"Trust me, boss, this is way more important than anything you gotta say." Prism snapped. And with that, he was cast aside.

Nobody bothered to explain further. The Z-team, previously woefully bored, clamored over the conference table for the goodies you brought them. They pulled at fabrics and accessorized in record time, laughing wildly as their personal vision came together. At this point in the day, they appreciated anything that delayed work.

Blazer burst into the room moments later. She met Robert's eye with a sheepish look, crossing the room to his side.

"Sorry, I tried to tell them you were in a meeting but... they're fast. And spatial awareness seems to be lacking among our staff." She shook her head, casting a look at the other dispatchers who blocked her pursuit.

Robert put his hands on his hips, mourning the orderly meeting he almost pulled off.

He caught himself watching you across the office more times than he'd like to admit. His team would smile with you, then turn around and glare at him like he’d killed their families. Blazer didn’t even get that kind of devotion, and she was the one who gave them their jobs! Whenever he told them to straighten up, he was met with groans, but for you, they leapt into action for every silly (or stupid) idea you had.

Robert shook his head and ran his hand over his face, exasperated. "How is this important right now?"

"We need the Z-team to have a positive reputation. Social media is a big part of that these days, so..." She nodded towards you with a little smile. "Definitely very eager, but they don't mean any harm."

"Be that as it may, the team doesn't need distractions right now," Robert muttered under his breath. His frustration subsided when he saw the Z-team... actually acting like a team. Despite bickering here and there about how stupid each other's chosen costumes were, they were being surprisingly civil.

You approached Robert with an orange cloth. He raised an eyebrow, looking at you down the bridge of his nose.

"That for me? It's a little small."

"It's a necktie... thing. I don't know, I had to think of yours last minute." You looped it around his neck and tied it loosely, stepping back to assess his appearance. "You think you look like Fred Jones? Your shirt's the wrong color, though. And your hair."

"And that's my fault, how?" He deadpanned.

"Wait, wait, wait," Your eyes brightened and Robert could see the lightbulb going off in your head. "Where's Beef?"

Robert blinked. He was unable to follow your train of thought but directed you to Chase, anyway.

As you went to retrieve him, he scanned the room. With the Z-team's attention substantially diverted, he mentally threw his meeting objectives out the window. He came in here to smack some sense into them—to emphasize that they are, in fact, a team, not lone villain operatives—but in some roundabout way, you achieved something similar.

When Beef entered the room, many gathered around to give him head pats and belly rubs. You rifled through your box for a honey-yellow hat. You eased it on Beef's head, thankful that he didn't fuss with it. You handed Robert a white earflap beanie, staring at him expectantly.

Robert took a look at you and the rest of the team. With a tired sigh, he accepted the hat and put it on. "Who am I supposed to be?"

"Finn," you nodded to him, then handed Beef to him. "And Jake. Adventure time? Kinda..."

Robert's lips quirked up. "Cool."

You beamed upon receiving his quiet acceptance, directing him to stand with the rest of the team. "You guys look cute! Smile for the camera! Or not, I don't really care." You fished through your things for your phone, stepping back to capture them all in frame. "Say, happy halloween!"

Robert was shoved this way and that as his team squabbled for a spot in the front of the group, but for once, he wasn’t the villain in the room. He was just another idiot in a hat standing beside his team, who were also massive idiots. That felt like a win to him.