Ren and Bishop drove out of the school gates, the old red sedan rumbling slowly through the afternoon traffic. Golden sunlight slanted across the dashboard, catching on Bishop’s glasses as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
At the gate, a sleek black car sat waiting. Ren’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the woman behind the wheel — dark hair falling in smooth waves around her face, early thirties, sharp features and an intense, focused expression. She stared straight ahead, seemingly unaware of them.
『Where have I seen her? 』
The face was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Just another parent waiting for her kid, probably.
"You know that lady?" Ren asked, still watching her as they passed.
"Nah, I’m not into milfs," Bishop said with a lazy grin, eyes on the road.
"Goodness, B. You need to fix something up there," Ren muttered, shaking his head.
Bishop chuckled and kept driving, weaving through the afternoon traffic. "You coming over tonight? Glitch is broadcasting. It’s gonna be massive on the big screen."
"Can’t," Ren said. "I’ve got plans with Z."
"Izzy? Bro, you don’t have to give her every second of your life. Did you learn nothing from me and Sophie?" Bishop pulled over to the curb in front of Ren’s apartment building.
Ren got out, slinging his bag over one shoulder.
"Alright, man," Bishop called through the open window. "I’m not coming up into that disaster zone with you."
The red sedan pulled away with a rattle, disappearing down the street. Ren headed up the worn concrete stairs toward his apartment, the familiar creak of each step echoing under his sneakers.
***
He opened the apartment door, stepped inside, and shut it behind him.
『I should think about moving. 』
The thought surprised him. It was the first time it had ever crossed his mind. He pulled out his phone, the device he’d resisted touching all day at school.
A long message waited at the top.
[Ren, I need u rn 🥺 pls don’t ghost me. I’ve been thinking abt what u said last month... like making this a real relationship.What do u think?] ~ Mila.
Ren stopped in the middle of the room, thumb hovering. The message was much longer than Camilla’s usual style.
『I moved past that. I have Izzy now. 』
[I love every time you f**k me, every time you put your fi—]
He closed the message immediately.
『Girls. 』
He opened TT. Followers were still climbing fast. At the top of his DMs sat new messages from @VillainEater and @Super-Agent5.
Ren tapped into @VillainEater’s profile picture, and it clicked.
『Wait. 』
He opened her messages and scrolled down.
The screen filled with image after image. The same dark-haired woman from the car outside RavenHall, early thirties, sharp features, staring back at him in varying states of undress.
Close-ups of bare skin, arched backs, parted lips, fingers trailing down her body. Dozens of them. Explicit. Sent one after another like a private gallery meant only for him.
Ren froze, thumb hovering mid-scroll.
『What the hell. A RavenHall parent? 』
He backed out quickly, heart beating a little faster.
His mind shifted to the mission tonight. He needed to get ready for that first, keep it simple. Then turn his full focus to the date with Izzy. With actual money in his account now, the date was the part he worried about least.
He sat on the worn loveseat, the late afternoon light streaming through the open window and warming his bare shoulders. The system notification hovered in his vision, glowing softly.
[Mission set for tonight.]
[Location: Mayvel Bank.]
[A villainess is planning a heist, but the authorities already know. Make sure she doesn’t get arrested.]
"So what’s the actual objective?" Ren asked aloud, leaning back into the cushions.
[Stay ahead of the heroes and the police.]
[Extract her before they reach her. That completes the mission.]
"Okay." He settled deeper into the loveseat, a slow, smile spreading across his face. "Then push a notification. I’m live tonight."
[Done.]
Ren smiled wider, staring up at the ceiling as golden light played across it.
『Take Izzy on the date, go live after. I love my life. 』
"What gear’s available for tonight?"
A glowing holographic display filled the room, projecting Tier 1 guns and tasers in sharp, rotating detail across the open space. Ren stood up from the loveseat and walked slowly around the projections, the blue light casting shifting patterns across his chest and the walls.
His phone buzzed in his hand.
『Who’s calling me right now? 』
He checked the screen. Izzy. He answered immediately.
"Hey."
"Hey." Her voice came through, soft and a little distant. Wherever she was, there wasn’t a single sound behind her — no traffic, no voices, no city hum.
"You good?"
A small delay. "Yeah. I’m good. You?"
"I’m great. Was actually getting ready for tonight." He kept scanning the floating weapons, reaching out to rotate one of the tasers with his finger.
Izzy went quiet for a beat.
"I called about tonight, actually," she said.
"Where do you want to go? Just name it."
"Ren. I can’t make it tonight."
He paused. The silence on her end was total. That kind of quiet was rare anywhere in Mayvel.
"It’s fine, Z," he said, forcing lightness into his voice. "We’ll get another night."
『Good. Now I’ve got the whole night for the mission. 』
『I was already worried the date might run long and crash into the stream. This way they each get their own night. 』
"I’m really sorry," Izzy said.
"It’s okay." Then, after a moment, "Where are you?"
She hesitated. He could hear it in the small catch of her breath.
『She’s probably at her mom’s and just doesn’t want to say. Vanished for a full day, definitely out of the city, her mom was calling all morning. 』
"You’re at your mom’s," he said, giving her the easy out.
"...Yes. She’s kinda sick."
"Damn, that sucks. Tell her I said hi." A beat. "I love you. Like, so much."
"I love you more," Izzy said, and the line went dead.
Ren stood there in the middle of the holographic display, smiling softly as the blue light washed over his face and shoulders. He looked back at the floating weapons.