"I guess we'll never know exactly what ... the reasons behind the losses we experience in this life. But being angry doesn't make them any less devastating."
― Christene Houston

The first night with Serenade did not go as horribly as Tommy assumed it would. He had been expecting a fight to the death, or at least an argument. Instead, Serenade remained in his room for the entire night. Tommy mainly stayed in his room. He talked with Crowfather until the sunset, bidding his companion goodbye once the sunlight began to fade. He unpacked his bag, putting away all of his clothes in the closet. He sat in his room for a little while before migrating to the living room. Serenade still did not leave his room, so Tommy put the news on the television at a low volume with a stack of sticky notes and a pen in his lap. The news did not give him much information as it reiterated the same stories all night, but he did get a few snippets that might prove useful at a later date.

It wasn't until the dawn painted the sky a bloody orange that Serenade stepped out of his bedroom. Tommy watched him from the couch as Serenade went to knock on Tommy's door. Serenade tapped his foot impatiently, so Tommy made a coughing noise with a brief smile on his face. Serenade's attention snapped towards him. He hesitated before walking down the hallway to the living room. Tommy laughed under his breath. Serenade and Tommy stared at each other for a long moment before Serenade stole the remote. He changed the channel off the news and onto some animated adult show. Tommy didn't recognize or care about it, so he just went about organizing his sticky notes. They sat in silence for a long time. Serenade kept his eyes on the television show, and with nothing better to do, Tommy watched alongside him. When the evening bell tolled, Serenade and Tommy went downstairs to the lobby. There was a black, nondescript car in front of the building that Serenade herded Tommy into. Before Serenade got in on the driver's side, he placed a blindfold over Tommy's eyes to make sure he didn't know where this meeting was at.

They had been driving for a little while now. Tommy is bored, and although he understands the purpose of the blindfold, it annoys him. He doesn't like being unable to see. He has to rely on his other senses. He's trained them all to the highest standard, of course, but it doesn't mean he likes having a weakness thrusted upon him unnecessarily. In a situation where boredom and annoyance mix together, he decides to make it Serenade's problem. There isn't much to judge the villain for, so Tommy decides to start taking shots at his music. "What the hell are you playing? I thought you said you had lovely taste. That was bullshit. I know you're a villain, but lying about something like that? You could have told me you have shit taste in music. I would have brought headphones. Or noise-canceling earplugs. Anything would be better than whatever the fuck you're playing right now. What's this song called, anyway? 'Trash Taste' by the Twats? 'How To Murder Someone's Eardrums' by the Assholes? I'm close, aren't I? Or is it some old, bullshit name like 'flower power' or some fucking- Hey!"

Serenade obviously turns the radio up louder. Tommy winces at the higher volume. Along with being blindfolded, having his sense of hearing stripped from him doesn't do any favors for the uneasiness in his chest. If Serenade wasn't driving, Tommy would have started hitting by now. He does reach his hand forward, blindly searching for the volume dial. He feels a sharp pain across his hand, and he assumes that Serenade has slapped him. Tommy scowls beneath his metal mask. He twitches his nose, hoping that he can dislodge his goggles and thereby dislodge the blindfold. He isn't able to do either of those things. He just slumps against the passenger seat.

Not a moment too soon, the car stops. Serenade turns the radio down to complete silence. Tommy can hear the click of Serenade's seatbelt, and then there's the click of his seatbelt followed by the seatbelt slamming against his arm. Tommy unwraps his arms from it. He finds the door. He pulls down at first. When that proves ineffective, he pulls up. The door opens, and Tommy sets both of his feet down on the ground. He reaches up for the top of the door, using it to guide his movements. He reaches up to untie his blindfold. Before he can loosen the knot, a pair of hands grab his wrists. He tenses until he hears Serenade tell him to relax. Tommy doesn't completely relax, but he does follow the command as much as he can given the situation. Serenade guides Tommy forward. Tommy doesn't like trusting Serenade with his movements, but he hasn't made any mistakes yet. Tommy hears the creaking of a door, and he steps into an area that is noticeably warmer than the area he was just in.

Serenade releases Tommy's wrists, leaving him without any visual cues. Tommy remains stationary, waiting for further instructions. He feels someone start messing with the knot of his blindfold. Tommy closes his eyes before the blindfold falls away. Tommy squints his eyes open, slowly getting acquainted with the light level of the new room. It isn't what he would expect a supervillain hide-out to look like, but he is certain that it's a safehouse instead of their actual base. It's a large room with a single step leading to an elevated area. The floor is made from concrete, but the walls are made from window planks. There are a few wooden pillars around the room. The room is decorated with photographs in wooden frames, a pool table, and what appears to be a fully functioning bar in the corner stocked with alcoholic beverages.

Serenade is not the one who removed Tommy's blindfold. Tommy can't see Serenade anywhere in the room. Instead, he meets the mask of Enderwalk. The vigilante is holding Tommy's blindfold. Tommy is about to greet him when Enderwalk points to something behind Tommy. When the blonde turns around, he barely has enough time to register something running at him. When it does register, he already has someone in his arms. Tommy stumbles back with a cough, wrapping his arms around the person. As Tommy regains his balance, the person looks up at him with a cheeky look in his glass-covered eyes. "Vendetta!"

"Jolt!" Tommy responds in kind, just as excited. A few weeks after Tommy and Enderwalk parted on that rooftop, Enderwalk teleported in to introduce Tommy to his new vigilante partner, someone calling himself Jolt. In this era of his life, Tommy did not trust anyone nor did he like people very much. Jolt was the person who turned that all around. Jolt was bubbly, affectionate, and not above threatening people for what he wanted. When Jolt decided they were best friends simply because Enderwalk and Tommy had a type of relationship that bordered on trauma bonding, Tommy's attempts to dissuade Jolt from liking him were ineffective. It didn't matter what Tommy did; Jolt never wavered in his convictions. It was his stubbornness paired with Tommy's loneliness that enabled Jolt to become Tommy's best friend. It didn't take long for Tommy and Enderwalk to actually develop a genuine friendship instead of feeling like they owed the other something.

"I have to admit, Big Man, I never expected you to work for the Syndicate," Jolt explains. He pulls himself away from Tommy's arms, but he doesn't stray far. Tommy isn't sure when the last time they saw each other was. It must have been some time if Jolt was acting this clingy. Then again, Jolt was always clingy.

"Slow your fucking roll, Big T. I am not working for the Syndicate. I am working with the Syndicate. Temporarily," Tommy emphasizes the appropriate words. He does not want people getting the wrong impression. He doesn't forgive the Syndicate for what it did to him. He doesn't exactly approve of what they do to other people. The only thing they're good for is keeping the underworld in check, and even then, Tommy knows they could do that just fine without their leader.

"I'm not sure that will hold up in a court case. But if you do have to go to court, you bet Big Man Law will make sure you win. I'll blow up all the evidence," Jolt assures Tommy. The blonde raises an eyebrow. Jolt claims to be a vigilante, but his methodology borders on villainy. He was like this even before he agreed to do a few favors for the Syndicate alongside Enderwalk. "Regardless, you have to admit that it's pretty surprising."

"Nothing about it. The Red Army is a fucking problem that I intend to solve. After that... I'm living up to my name," Tommy tells Jolt and Enderwalk. The vigilantes share an indecipherable look. Tommy wants to demand answers. Jolt grabs his hand with smile wrinkles around his eyes. Tommy doesn't know what he's smiling about, but he starts dragging Tommy towards the door on the other side of the room. Enderwalk follows after them, quickly catching up because of his long legs. Beyond the door is a long, barely illuminated hallway. Jolt escorts Tommy to the second door on the left. He puts his hand on the door handle.

"You're right, Big Man. Let's solve this problem." Jolt opens the door. The interior is brightly lit by warm orange-yellow lights. The ground is covered in thin, light brown carpet. There is a projector hanging from the ceiling, pointing at a white board on one of the room's walls. Beneath the projector is a long, oval table surrounded by chairs. Mostly all of the chairs are filled with members of the Syndicate. Tommy swallows thickly, facing the enemies he's had for most of his life.

Obviously, Serenade is there. He has the audacity to wave at Tommy. Ravager sits right beside Serenade. He wears a boar skull mask over his face, complimenting a golden crown resting on top of his pastel pink hair. He wears a tight obsidian cuirass over a long-sleeved black shirt. He has a red cape lined with white fur around his body, barely obscuring the numerous weapons that line his body. Out of everyone in the Syndicate, Ravager is probably the most dangerous. He excels in almost all forms of combat, and no one knows what his powers are. Tommy knows, but only from extensive studying. If he didn't obsess over the Syndicate, he never would have figured it out.

Dyscardia sits beside Ravager. She wears a dark gray chestplate over a black shirt with hot pink sleeves. The chestplate bears the mark of a butterfly surrounded by olive branches. She wears a caplet over her body, held over her shoulders by a leather strand. Her face is covered by a dark gray mask that matches her chestplate. Her hair is a lighter shade of pink than her sleeves, but it's a little darker than Ravager's hair and much shorter, ending at her shoulder blades. Dyscardia was once a vigilante, but she later became the Syndicate's assassin. If they wanted to eliminate a target discreetly, they sent Dyscardia in. It was mainly because she had the ability to manipulate people's internal organs using specialized hand movements.

Thermoculus was Dyscardia's partner when she was a vigilante, and he continues to be her partner now. He wears military green tactical gear like a bulletproof vest and cargo shorts underneath a blue-and-black striped boxing robe. To match with that theme, his hands are wrapped up in blue and red bandages. His main form of combat is a style of boxing, but his ability is hidden behind his glasses. The left side is tinted red and the right side is tinted blue, and they serve to block his ability. Whatever he looks at with his bare eyes is suddenly engulfed in flames, and if he looks a person in the eyes, they experience a sensation painful enough that it has driven professional heroes insane.

Warden is obviously there, and he's the last in the line-up of full-fledged Syndicate members sitting down. Ankh sits across the table from Ravager. He is not part of the Syndicate. He is the Ace of Diamonds, a member of Croupier's specialized unit. Ankh does not fight often, but anyone who does cross him does not live to tell the tale. This is evidenced by him wearing an Egyptian-style cloth around his waist and a flat mask with emerald eyes over his shark hood. He mainly stays at Las Nevadas as an architect, so Tommy doesn't quite understand why he is here.

Tommy doesn't understand why Red Dragon is here, either. He's a B-ranked hero. He doesn't take bounties often. If he did, he would easily be S-class. There is barely anyone who can win a fight against a man who can turn himself into a dragon, partly or entirely depending on what he believes is necessary for the situation. He wears a black overcoat on top of his white shirt. He hides his appearances with a pair of red-rimmed goggles. He doesn't wear armor because his dragon scales are stronger than anything he could wear. He does have a bow and arrows slung over his back for emergencies, though, even if he could breath purple fire.

Argonaut stands at the front of the table in front of the whiteboard. She wears a red cape over her white-metal cuirass and black pants sewn with white-metal knee pads. She has a cutlass attached to her hip, and a red and gold mask over the upper portion of her face. Her large white curls are pushed down by a bright red tricorn hat on her head. She used to be a villain partnered with the infamous Minotaur. The two of them split away from each other. Before they could reconcile, Tommy was responsible for the Minotaur's imprisonment. As far as he is aware, Argonaut doesn't dislike him for doing that to her former partner. She found her way to the Syndicate, so it wasn't a completely bad deal. Argonaut had the ability to heal people, but she also had the ability to heal herself. She was near-invincible with how powerful her healing factor was, and she's brought many members back from the brink of death. She was definitely going to be a hindrance to Tommy's plan, but he knew he could take care of it when the time came.

"Jolt, Enderwalk... and Vendetta, please join us," Argonaut says, gesturing towards the remaining seats. There is one beside Serenade, one at the head of the table, and two on the side with Ankh, Warden, and Red Dragon across from the empty seat and Serenade. Jolt and Enderwalk settle into their seats beside Ankh. Tommy is left between sitting at the head of the table or sitting beside Serenade. He doesn't feel comfortable with any of his options, so he drags the chair from the head of the table to the side with Enderwalk and Jolt. Enderwalk scoots over when he notices what Tommy's doing.

"Where's Azrael and Inchling?" Tommy whispers to Enderwalk, looking around the room. He would assume that at a meeting this important, the leader and his right-hand man would be there. Inchling could be there, out of sight because of his small size, but Tommy highly doubts that Azrael would be able to hide with his large, ebony wings that paint him as the Angel of Death everyone knows him as.

"Why would you want them here?" Jolt whispers, making an excellent point. Tommy knows that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if Azrael and Inchling were within his sights. He's filled with so much anger at the thought of them- their presence would send him off like a spark to gasoline.

"We don't know where they are. They probably aren't here for your benefit," Enderwalk shrugs. Tommy freezes, leaning back. Again, it surprises him how accommodating the villains are. He won't pretend that they're being kind, but they're obviously doing something for Tommy.

"With everyone here, we'll start the meeting," Argonaut calls out. The attention in the room floods onto her, but she doesn't seem the least bit startled at having to speak in front of a crowd. "The Red Army appeared in the city two months ago. They started by kidnapping prominent members of the gangs in Empires. They moved onto other districts as recently as three weeks ago. We discovered the existence of the Cult of Erythr, the main members of the Red Army a few days ago. We do not know the purpose of the cult or the army, but we have identified four members of the cult. Their leader is referred to as the Red King. He appeared at the same time as the Red Army, so we assume this is their first debut. The Red King is helped by two people: Retro and Technician. As far as we are aware, the Red King can enchant items with mystical properties, Retro can rewind time a few seconds at a time, and Technician can manipulate technology with his mind. Along with these three members, we have evidence to believe that the former Hunter, Reaper, has joined the Cult of Erythr."

"If Reaper has joined, Adamantine would have also joined," Tommy inputs, raising his hand to get Argonaut's attention. She looks at him for a long second before flicking her eyes towards Warden. The former Hunter nods. Reaper was one of the original members of the Hunters along with Warden. They were friends before Warden defected. Before that, though, Reaper had brought in a vigilante called Adamantine. Tommy wasn't close to either of them, but it would take a fool to not realize how close the two of them were to each other.

"We'll take that into consideration moving forward," Argonaut confirms. The slideshow switches away from fuzzy pictures of the cult's members to guild reports. Tommy eyes Red Dragon skeptically, not unsurprised that the Syndicate has access to such private materials. "The Cult of Erythr has committed the following crimes: kidnapping, theft, breaking and entering, and unlawful seizure of the Nether Portal."

Tommy snorts, loud enough that everyone looks at him. He doesn't even try to hide the fact that he laughed. It's hard to think of the Cult's unlawful seizure of the Nether Portal without thinking about the Syndicate's unlawful seizure of the End Portal. The others don't seem to appreciate his sense of humor, but he's never cared about any of them. Well, that's a lie, he cares about Enderwalk and Jolt. He considers Warden something like his friend, and he has a passing acquaintanceship with every member of the Aces. But that doesn't mean he's going to play nice with them anymore than he plays nice with the Syndicate. He doesn't have friends, after all, only allies and responsibilities.

"The Syndicate will be working with the vigilantes Jolt and Enderwalk, Croupier's Aces, and the heroes Red Dragon and Vendetta to take down the cult and the army," Argonaut finishes out, unfazed by Tommy's outburst.

"Okay, but what's the actual fucking plan here?" Tommy asks, voicing what he hopes everyone is thinking. The information is definitely better than what he was working with before, but he didn't hear anyone mention a plan of action in that entire presentation.

"Until we have all the information, we will hold off on making a plan," Argonaut explains simply. She turns off the projector without giving him another glance.

"'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.' from Sun Tzu," Ravager quotes the Art of War, his red eyes pinning Tommy down. The blonde does not show a trace of fear on his face as he stares back at Ravager.

"Alliances are all well and good, but the fucking power of friendship isn't going to do jack shit for us," Tommy responds, ignoring the quote.

"You're right. We won't solve this just by allying ourselves, but Ravager isn't entirely wrong. We cannot rush into this uninformed. We need to know all the members of the cult. We need to know what they want and what they're willing to do to get that," Argonaut tells him, finally paying attention to him again. Tommy knows the other Syndicate members and the invited guests are staring at him.

The attention unsettles him, so he stands up from his spot. "I'll do some investigating of my own, then. I'll share with the class if I find anything."

Tommy walks out of the room, ignoring the voices that start talking in his absence. He isn't even sure if they're talking to him. He just knows that he can't stand being in that room. As he shuts the door behind him, he accidentally runs into someone. He is about to curse the person out when he notices that they aren't wearing a mask. It's an older man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, wearing a dark gray and green robe and sandals. He's an average man. And probably more surprisingly, he's a human. He is entirely unexceptional, and he's walking around the Syndicate's base. Tommy blinks in surprise at him, and the man takes the opportunity to smile at Tommy with an outstretched hand. "Hello, mate! My name is Philza."

"Who the hell are you? What the fuck are you doing here?" Tommy demands, ignoring the man's hand in favor of finding answers.

"I'm just an average citizen employed by the Syndicate," Philza says. He lowers his hand, entirely unbothered by the fact that Tommy wasn't following social norms. Tommy never has followed such trivial civilities, but people are usually more upset by it. He guesses that working for supervillains can lower a person's standards. Unless...

"I'm an A-ranked hero with the guild, Vendetta. If you need help- like if you were fucking kidnapped or some shit- you can tell me. I'll help you," Tommy promises. Even though he spends most of his time focused on his goal, he isn't above helping civilians. He doesn't go out of his way to do it since he's self-aware enough to know that most people find him annoying at first. Most people come around eventually, but he doesn't exactly have much time to be around civilians.

Philza laughs heartily like Tommy just told him the best joke he's heard in his life. When Philza calms down, he wipes his eyes. He continues to smile as he looks up at Tommy. "I assure you, Vendetta, I'm here of my own volition. What about you? Are you here of your own free will?"

"Ugh. I fucking wish I didn't have to be here," Tommy confides in the civilian, bemoaning the situation he's found himself in. He feels almost guilty being here. What would his family think if they knew he was allying himself with the people that killed them? Eret would be okay with it, but Eret's opinion didn't matter. Eret would choose the necessary evils without hesitation. They've done it before. Fundy would have been too young the time he died to have fully-formed opinions on the situation. Tubbo would call him an idiot. Niki would sigh sadly. Jack would be trying to convince Tommy to fight immediately, fists up and anger flaring. Wilbur... Tommy isn't sure, actually, how anyone in his family would react. The last conversation he had with them filters into his head. He just can't be sure of anything anymore.

"Why don't you want to be here?" Philza asks, his voice drawing Tommy out of his memories.

"Pretty obvious, innit? I fucking despise the Syndicate," Tommy explains, unaware that there were people in the city who didn't know that simple fact. Philza's eyebrows lift in confusion, and Tommy decides to ease the man's confusion. "The Syndicate's leader, Azrael, and his first partner, Inchling, killed my family. I want revenge, hence my hero name. Unfortunately, the guild is fucking forcing me to take down the Red Army. Easiest way is with my enemies."

"Ahh... And you'll be able to study your enemies up close," Philza concedes with a nod of understanding.

"Fucking finally! Someone gets why I'm fucking do this bullshit!" Tommy cries out excitedly, deciding that he likes Philza- despite him working for the Syndicate. If Tommy ignores that fact, like he does for Enderwalk and Jolt, Philza is the best civilian Tommy has ever met. He hasn't met many, so the ranking isn't that difficult to top, but Tommy won't get into that.

"Killing Azrael and Inchling will be near impossible," Philza reminds Tommy.

"I know. But there isn't anything someone who loves their family wouldn't do for them," Tommy explains quietly. He's willing to face the most powerful villains in the entire city, all for the sake of his dead family. He has to believe that this is what his family wants. He has to believe that they're proud of him right now, wherever they are.

"I have to agree. I love my family very much. I have two sons, you see, and... well, there's this boy that I also consider my son," Philza explains, a knowing look in his eyes as he stares at Tommy. The hero assumes that the knowing look is because Philza is agreeing with him, but something there makes Tommy think that Philza is referring to something more.

Before Tommy can ask, the door swings open. Serenade steps into the hallway. He stops when he looks up. His veil swishes from side to side as he looks between Tommy and Philza. He makes a sound before shrugging his shoulders. He ties the blindfold around Tommy's eyes without even asking Tommy if he's okay with that. Tommy huffs as the darkness falls over him again. Tommy can hear Philza laugh as Serenade drags Tommy away. Tommy scowls beneath his mask.

Serenade blares his music the whole way to the apartment.