Yes Boss, Sure Thing Boss, Anything You Say, Boss!

Taking a moment to process the fact that a minion proverbially fell into his lap, though if he isn't careful she might try to physically do so as well, his mind comes back to reality when Jonathan gently pokes him to get his attention.

"Um, d- Ahem, shouldn't w-we go get everything started?" If no one acknowledges what family-related word Jonathan almost said, he might not become too self-conscious. He already has become a little bit embarrassed though, as a free action. He doesn't have to worry though, Lucas certainly didn't notice.

"Oh, yeah, right. Whole reason we're here, an' all. Uhh, it's not like we're gonna need you around right away, Clara, so I uh, guess... We'll call you?" Being as smooth as ever, Lucas doesn't entirely realize the implication behind his statement.

Clarissa, however, has immediately started rummaging through the fateful purse to get her phone as fast as is physically possible, for her at least, trying not to give him a chance to change his mind.

Once she has it out and unlocks it, she deftly navigates over to her contacts list, starting up a new entry and entering "Boss Xenoclast" in as the name before tapping into the field to enter in the number, looking up at him expectantly.

"Sure thing boss! Whenever you need me, boss! I-I'll send you a text right away so you know it's me!" As she enthusiastically consents, she's practically shaking while waiting to get his number.

'...Oh shit.'

[I was waiting to see how long until you realized. Good job walking right into that one.]

'...At least getting called 'boss' is pretty great.'

[...I'm sure she'd be more than happy to call you boss whenever you want, as often as you want.]

'Dude, that'd just make me a creep. Why's she gotta be a kid, this just isn't right. I don't even feel right jokin' 'bout it.'

[Fair enough, I do believe we can comfortably agree on no crude jokes involving minors. Practically everything else is still fair game.]

'Uh, yeah.'

"Ah... Uh, right. Hang on a sec." With no route of escape, Lucas pulls out his phone and coughs up the coveted string of numbers, promptly receiving a text comprised of '1' within seconds of her saving it. Trying not to outwardly show his displeasure, he begrudgingly enters her into his own contacts list.

'...Does she need to hang around to fill anything out to be added as an employee, er, minion?'

[Established, influential, organizations don't need to have the party involved present, but a small no-name certainly does. Once you're sufficiently acknowledged, any high-ranking member can make roster changes as they see fit, regardless of the other party being present. I suppose if they tried to mess with someone who is also notably influential, the DVO would refuse to follow through without their clear consent.]

'...Bah, that makes sense though.'

"Well, uh, give us a few minutes to get everything set up then, and you can fill out your share..?" Not sure how to ask her to give him some space so he can do his paperwork in peace, Lucas settles for just being awkward.

Through a twist of fate, she even cooperates.

"Oh, of course, uh, I'll just wait over there then..." Pointing at and then walking over to sit on a bench set near the wall, similar to the one that featured Miss Masher's story-time, Clarissa actually grants her idol some personal space.

Turning to face away from her, Lucas heaves a sigh of relief before looking around for the check-in kiosk. Successfully locating it, once he heads over with the others in tow it turns out there's a piece of paper taped over it with a sloppy "out of order" written on it, and no alternative in sight.

'Uh... Guess I just... Go to one of the bots then?'

[...There aren't very many other options.]

'Instructions unclear, got... eheheh'

[...With the way you started laughing, I do believe I'm happier off not knowing the rest of that sentence, nor the story behind its source.]

'Yeahhh... Probably.'

Fighting back an external chuckle as he amuses himself with an old meme, Lucas leads the way over towards a silently waiting service bot. Once they've gotten a bit of a distance away from Clarissa, who is currently giggling at her phone while lost in her own little world, Miss Masher picks up her pace a bit to walk directly next to Lucas.

"...What was her deal? And why does her voice seem familiar?" Keeping her voice low so as not to be overheard, Miss Masher can't wait any longer to ask her burning questions.

'...Crap.'

[...We both know that outright lying won't do you any good. All you can do is downplay the truth, I suppose.]

"I uh, had a bone to pick with a dude that just so happened to have stolen that very purse she's carrying. Who knows why she interpreted it like she did. You know her voice from the video I showed you, she was the one that recorded it. Shit, she might be recording me again, why didn't I think of that sooner?" Answering Miss Masher in an equally low voice, Lucas freezes for a moment when he makes his realization, resisting the urge to turn his head and look at her to see.

After making a drawn-out 'oh' of understanding, Miss Masher looks thoughtful for a moment, slowing down to let Lucas take the lead once again.

'Well, is she?'

[Not yet, she's starting it up now, so have fun and try to act natural.]

'Fuck. Weirdo'

[The start of your organization is no small matter, it may actually be amusing to look back at the recording in the future.]

'That doesn't make it any less weird!'

[...Ah, she's not merely recording it. She's live-streaming it, and there are actually viewers showing up for it at a surprising rate, too. Oh shit, incoming... Bzzt.]

'Wait... What? ...Oh.'

Both Lucas and Jonathan flinch for a moment, both of them doing their damnedest to resist their desire to turn and look out the door to confirm their suspicions.

-----

Lucas kills this chapter: 0

Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas deaths this chapter: 0

Lucas total deaths: 10

Lucas current GDV: 9.02 (+.01 net change)

Lucas's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 1.5* (Only highly paranoid people)

Jonathan kills this chapter: 0

Jonathan total kills: 5

Jonathan deaths this chapter: 0

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 2.01

Jonathan's fame level: 1.75* (Just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 1* (Only highly paranoid people)

Supervillain social circle size: 11 (+1 Clarissa! Surprising no-one!)

-----

Little character theater:

Jonathan, even more stressed out than Lucas is from the doubled invasion of privacy, yet needing to outwardly ignore both: La la la on our w-way to s-start our or-organization and there is to-totally n-nothing strange going on, la la la. (Internally crying.)

Willy, tail making a leisurely wag of general contentment, now confused after noticing the slight freeze in movements from Lucas: Bark?

Lucas, significantly stressed out, but not in quite the same way as Jonathan is: Damnit, I want to look cool, but I can't make it obvious, what do I dooo...

427, having an easier time staying quiet than previous times, but it certainly still takes effort not to sigh.

Author, happily waving: Hi Mikah! I'm allowed to notice him in advance without it being weird, mwahahhah!

Mr. Quacks, eagerly awaiting greeting his hordes of fans at the grand opening of the organization: Quack!