[h2]Alessa Heather: Charity Fundraiser[/h2]
Alessa gladly shook Angel’s hand, smiling as she spoke, only to be interrupted by Margrave’s own statements about how he was, in fact, perfectly fine, and that he merely seemed out of sorts due to, perhaps, the nature of the event itself. There were almost certainly deeper reasons than that, but...

Alessa just about managed to utter ‘Fair enough,’ before a young girl ran into the room with a screech of joy, and a flurry of excitement. Over... Margrave! Well, that was certainly beneficial for him, and somewhat unexpected - and in the hubbub, Lillian drew her attention for something that immediately struck Alessa as an important matter.

‘Uh, sure thing. I reckon Margrave has this under control,’ she initially responded, throwing an encouraging smile to the hero in question as Lily pulled her away, just enough to stay out of any other conversations for a time.

By the end of it, Alessa was feeling quite pleased with herself. She... she had a girlfriend now. Or at least a date. And it was clear that Lillian couldn’t be happier for it. Alessa had had to consider the matter quite thoroughly, of course, but... well, a thought had occurred. Her therapist had suggested that she had to start doing things for herself, not just for everyone else. She couldn’t be a hero the whole time, or else she’d not really be a person. And, well, the therapist was right. So, she was going to take a chance, and she was going to see if Lillian’s company, her partnership, was what she truly wanted.

In the meantime, Morales found his way over to her and grabbed her attention, telling her that he felt she’d done well in the absence of he and Noble, and that the Jacks were sure to be taken down thanks to that information. Sure, maybe her confidence was welling due to his power, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel legitimate satisfaction at being told she was doing her job right, too. She managed to call out ‘Thank you, sir!’ and shoot out her own salute before he walked off again.

With all that out of the way, and Lillian on her arm, Alessa’s gaze wandered back over to where Sylph was. She and the other Wards at that table been joined by another hero- who was that again, Mastar if she recalled? And Sylph was embarrassed beyond belief. Alessa supposed she’d realised what Evelyn had originally been saying - and it looked like Evelyn was taking the shot there, if the way she was leaning forward meant anything.

‘What do you think, Lily?’ Alessa asked quietly, an idea coming to mind as she watched that conversation. ‘You want to give the good news about us to the others now, or should we surprise them with it?’

[hr]

[h2]Raymond Haywood: The Cruise Room[/h2]
Raymond had to admit, he wasn’t amazingly fond of this location. It felt... not small, per se, but compact in a way that had him feeling mildly uncomfortable. If something were to happen, if he needed to act offensively, he was unavoidably stuck between two groups of potential threats, with no way out of the situation that would guarantee his safety. Still, the Broker had insisted that they go to that particular location - and it seemed few others had any objections, since even major villains like Purge were showing up.

And speaking of the Broker, how droll he was. Hiding in plain sight, so to speak - who’d ever guess without prior knowledge that the man working behind the bar tonight was the very benefactor who wanted to see Patriarch taken down? Or, if he considered it, the right sort of Thinker ability, but that counted toward prior knowledge regardless.

As for Raymond himself, he wasn’t especially interested in talking to the majority of people. Instead, he pondered the recent improvements to his equipment, most of which remained on his person, just in case. First, a general improvement to his armour, helmet included - it was a tad heavier, thanks to the metal plates embedded in it, but generally superior to what it had been before, and he reckoned it’d potentially save his life in the future. Speaking of his helmet, it now enclosed the majority of his head, included the same noise-cancelling effect as his allies’ gear, and furthermore possessed a sort of “video scope” - that was, an eyepiece inside the helmet’s visor that flipped down with the appropriate voice command, with a wireless video connection to the camera within his scope, letting him scope in with minimal effort or even the need to wield the gun properly.

He’d tried to convince Matrix to create a few drones to wield his weapons without needing to risk his own body. The Tinker had responded by pointing out that those drones would immediately rat him out as somebody who assisted villains, and that it wasn’t worth the money, and that if he was going to persist along that train of thought, Headhunter could leave. A request regarding particular bullets was met with less hostility, though Raymond was sure that was partially because, as Matrix explained, he couldn’t make any such projectiles at all. He’d been unable to get in contact with a more combat-oriented Cape within a reasonable timeframe, either - Arsenal would have been a great option, if he hadn’t left weeks ago.

Overall, it was an unfortunate matter. However, it wasn’t one that affected his situation. With a nod from the Broker, Jason finally started the meeting proper with his speech, followed up by one of the newer villains - was that one Sparce or Farce? - citing their assent in so many words. Drake, too, made the argument that those uninterested ought to say so before anyone made any further complaints; now, then, would be Raymond’s time to make his statement.

‘For the record,’ he said, barely loud enough to be heard to the full width of the bar, ‘and as the field leader of the Jacks, I fully intend to do what I can to eliminate Patriarch as a threat, as permanently as is necessary.’ He said this without moving from his seat, and without further clarifying what that meant. They knew damn well what it meant.