... I got a little taste of freedom now and then when I could break out when I was small. A little bit of that light you're talking about? That was mine. Learning how to pick locks and squeeze through vents. But now, ohh, there's this feeling you get when you feel light, and time seems to slow down and you feel faster and sharper, and you get that rush in your veins. The feeling of pushing yourself and your powers to the limit, holding nothing back, with your heart pounding in your chest and the wind in your hair. Do you know what I mean? The times when you walk the knife's edge, when you feel so<em>alive</em>."<br/><br/>She had a pensive look about her, like she was mulling over an idea ever since Ace's story about growing up under a totalitarian regime.<br/><br/>"It's better with someone you can count on at your back, though. Ooh, Ace!" Silvia took Ace's hands in hers and held them to her chest, and it was her turn to have sparkling eyes and excitement, "we aren't as different as you might think. Why don't you join<em>me</em>? We can go full Robin Hood. Forget about Zohar, someone will handle that eventually, we can rob from the rich and give to the needy, hit megacorps and the nastier kinds of supervillains and bankers and arms dealers and drug runners and hit them right in their pocketbook, the place they actually care about. And then give away the money for soup kitchens or pregnancy centers or animal shelters or anything you like. And have star-crossed romances with hard-eyed lawmen or lawwomen, whichever you're into, and leave calling cards! Calling cards telling the rich and powerful that this is what they get for being such incredible bastards and that they'd better clean up their act or we'll call on them again, and take more next time.<br/><br/>And to keep you from getting in trouble... you could go back to the Warden, tell him I told you 'no,' and have something very urgent and heroic to get to so you can't stay. Then Recluse's people show up, I escape in the confusion, and we rendezvous somewhere and run away together. We would need to get you a new outfit too, so you could keep being Ace when you liked," she ran her hand up Ace's arm, examining her costume, "I feel like we could make something dashing in silver and white. Or purple. I think purple would be a good look on you."<br/>---<br/><strong>Darclight</strong><br/><br/>"Obviously I'd be in favor of finding out what happened in Vienna," Auxilia said to Darclight, "I tried to look into it myself, but it was<em>very</em>hush-hush. That would have been closest to Malta base, maybe they were using it when things went down and there's some sort of clue there? I, um, for the sake of full disclosure, I sent a drone in to check out the place and she sort of got caught."<br/><br/>---<br/><strong>Kanina, Tabs</strong><br/><br/>"Malta is still a republic," Auxilia said to Kanina, amused, "just like somebody that calls themselves Ice Queen probably isn't really a queen, that's probably just what she calls herself. She is... ooh, well, that's something." Suddenly conscious of where she was, she looked at Kanina and Tabs, "do you two need a minute? I can go get a justice of the peace to officiate if you want."