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“Super.” The man replied, humoring him.

“You’re a charmer, I’ll give you that.” He cleared his throat, returning to his topic.

“Like I was saying, the sad fact of the matter is this: you have no great destiny, Oswald. You aren’t the linchpin to anything.

You are not extraordinary and you never will be. ”

For some reason, that got Oz’s full attention. “I don’t accept that.” He retorted, feeling insulted.

“Reality doesn’t care if you accept it or not.

” The man shrugged again. “I have seen every contribution you can make to this world. Almost all of them are bad, some are nightmarishly horrible, many of the rest are meaningless, but only one or two are positive. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t involve you at all.

I would leave you here, because I find you surprisingly difficult to manage.

You second-guess everyone, you’re unstable, and I genuinely find you unnerving.

Your only use to me is that you play a significant role in being someone else’s destiny, however.

I need you only because I need them.” He arched an eyebrow.

“Are you going to be okay with that, Oz?”

Oz considered the matter for a beat.

Would he be willing to sacrifice his own destiny for someone else’s? If that someone else was important to him?

“Yes.” Oz nodded. “Yes, but I don’t believe you anyway.”

“No, I know you don’t.” The man laughed, looking amused by that answer.

“That’s one of the reasons why I find you so difficult to work with.

The others, they’ll cooperate out of vanity or pride or a desperate need for family.

All of them are looking for something. But you’re a difficult man to understand.

I have no idea what it is you actually want , even after all this time.

” He squinted at Oz, as if examining him under a microscope.

“We’ve had this conversation many times, and yet I have absolutely no idea what makes you tick.

You’re honestly the most inscrutable man in the Consortium.

” The man gestured offhandedly. “Take a man like your friend Traitor…”

“Who?”

The man went right on talking, like Oz hadn’t even spoken.

“…every time I have this talk with him, it goes a little differently, because he’s difficult to predict.

He’s a liar, obviously, so he’s sometimes hard to pin down.

His core goals and desires are usually the same though.

I understand what it is he wants and I know how to use that to get him where I need him.

” The man squinted at him in curiosity, like he was a bug in a jar.

“But you’re something else entirely, aren’t you?

You’re painfully blunt. But paradoxically, that bluntness keeps you almost mysterious.

And you don’t compromise. You don’t do what you don’t want to do, even after I carefully explain to you why you need to do it.

Because you’re always certain there’s another way, usually your way.

” The man shook his hands in the air. “I don’t understand you.

And by this point, I basically understand everything.

” He paused for a beat. “Door close.” Behind Oz, there was the sound of a slamming door.

“Scream.” Someone in the hallway screamed.

“Siren.” The alarm in the building started going off, exactly as the man predicted, but he ignored it.

“But I don’t understand you .” The man finished.

“So, I’m going to try a different track with you today, and I’m just going to come right out and ask you,” he leaned forward like a businessman trying to close a deal, “what do you want , Oz? Let’s say…

. Let’s say it’s your last day on earth and I can grant any wish to make you happy. What do you want?”

“I would…”

“You can’t wish for health.” The man shook his head, cutting off Oz’s obvious answer.

“You never change, you know that? You even answer the same innocuous random questions the same, even when they’re asked years apart.

” He tapped his finger on the counter. “So, I’ll ask again: at the end, what is it you would want from life? ”

Oz considered the matter silently, trying to come up with anything in his life he’d want.

“Lieber Coffee.” He said simply.

The words hung in the air for several moments.

The man looked confused and astonished by that.

“Of all the possible answers you could have given, that was probably the last one I was expecting.” He ran a hand through his hair, completely ignoring the fact that the germs his fingers had picked up from the counter were now being smeared onto his scalp, where they would undoubtedly reproduce and grow. “You really like coffee that much?”

Oz shook his head. “Can’t stand it.”

“See?” Prometheus pounded the table in annoyance. “ This is what I’m talking about. I don’t understand you .” He snapped. “To be perfectly honest, I’d be happier finding someone else. But she won’t have that. I know. I’ve tried.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I’m used to not being wanted.” Oz went back to looking at the trillions of bacteria infesting his surroundings, feeling sick to his stomach. “If I were you, I’d get someone else too.”

“I’m afraid I literally can’t. I’ve tried it many, many times.

She keeps killing my other candidates for her heart before they even get to the hospital fight.

Hell, before the C of C even fights the Freedom Squad.

The sad fact is, she will back you . No matter how terrible you are, no matter the ghoulish crimes you commit, or the better men I steer her towards in hopes romance will bloom, she wants you .

Every time. It doesn’t make a difference which side she’s on at the start, she’s always on your side at the end.

Which means, if I want her on my side, I need to keep you from turning into the nightmarish man I’ve seen you become.

Many times.” He pointed at Oz. “When the shit happens, I don’t want to fight her.

She’s a dangerous enemy to have, and always singlehandedly takes out half of my team, sometimes more, and it’s not even close.

She tears through all of them like a fucking wrecking ball .

…Yes, usually singing along to that very song while it’s blasting out on her iPhone at the same time she’s eviscerating scores of people I need.

Because she’s backing you. So, I have to have you.

If you’re not evil, then neither is she.

I’m going to use you like bait, to tempt a powerful enemy into becoming my friend.

…But I have no idea how to keep you sane. ”

Oz didn’t bother answering that, too sickened and horrified by how filthy this room was.

He started to hold his breath to minimize his exposure. It would probably save his life.

The man on the other side of the glass busied himself with typing something into his phone.

Whatever it was he found there, it made him start to laugh.

“Ah, that makes more sense. Sometimes you get so used to failing that you forget that things occasionally fit together without needing to even arrange them.” He held up the phone, which displayed an old ad for the coffee brand in question. “This? You want this ?”

Oz looked at the smiling redhead in the old advertisement, who was looking at the viewer like he was her absolute perfect, shining hero.

He nodded.

“Okay.” The man seemed very, very pleased with that news, now grinning from ear to ear.

“I understand you better now. You’re still weird and kinda creepy, but you’re at least a kind of weird that I can work with.

” He reached down under his chair and pulled out his briefcase.

“Congratulations, Oz. You want to be a hero? I’m going to pull some strings and call in a ton of favors and get you a position with the Freedom Squad. ”

“What, like an intern?”

“Oh, no.” The man shook his head. “Full Cape position.”

“You can’t do that. I didn’t go to the Horizons Academy. I wasn’t even a sidekick.” He paused for a beat. “Plus, I’m in super-max.”

“I think you’d be surprised at what I can do, Oz. I’m older than the gods, I’m motivated, and I’m very bored.” He met Oz’s gaze. “I can get you a position there. If you can keep it, I can get you in the door.”

“Will that help me be a hero?”

“Quite the opposite, actually. But that’s okay.

Like I said, sometimes the world is more complicated than merely ‘good’ and ‘evil.’” He flipped a disinterested hand.

“The Freedom Squad is monotonous. Depressing. Grey. It’s a really, really terrible job.

With really, really terrible people. The worst you can imagine.

And as long as you work there, every single day, you’ll feel like your life is worth less and less.

That place is going to eat your soul and kill you slowly. ”

“Why would I ever want to work there then?”

“Do you want to be extraordinary?” He waved the phone, which still displayed the advertisement. “Redheaded damsels on runaway trains aren’t going to catch themselves, Oz. You can sit around, waiting to be evil…”

“I already am, I know it.”

“Whatever, I don’t even care.” The man conceded.

“ Or you can do something with your life.” He shrugged helplessly.

“But, like I said, I don’t actually care about you at all.

I need someone that only you can bring to the table.

You’re just bait, essentially, to remove a very powerful enemy from the field. ”

Oz leaned back in his chair, recognizing that this strange man was entirely serious

“Sir, I can recommend you a good therapist.” Oz told him sincerely. “There’s no shame in needing help.”

“No, there’s not.” The man pulled a file from his briefcase. “Don’t worry, I’m about to get you some.”