A Winding Road to Revenge

A Dumpster Fire Called Home

After dinner most people migrated to a room they referred to as the 'Den'. Despite being an open area in the middle of a warehouse, the worn furniture, various LED lights and neon signs made the Den feel surprisingly cosy. Several people were lounging around - drinking, chatting, playing games of darts, pool, and cards. There was a big screen on one wall that was quietly playing some old sitcom, watched by a small audience.

It all felt so welcoming.

Zetta had seemingly given herself charge of him because she took him by the arm and pulled him onto the sofa next to her. It was a well worn sofa and he found himself sinking far into the cushions. Shaun pulled a chair over, along with the dark green haired guy that Luke had seen Rowan talking to earlier. He leaned forward and offered Luke his fist. "Leon, he/him."

"Luke, um, he/him." he replied, bumping his fist. Leon gave him a nod and then flopped back in his chair to talk to Shaun.

"How's your head doing?" Zetta asked.

"It's alright, it hurts a bit." His cheek was itchy and burned a little. His head throbbed but only if he moved it around too much.

"Reckon you're going to have a wicked headache when you wake up tomorrow." Luke formed a grim smile. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." Zetta looked over at the far-right corner of the room where he noticed there was what seemed to be a makeshift bar area. "Aila!" A short girl with long black hair turned around. "Anything new?"

Aila waved a hand in acknowledgement and ducked down to search through the bottles. She then made her way over with her chosen drink. "Can I interest anyone in a swig of-" She squinted at the bottle- "some kind of off-brand Buckfast?"

"You can count me out." Rowan had appeared behind the sofa he and Zetta were sitting on. She made her way round and pulled over an old leather armchair. Once she'd sat in it with one leg swung over the other, Luke decided she needed some sort of fluffy pet to stroke to complete the supervillian vibe that she was currently displaying

"Suit yourself," Zetta replied, taking the bottle from Aila's outstretched hand and taking a swig. She screwed her face up as she swallowed. "My god, that's awful!"

Rowan gave Zetta a look of 'told you so'.

Zetta went to pass the bottle to him before pausing. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"None for you then," she said, leaning over the coffee table to pass it to Leon. Luke just stared at her with his brows furrowed. After her initial reaction he hadn't wanted any but now he felt a little put out. "What?" she exclaimed at his look. "I might have a criminal record but I still have morals - you're too young."

"Trust me," Leon piped up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're not missing out."

Luke gave a shrug of agreement and then turned back to Zetta. "So if you aren't allowed near the paperwork stuff, what do you do here?" he asked.

"Zet just gets her boobs out and bullys people into telling her their secrets," Shaun said. Luke thought he would be joking and let out a breath of laughter but a look over at Zetta suggested otherwise.

"Really?"

Zetta just laughed. "Flash your cleavage, give him a kiss and a man will tell you almost anything. Honestly it's concerning."

"Especially considering they are allowed to run countries," Aila commented from where she'd settled on the floor next to Shaun's chair.

"Hey, I don't think that's quite fair."