Varen scowled down at the newspaper in his hands. He always tended to read the newspapers when he had spare time. It always helped him get ideas for future schemes.

This time however, all it brought him were worries. Right on the front page, there was a picture of Marek with the title SOPISOC's greatest hero turns deserter. And under that was an interview with the leader of SOPISOC.

That bastard.

Varen found himself crumpling the newspaper a little as he glared at the man's face. One day, he would be the one to end him.

"Aw, babe," came Marek's voice, making Varen forget his anger immediately as he looked up at the man. "You're reading the paper? You're so old."

Varen huffed, but he couldn't manage to stay annoyed when Marek hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"They are writing about you," Varen said as he hugged back, throwing the newspaper at the table in front of him.

"When aren't they?" Marek mused, chuckling as he patted Varen's hair. Varen wanted to stay focused and serious, but it was so difficult when Marek....

Well, when Marek did basically anything. They'd lived together only for a couple of days, but Varen had never been less productive. And he was happy about it.

Love really did change people.

"This is serious, dear," Varen said, sighing. "Morrey is talking about you like you are a traitor."

Marek chuckled, but Varen could see him grimacing a little. "Well, not inaccurate."

Varen gritted his teeth. As if he didn't have enough of a reason to kill Morrey already.

"It's okay, baby," Marek said, kissing Varen sweetly. "I'm happy with my choice. I'd always choose you over anything else."

Varen rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. He had been wondering about that. Whether Marek was perhaps regretting his choice. So hearing that was exactly what he needed right now.

"I'm with my baby boy, and everything is wonderful," Marek said, hugging him tighter. "And I'm ready to become a supervillain! I know we've been taking a bit of a vacay, but I'm ready now if you are."

Varen nodded seriously. "Have you decided on a new alias for yourself?"

Marek pulled away, grinning at Varen though still keeping his hands on Varen's shoulders. "You think I was joking when I said I want my name to be Mr. Flame?"

Varen frowned, nodding slowly, which prompted Marek to snigger.

"No, I'm being serious. I can't be Fireman anymore. I like a good dumb name, but that's just way too much."

Varen shook his head fondly. "It always has been, to be fair. Firemen don't set things on fire."

"Exactly!" Marek nodded. "Hence Mr. Flame. Perfect. Short. Simple."

Varen rubbed his eyes. He truly loved this ridiculous man if he was willing to let this be. "Very well. If you think the media will accept it. Not to mention that some journalist somewhere will figure out it's you."

Marek pouted. "You think they'll just call me Fireman still? I guess it would fit better for my cool villain arc. But that would be so lame."

Varen got up to hug him. Anyone who dared ruin his beloved's excitement would die. "It would, yes. I will pull some strings, if I must. You shall be Fireman no more."

"Aw, babe," Marek cooed, hugging Varen tight and spinning him. "You're so cool. My coolest little man."

Varen gasped at being spun, then huffed. "I am not little. You are just needlessly tall." That did nothing to stop Marek from cradling him. Not that Varen wanted it to stop. "I will be meeting the other Undertakers later today. We need to select an outfit for you so you can join without them seeing your face." Varen smiled a bit. "Besides, I know you're itching to get a supervillain outfit."

Marek chuckled, stroking Varen's blond hair. "Not everyone can wear a suit for this activity."

Varen snorted, shaking his head. "You said you find it appealing."

Marek hugged him tight, nuzzling his nose in Varen's hair. "I sure do! You caught my eye right away that first time we fought."

Varen flushed a bit, smiling to himself. It was almost nostalgic to think about those times. It seemed so long ago, even though it had only been two years.

It was one of the few times he'd legitimately tried to kill Marek. Varen was so glad he hadn't succeeded.

"But yeah, no suits for me. I want something cooler," Marek continued, humming as he stared off deep in thought.

Varen leaned in to kiss Marek's forehead. "Then we shall get you something. But for now a mask will do." Varen scowled, thinking about all the things that could happen if the Undertakers saw Marek's face. "If any of them try to hurt or threaten you...."

Marek smiled at him softly, his eyes so fond. Varen almost had to blink in shock. He wasn't used to people looking at him like that still, despite now living with Marek.

Varen was hated and feared, not loved.

"You'll beat them up?" Marek suggested, grinning.

"I will kill them," Varen corrected, gritting his teeth.

Marek's smile turned a little sad. "You guys don't really get along that great, do you?"

Varen shook his head, sighing. He put his arms around Marek's waist protectively, as if he was expecting the other supervillains to break in and try to harm him this very second. "We work together, but we are not friends. I know SOPISOC does things differently."

Oh, how well Varen knew. Sometimes he wished things were different. He had been quite lonely before Marek moved in, though he'd never admit that out loud.

He had often wished that things were different. He would love to have friends, but that was not the life of a supervillain.

At least it hadn't been until now. Varen hugged Marek tighter. He wasn't lonely anymore. And he was in love. Two things he'd never expected to happen.

He was so insanely grateful.

"Well, yeah, sure SOPISOC likes to have its heroes be all buddy-buddy," Marek said, waving his hand dismissively. "I didn't like most of them. I really just got along with Ai—I mean Boltstrike and Riptide."

Varen narrowed his eyes in thought. The two superheroes' powers were impressive, especially when combined. Water and electricity were a nasty mix. "Yes. Them. Your team."

"Former team," Marek corrected him, kissing him gently. "That's all behind me. Though I'll probably end up fighting them, huh?"

Varen nodded, grimacing at Marek. But Marek just kissed him again, hugging him tight.

"All right. Let's go find me an outfit, and meet all the idiots I've been fighting my whole life."

Varen chuckled at Marek's excited tone. It was certainly going to be an interesting aftertoon.

++++++++

The meeting Varen had scheduled took place in one of Flesheater's houses, as usual. This one was even more opulent than the last. He called it a mansion, but the large hallways and crystal chandeliers reminded Varen more of a palace.

Varen looked at Marek, watching for his reactions. The man seemed fascinated, but also a little wary, his usual giddy energy missing from his body language.

"So this is where all the evil meetings happen?" Marek asked, whispering because the halls echoed a lot as they'd learned quickly.

"No, the meetings are always in different places. So SOPISOC cannot find us," Varen explained. He yearned to hold Marek's hand, but he couldn't. Not here.

He smiled a little behind his mask when he studied Marek's new costume. Varen had taken Marek to his outfitter. Varen himself tended to only get his outfits repaired since they got damaged often in his fights against SOPISOC, which meant the woman had been estatic to get a design job.

She and Marek ended up designing a black costume with silhouttes of flames in orange decorating it throughout. Unlike his original outfit, he added a black, leather jacket with more flames on the back and sleeves, claiming that leather jackets were cool and therefore supervillain material.

The whole outfit was completed with a black mask hiding his eyes, forming flame-like shapes at the tips. It covered about half of his face, but they both knew the press would be able to tell that Fireman had switched teams, so it didn't really matter. As long as Marek's real identity was protected, all was well.

Also Marek looked very attractive in that mask, though Varen hadn't told him that. He would later. But right now they needed to be serious.

Varen led Marek into the large meeting room on the second floor. Most of it was taken up with a long table, far longer than they needed for the twelve of them.

Well, thirteen now, if these idiots accepted Marek into their ranks. If they didn't, there would be hell to pay.

Varen looked around the room dispationately, noting that there were only seven of them present currently. But that didn't mean that everyone would be attending, of course. There were always a few who missed nearly every other meeting.

Varen seated himself in his usual spot, turning to Marek to tell him that he can sit in any of the free plush chairs. However, Marek had already taken matters into his own hands, grabbing one of the chairs and putting it right next to Varen's, sitting down and putting his arms around Varen.

Varen blinked, his heart fluttering as he blushed. It was a good thing that he was wearing a mask, and no one could see that.

"Your new boytoy is clingy," Vanish mocked him from the other side of the table, laughing. Varen glared at her.

He'd never liked her. Her power was invisibility, and she used it to eavesdrop and share people's secrets instead of doing something productive. What a waste.

Marek snorted. "Why don't you make like your name and vanish, huh? You're good at that. Don't think I didn't see you abandoning your buddies the last time we fought."

Varen couldn't help but privately chuckle, even though antagonizing Vanish was not going to help them at all.

And indeed, as expected, so began the arguing.

"This is a massive security risk," Permafrost said, scowling at Marek. "We can't let a SOPISOC member—"

"He is not a member anymore," Varen reminded her, but Permafrost kept talking.

"—become one of us. It's clearly a ploy to learn our secrets."

"It is no ploy," Varen argued, feeling very protective of his boyfriend. "He has switched sides, and he is no longer loyal to SOPISOC. But if you need assurance so badly," he glared at Permafrost as he said this, "I will take full responsibility if something happens. But I assure you that nothing will."

Naturally, more arguing followed as more supervillains joined in, talking over each other. But everyone went quiet the moment Flesheater spoke.

"Surely Fireman can speak for himself," the man said, sending a shiver down Varen's back.

He was intimidated by no one here. No one except Flesheater. The man's presence was unsettling, but Varen hadn't managed to pinpoint why exactly, aside from the fact that his power was corrosive touch.

Flesheater's choice of dress wasn't anything extravagant or intimidating on its own. Much like Varen himself, he tended to wear suits with a mask, though his was metal and only covered the front of his face, not his whole head. But the gloves....

Varen always felt a little sick imagining those hands melting flesh off people. He'd thankfully never seen it, had never even seen Flesheater without his gloves, but it always unnerved him.

Save to say, he had no interest in even arguing with the man.

Varen gave Marek a concerned look, but Marek was already getting up, smiling at everyone around and waving at Flesheater, apparently entirely unafraid.

This foolish, wonderful man.

"Heya! I'm Mr. Flame now, not Fireman, actually," he corrected, resulting in Permafrost booing. Marek ignored her. "I know we've had our differences. And I beat up someone you a lot over the years."

More booing and protests followed. Varen rubbed his eyes.

"But I wanna try working with you guys, now," Marek continued, not bothered by the heckling at all. "You can check the news. SOPISOC knows I left them. And really, you think I'm a spy? I'm too stupid to be a spy."

Varen scowled, not liking Marek calling himself stupid. He tended to do that a lot, but he was very smart when he wanted to be.

"That I agree with," Permafrost huffed.

Marek snorted. "You just hate me because fire always melts ice, babe."

"Very well," Flesheater said before more bickering could happen. "I trust Earthcarver's judgment. He has proven himself over the years he's worked with us."

Flesheater turned his eyes to Varen's, making him very uncomfortable. It was as if Flesheater was staring directly into his soul.

"And I expect you to do that as well," the man continued, looking back at Marek. "We reward our allies. If you wish earn your place faster, I would highly suggest you to perhaps share some valuable internal SOPISOC information that I am certain you have."

Varen scowled. He knew that Marek wouldn't say anything that would endanger his former friends, so this suggestion would go unheard. He just hoped that Flesheater wouldn't consider that proof of Marek's disloyalty.

"Cool cool, thanks!" Marek said, nodding and giving Flesheater a thumbs up of all things as he sat down again. Oh how Varen loved this man. "Can't believe the guy who melts people's faces off is the nice one here."

Varen would have to have a conversation with Marek about how being calculating and slow to anger didn't make someone nice, but that was for a different time.

"You certainly bring a unique energy to these meetings already," Flesheater mused, almost sounding amused.

Curious. But it did allow Varen to relax a little. Flesheater likely knew just how valuable Marek was to have on their side, so he hadn't interrogated him too much. When Varen had joined, it had gone very differently.

As the conversation moved on, Marek hugged Varen tight again. Varen blushed again, but he hugged back. He was keenly aware of most of the room watching them. He'd built a reputation of being stoic and ruthless, and this was going against that image completely.

But strangely Varen didn't find himself caring too much about what the others might think. He cared about Marek so much more than he cared about any of this.

With this out of the way, all they had left to worry about was whatever fallout there would be from the side of SOPISOC. But Varen was ready.

Whatever happened, he knew they would overcome it. Together.