MENACE.

“Sure, call me Jan.” Janice shrugged. It wasn’t everyday someone shortened her name – she didn’t particularly care much for it. “As a leader? A natural one. I took over from Boomerang when I was part of the Sinister Six. We had a lot more success when I was in charge.” And then he had taken the title back, like the douche he was. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t really like the sound of that, actually. Sounds overdone.” Cindy shrugged, lowering herself to the ground with her webbing before letting it go and tilting her head at the younger girl. Part of her was a little worried that Lily might recognize her from the other day when she hadn’t been suited up, but she just hoped the mask and suit would suffice. “I want to know why none of you came at me the other day. Specifically why Carmilla mentioned Saya Ishii.”

That earned a snort of her own as Medusa shook her head. “They’re really starting you guys young these days.”

“A.) Proving my whole point with the having a Christmas Break thing, B.) Since when, last year?”

Clint’s jaw clenched at the callous mention of Natasha, trying his best to hide the fact that he was so annoyed by it as he shook his head at the younger girl. It made him imagine smacking her across the head with the riser of his bow, but he quickly focused back onto the conversation. “Okay, so I’m old. Which means I know a hell of a lot more about life than you.”

Cindy tried not to let her eyes widen as she looked at Lily, wishing she could cover her face in that moment. But would covering it make things worse? Would it make her more recognizable? Internally freaking out, Cindy let out an awkward laugh at the paparazzi comment. “Tell me about it. It’s not quite Daily Bugle level, but we’re up there. But it’s a living.”

“Right. Praying for what, exactly?”

“Thing is with Lorina, she will constantly remind us of her financial contributions to the team.” Janice snorted. “Best to ignore her when she makes those comments.” She thought about Lily’s next words carefully. “Carmilla has been isolated by that woman. I don’t think we have any reason to worry – if anything, she’s probably grateful to be rid of her, though it might be worth just keeping an eye on the situation.”

“I know you’re smart, I didn’t say you weren’t. I just want you to make the most informed decisions you can – you have potential. I don’t want to see it wasted.” Janice spoke softly, watching the way Lily reacted carefully. “You don’t have to speak to someone to get information. There are other ways – especially if that person has your trust. What information do you want out of Harry about the Sinister Six anyways?”

“She also quotes Alice in Wonderland. The woman is certifiable.” Anyone who wore bunny ears was instantly on the watch list. Lily cocked her head to the side while thinking for a moment. “Y’know what? Scratch Shriek. We don’t need to get into that.” That being said, the Carmilla situation was dicey. Lily wasn’t convinced but was willing to give it a try. She just nodded in response to Janice.

“Wow. Sounds super informative. And subtle.”

“So I heard. Unfortunately for you, I don’t want Carmilla anywhere near it.”

“How old even are you?”

“What kind of club? Sounds fun!”

“Syndicate… That has a good ring to it.”  Janice pursed her lips, listening to the names of the people Lily was listing off. “You’ve picked a good line up there. You’ve clearly put a lot of thought into this.”

Janice tapped her fingers against the table, thinking to herself for a moment. “I can speak to Carmilla. Having access to Aim’s resources could prove useful, but we would need to be careful about how much we would use them. As much as they could be an asset, they could be a potential liability.” Janice knew how this worked. Her upbringing in her father’s mob, her time with the Sinister Six – it was all valuable experience. “I can always make a donation of sorts. But you do need to be careful, you may have heard this before, but you are young. You need to be smart about this.”

“oh, also white rabbit. that’s seven. that’s fine, right? since our name isn’t in the title? i don’t really want lorina on the team but she has money and money is good.” between herself, janice, saya and lorina the team would be more than set. they couldn’t rely on carmilla getting them A.I.M. resources. “monica rappacini is super annoying and holier than thou. she thinks she’s smarter than god and even if she won’t be involved, can we really trust anyone with her genetics?” maybe that wasn’t fair to carmilla. oh well.

Cindy froze at the question, not quite sure that she should even respond. There were quite a few people who could be looking for Silk, good or bad, and the last thing she needed was her identity compromised. “Nope, don’t think so. Unless you know anyone who works at Fact Channel.”

“There’s better investments than some stupid vending machines.” Felicia rolled her eyes, although she was sure the girl was being rhetorical. 

“Oh, no no no– this stuff isn’t for me. It’s stuff I gotta drop off at F.E.A.S.T. later.”

“I’m sure he’d love to hear you talking about him like that.” Janice laughed. “I’m a sycophant? That’s hilarious. LinkedIn is just… A handy tool for seeing what people are up to professionally. No such thing as privacy on there.”