First Heist, First Fencing

--- Joshua ---

Pulling open the door to the warehouse the Malice Doctor and co worked out of, he was only mildly surprised to find said doctor waiting for him with a van and his usual bodyguard waiting nearby.

“Was wondering how long you were going to sit in that alley for.” The doctor told him, setting a tablet down on the table.

(Well, that answers whether or not he had someone watching me.) He’d assumed, given how he was supposed to have a safety net, but he wasn’t sure if he actually trusted the shady organization to bail him out in such a case.

“Needed to wait for the Dealers to quit searching for me.” He pointed out as the bodyguard started towards him.

“Good thing you did since they ended up in a secondary fight with a handful of the guild as they were making their way back from an… Arcane event.” The doctor informed him. “It would have been a difficult fight for you if you hadn’t gone to ground.”

“Everyone says you can run but you can’t hide, funnily enough they never bother actually looking.” He shrugged, before glancing behind him as the guard walked past him and climbed into the driver’s seat of the car.

“Quite…” The Malice Doctor nodded before gesturing for him to take his usual seat. “Shall we begin a review of this evening’s activities?”

“I guess, though I’m not really sure what you were looking for beyond how much loot I could grab.” He admitted, taking a seat across from the doctor and hoping for a little more information.

“Truthfully, we were more interested in how you would carry out this task than the actual amount of money you would generate from it.” The doctor confessed, before seeming to scoff. “And based on what we’ve seen, you possess little in the way of practical stealth despite Zylah’s attempts to beat it into you, your overall power growth is notably slow compared to other subjects, and you possess a level of recklessness and poor planning that honestly astonishes me with the fact that you’ve made it to near adulthood without getting yourself killed.”

He couldn’t help but grimace at that scathing critique, especially since given how from an outside perspective he could see how all of that appeared true. (Maybe saying ‘fuck it’ wasn’t the best approach to passing a practical test…)

“But on a more useful note, you have demonstrated at least minor information gathering skills and a level of adaptability that, luckily for you, counteracts your recklessness.” The doctor continued in a much more considering tone.

“So, uh, what does all of that mean?” He asked just a little warily. “I mean am I hired or am I just a guinea pig?”

“Oh, you’re both.” The doctor told him bluntly.

“What?”

The malice doctor rolled his eyes. “You were always going to be both. Do you really believe we were going to give you powers without making some kind of use for you?”

“Uh, I thought you just needed a test subject for mixing madness and, uh, malice?” He reminded the doctor, before remembering to (keep your mouth shut before he decides to dissect us on a lab table!)

“Yes, and throwing you out into the world will give us more data than keeping you locked in a cage.” The Malice Doctor explained. “After all, we've already done all of those tests.”

(And I’m suddenly terrified.)

(Just don’t go running your mouth and we’ll get through this in one piece.)

“Which is why you shall be working as a distraction when needed.” The doctor continued, unaware (or uncaring) about his sudden dread. “More specifically you’ll be working as Zylah’s distraction when she needs it.”

“As long as it means I don’t have to babysit him, I can make do.”

He glanced to the side where the shadow dancer had suddenly appeared. “Um, what exactly is my, uh, job going to be… exactly?”

“Whenever we send Zylah to complete a task, we shall also send you to complete your own more public task.” Their boss(?) elaborated. “Neither of you will know what the other’s task is, just that you’re working at the same time.”

“So I’m… her distraction…” He summarized dully.

“Yes, that is what I said.”

He bit back his response about how distraction was such a low tier crimin- (Actually, we can make this work.)

He blinked, as his mind continued to work for him.

(As a distraction we’ll be expected to put on big loud shows, with their backing, while any other position would have us hide in the shadows.) His mind figured. (Meaning that while it might not be the most glamorous title, for us it is the best position to become a star of the streets.)

(That… Actually,) “I can work with that.”

“Good.” The malice doctor nodded. “Of course neither of you are restricted to solely the jobs we give you. You’re both free to pursue your own interests at your own discretion, just so long as you don’t miss our jobs for you. In fact, should you desire, we may even be persuaded to assist you either with your jobs themselves or with escaping the authorities… for a fee, of course.”

“Of course.” He nearly scoffed, before glancing at Zylah, who based on her bored look had already gotten this speech.

“Speaking of fees, we shall be taking the majority of your profits for this evening.” The criminal doctor told him.

“Kind of expected that.” He admitted.

“Don’t worry, we’ll only be taking a reimbursement for the Malice vials we’ve thus far given you. A cut we will be taking from your future heists as well in exchange for continuing your weekly five vials.” The doctor explained.

“Wait.” He frowned. “I thought you wanted me to have the malice for the sake of your experiments.”

“Oh, we do, but…” The Malice doctor leaned forward. “Are you really willing to give up your powers so soon?”

His bitter lack of an answer was answer enough.

“Remember, your madness wasn’t the only reason we picked you, Durand.” The doctor warned him. “And continuing on that topic, I’ll also inform you of the fact that going forward should you desire more Malice than your weekly dosage… my employers are willing to provide you with additional vials during our meetings… for a fee of course.”

“Of course.” He actually scoffed this time.

“Now, on the note of money, what do you wish to do with the car?” The doctor asked, as the bodyguard pulled the car up next to them.

“The car? You’re not just taking it?”

“We could.” The doctor nodded. “But a vehicle can be a powerful tool. I figured you may wish to keep it for future jobs. Of course we could always buy it for… a reasonable amount given its-” The car’s fender fell off. “-less than stellar condition.”

(He’s right that having a car could be useful in the long run, but at the same time if I can buy more malice, the cash might be more useful now… And of course there’s the fact that I’d only be able to use the car as a Mask since I can’t let Chris or Maddie see it.) He realized with a grimace.

“Well?” The Malice Doctor prodded.

“I’ll sell it."

“Then I suppose that concludes this week's business.” The Malice Doctor told him standing from the table. “Since you’ve completed your first job, and due to events in the background you’ll both have the rest of this month to yourselves. Though I do expect to see you both here on the first.”

“Got it.” Zylah nodded, before he could say anything.

“Good.” The doctor nodded once more before turning towards the van his guard had been loading full of stolen goods.

Running a hand down his face he made to stand himself before a hand on his shoulder forced him to sit back down.

“Just because the boss is done with us, doesn’t mean we don’t have business.” Zylah told him as she sat down across from him.

“And what business is that?” He frowned.

“Well for one I saw your… we’ll call it ‘heist’, and while there are a number of things I could say about that mess, there is only one thing that actually matters to me.” The shadow dancer began, raising a single finger into the air as she crossed her legs.

“And that is?”

“You need more training.” She answered.

“And you’re going to give it to me?” He asked more than a little incredulously.

“For a fee.” Zylah shrugged.

“Of fucking course.” He groaned, rubbing at his eyes..

“We both know you’re going to get your ass handed to you out there, especially given how… lacking that show was tonight.” The shadow dancer continued. “I’m offering to help you actually stand on your own two feet, without recklessly throwing yourself into the fire.”

“For a fee.” He repeated, both of them knowing that this was not out of the kindness of her heart.

“We’ve all got bills to pay, and training you is safer than pulling more jobs where the heroes or Sanctuary can come after me.” Zylah explained, before texting something on her phone. “Hence why I’m giving you my number should you decide to take me up on this offer.”

Part of him wanted to tell her to shove it, but the more mature part reminded him that (if we want to be a star we need the skills to pull it off, and if she’s offering…)

Inhaling and exhaling, and pulled out his phone and saved the number she’d texted him from. “If I’ve got the money to spare, I’ll consider it.”

“Good enough.” Zylah nodded, before standing up.

He took another look around the warehouse to see if anyone else was going to stop him and- (Yep, here comes the bodyguard.)

“Your pay.” The guard told him, handing over a manilla envelope and a container of vials.

Accepting both, he slipped the vials into his pocket before looking inside the envelope and finding a number of bills sitting inside. (A few hundred, not a lot in the grand scheme, but definitely more than I’ve ever made in a single day.)

Nodding to the guard, (who is already walking away…)

He sighed before shaking his head and making his way toward the warehouse exit, knowing that just because the Malice Doctor was giving him time off, that didn’t mean that he could just sit around, after all, (This is just the first season of the show.)