Jacob Gheller arrived at the Vaporizors' headquarters, a small remote office building on the outskirts of New Glasford. Maxine was wearing a red silk dress that outlined her figure and really highlighted her features. Her makeup was absolutely stunning. For all intents and purposes, she actually looked pretty. Much different than the usual Maxine get-up that Jacob was familiar with, the one where she wore nothing but black sweatpants and an old, dirty tank top. 

Mr. Clean too was dressed rather dapper, sporting a clean black suit with a red and green tie. The usual brooding look on his face was gone, replaced by a slight, wry smirk. It was the first time Jacob had seen any positive expression on the man's face. It looked like it was forced, like the muscles responsible for smiling had atrophied and he was trying to get them back in working order. The unnatural smirk unnerved Jacob more than anything he'd ever seen on the job.

"Gheller," Maxine said, inclining her head toward him.

"Woman," Jacob replied, mirroring the gesture.

"I want to say 'I'm glad you could make it', but this was an obligation from the Boss so..."

Jacob folded his arms, "It wouldn't kill you to be nice to me every once in a while, Max."

"Not part of my job description."

"Shall we?" Mr. Clean said, holding open the door to the HQ.

Jacob and Maxine entered, followed by Mr. Clean. The inside of the Vaporizor building was decorated with Christmas festivities; hanging fairy lights, oversized candy canes, and a giant Christmas tree in the center of it all with no branch left undecorated. The room smelled like pine and pumpkin pie. Someone must have been baking in the kitchen before Jacob, Maxine, and Mr. Clean arrived. The aroma reminded Jacob of home, and he could hardly stop a smile from growing on his face. 

By the looks of things, everyone was at this party, not just Jacob's own little group. He could spot the seven other Substance users in the crowd, mingling among the non-Exploiter members of their organization. First he spotted Daeni Hoffman and her billowing mane of bright pink hair. She was the one who ingested Substance 8, the second to last strain of artificial Exploits that the GSA cooked up before they disbanded the program entirely. Daeni was just as beautiful as Maxine was, even more so. There was something about her that Jacob always admired. She was strong in a way that was completely antithetical to him; where his strength was physical, hers was entirely emotional. She was an Empath, and a really good one at that. Jacob was glad when they brought her on the team, she was one of the few people on Earth he could confidently say he cared for.

Jacob gave a nod to Maxine and Mr. Clean before making his way to Daeni. As he approached, she saw him out of the corner of her eye mid-conversation and immediately stopped talking to whoever. Her brown eyes lit up in the light, and she smiled. 

"Well if it isn't Jacob Gheller," She said, hugging him, "Haven't seen hide nor tail of you in ages, pookie. How have you been!"

Jacob glanced back at Maxine, Mr. Clean had disappeared into the crowd, probably mingling with the actual humans that were part of the sanitary team. Maxine was talking to Theiket Abernathy, the brooding giant on the team. Him and Jacob were never that close, and given their almost antithetical Exploits, Jacob suspected they'll never be more than co-workers. They both possessed vastly different approaches to their work, but both played an equally fun part in Vaporization. Where Jacob, the Brute, preferred to get his hands dirty, Theiket worked on the mind, manipulating memories of the deceased's kin after they'd been taken care of by Jacob himself. It was psychological warfare at its finest, and Theiket excelled at it. 

When he spotted Jacob staring at him from across the room, Theiket gave a terse nod and continued talking to Maxine.

"I've been good. Work's work, you know? Everyone's gotta die eventually." Jacob said.

"Ain't that the truth!" Daeni said, wrapping her arms around Jacob, "I'm so happy you're here, I have something I've been meaning to show you."

That could have meant a number of things, from assignments to the newest and latest Vaporizer tech Darrel and the lab boys whipped up in the garage. 

"Are you still, you know, defiling dead bodies?"

"A matter of perspective, that." He said defensively.

"Well, no matter. I've got another soon-to-be corpse waiting for you. Your favorite type too," Daeni waggled her eyebrows and winked, purring the words as they left her mouth, "A pedophile."

"Woah, free eats?" Jacob's heart throbbed, but he stopped himself from getting too excited, "What's the catch? Is this a job or a personal favor?"

Daeni shrugged, "It's a favor for a friend. You know Vii from the Ten?"

The Ten. Jacob knew them well. They were one of the super villain teams that operated out of New Glasford of course, like the Vaporizers or the Animal Troupe. They had ten members, like the name suggested, and had code names corresponding to their rank and responsibilities within their group. Vii was the fifth member of the Ten, and a powerful Illusionist. Jacob didn't know they ins and outs of her Exploit, only that it was something that he wasn't particularly interested in being on the receiving end of. He'd seen the wake of her battles a few times, where the minds of her victims were torn asunder, left in an irreparable state. At least when Jacob got to people, they died. Her Exploit was similar to Theiket's in the way it utterly broke the people she used it on.

Taking this favor on could risk a bad relationship with the Ten, and that wouldn't be good for anyone on Jacob's side.

"Who's the mark?" Jacob asked, narrowing his eyes.

Daeni's smile widened, stretching to her ears, "Their father."

"What did their father do?"

"He's a pedophile, Jacob. Do I really need to explain this to you?"

Jacob shrugged, "Fair enough. Did Vii approve of this? Or the Boss?"

"Ask him yourself," Daeni said, jerking her chin and looking over Jacob's shoulder.

Jacob turned around, finding the Boss was standing right behind him, gleaming smile strewn across his face. That smile, Jacob knew, was as much of a falsehood as their value of human life. It was something the Boss never did, not without a reason. A practiced smile. Jacob had seen it only a few times before, when the Boss was making public appearances or hosting some sort of company event that needed a good public face.

The suit he wore was pristine. It was simple and black, freshly ironed just like every other time Jacob had seen him. The Boss wore a simple red tie with a miniature Santa Claus embossed at the bottom, and he kept his hands in his pocket as he spoke.

"Mr. Gheller," the Boss said, "How lovely it is for you to join us."

Jacob swallowed hard, praying that the noise wasn't as audible to the Boss as it was in his head. He put on his bravest face, a meek half-smile, and extended a hand in the Boss' direction. 

"It's a pleasure, Bossman."

Daeni coughed, drawing Jacob's attention. When he looked in her direction, she was shaking her head slowly. Jacob shrugged his shoulders. The Boss chuckled to himself and took Jacob's hand in his, shaking it.

"What's your count at now, Mr. Gheller?"

"My... count...? uh, Sir?"

"Bodies, Mr. Gheller. How many lives have you snuffed out with your nigh insurmountable strength in the last year?" He flashed a wry smile.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck. Admittedly, he'd lost count. All the targets that Maxine had given him, barring two, were incredibly mundane and not worth remembering. Sure, Jacob had a little bit of fun playing in their viscera, fooling around with their organs and blood, but none of that was actually memorable. The only fun assignments he'd gotten, the only ones he'd dedicated a space in his brain for to relive at a later time, were Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. At least those two put up a fight, everyone else crumbled like dry leaves. 

Of course, there was the possibility that the Boss was referring to his unregistered kills. Those he could actually get in trouble for. But it wasn't like he was hurting anyone important, just pedophiles. They were easy to find, and, at least according to Jacob's own personal records, in abundance in New Glasford. Everyone wanted them gone, and the best part of it all was that nobody cared if he killed them.

Nobody except the Boss, maybe. Extracurricular activities were heavily frowned upon, a lesson Jacob had to learn the hard way when he first joined the Vaporizers years ago. Maxine scolded him something fierce, threatened to tell the Boss about what he'd done to all those bodies. It wasn't his fault, his urges were hard to control. Living tissue just didn't do it for him anymore.

Jacob could feel the sweat start to condense in his palms. He withdrew from the handshake with as much grace and tact as he could muster, and shoved his hands into the pockets of the Santa suit. 

"They're um... It's... Well, the thing is, sir, and I say this with the utmost respect, but um... Maxine usually keeps track of that stuff for me. I kinda just go where she tells me to and kill whoever the target is. Nothing else."

The Boss raised an eyebrow, "Nothing else?"

Jacob shook his head once and summoned his best 'Please just believe me and leave' face that he could muster. The Boss stared at him, eyebrow raised, smile erased from his face. The Boss folded his arms and leaned back a little, not taking his eyes off Jacob for even a moment, and Jacob tried his best to stop his heart from beating so fast. But then, just as quickly as the Boss's death stare began, it was over. The Boss brought the smile back and clasped a hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Gheller." He said, walking away.

When he was out of earshot, Jacob let out a breath of relief, a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He turned to Daeni who gave him a huge, goofy grin. She blinked as she shrugged her shoulders, holding out an outstretched hand for him to take. Jacob's shoulders slacked and he hung his head, eventually taking Daeni's hand in his. She started leading him somewhere, but he was looking at the floor and not really paying attention.

"Hey, cheer up," She said, her voice light and bubbly, "It could have gone worse."

"It didn't exactly go that well, either." He said.

Daeni shrugged, "Well the good news is that I did get approval for this job, worked out the details myself, no time limit this time. Consider it my Christmas gift." She ended by looking over her shoulder and flashing Jacob an enormous grin.

"And Vii?" Jacob asked, looking up at her.

"Hey, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right? Besides, it's for the good of everyone, aren't you kind of a superhero in your own way? You like doing the right thing because you want to give back to the world. You know what we do here, we all need a little... release sometimes."

"What are you talking about, Daeni?"

"You have your pedophile hunts, I have my... well, you'll see. Come on, we're almost there."

Daeni led them to an elevator and pressed the "FL 2" button. It light up at her touch, and the elevator whirred to life, bringing them upward. The building only had five floors, the top of which belonged to the Boss. Jacob had only ever seen it a few times during those rare, full team meetings. The floor was ornate, decorated with art so expensive and anomalous that Jacob had never seen those colors before. The Boss liked his artwork.

The fourth floor was divided into three sections for each of the three sub-teams the Vaporizers had. One of those was for Maxine, Mr. Clean, and Jacob himself. The Vaporizers all worked together at the end of the day, but as with any social grouping, cliques started to form and the Boss say fit to let them capitalize on their emotional connections by giving them their own space. Daeni, Theiket, and Kara were another sub-team, while Darrel and Martin tended to work by themselves or with the Boss directly. Those two were exceptionally anti-social, except when it came to one another, then they were nigh inseparable. 

The third floor belonged to the lab boys and their massive fabricator. They cooked up all sorts of Tinker-level tech in there, stuff that was well above and beyond the conventional machinery of the modern world. There was a rumor that Mr. Clean's entourage was synthesized there, but he never confirmed or denied it. Whatever those things in the yellow hazmats suits were, they certainly weren't human. 

Which then left the second floor, their destination. This was, for all intents and purposes, a glorified mail room. Their assignments came through here and were filtered by Maxine or whoever else was on call that day before being disseminated to one of the sub teams. There was a surveillance room too, where the Vaporizers could watch the streets and business of New Glasford and study their targets from a distance. It was this room that Daeni led Jacob into.

She closed the door behind them, and Jacob was bathed in the pale blue light of the display monitors. Three of the four walls were covered with them, each tracking an individual person on some CCTV or hidden camera. There were a lot of people Jacob didn't recognize, some he did, witnesses he'd been told to leave alive after a messy Vaporization. There he saw a man he'd been meaning to kill, one Bob Dubble, meandering around 23rd Street in his underwear. He had scars all over his body that weren't there the last time Jacob caught him with his pants down. He was a witness. Someone had gotten to him, but who?

"This one," Daeni said, "Look at this one."

She was pointing at a monitor in the middle of the left wall, one that was tracking a man in his mid-forties. He was tall and had brown hair, a little bit of stubble on his face. He was smiling someone the cameras weren't picking up, apparently laughing to himself about something. His eyes were full of merry and joy, and next to him was his wife, short with a mane of flowing brown hair. 

Jacob could see Vii's resemblance to them instantly.

"That's Chris Cooper, Vii's father. He raped and impregnated them for years. Brainwashed her into thinking they liked it, pimped them out to his friends, beat them when they resisted or hid from him, you know, average incest shit."

Jacob let out a low whistle, "Why not tell me he made them do bestiality on top of all that?"

Daeni just stared at him, hanging her head low.

"Fuck, Daeni, what hasn't he done to them?"

"He hasn't killed them," Daeni whispered, "But he's gotten close. And it's not just them, pookie, there's others too. Who knows how many kids this man and his group of sick fucks hurt? A dozen? Thirty? And not to mention all the child porn that gets distributed because of him."

Jacob's heart started thudding in his chest again, "No rules?"

Daeni smiled at him, "The GSA's been tracking this guy for a while, but can't find anything concrete. Doesn't help that Vii is a supervillain either, kinda destroys any credibility their testimony has by default. Make this as messy as you want. Tear him limb from limb, and make sure you get good camera angles."

"The Boss really gave this the green light?" Jacob asked again.

Daeni nodded fervently. She was just as excited for Chris Cooper's demise as Jacob was.

"Wait, camera angles?" Jacob asked, "Do you... watch people die?"

Daeni shrugged, "I use my Exploit to feel their emotions, to know their suffering, their pain. Oh, the pain is so much fun to experience, I wish I could explain just how good it feels."

"That's pretty weird," Jacob said.

Daeni put her hands on her hips, "You of all people don't get to judge me, not with what you do in your free time."

"I— you know what, that's completely fair. I'm sorry."

Daeni huffed, "I forgive you this time, pookie, but next time I won't be so nice!"

She slipped Jacob the card with the assignment on it, then took him by his hand again, speed walking back to the elevator. She pressed the "FL1" button and brought them back down into the main lobby where everyone else was. He still couldn't see Maxine or Mr. Clean in the crowd; they must have mingled with the non-Exploiters and disappeared. Looks like he was on his own.

Daeni winked at him as she let go of his hand, urging Jacob to follow her by teasingly waggling her finger. Jacob rolled his eyes and shrugged, then he was following Daeni. She led them to the center of the building, where soft Christmas music was playing. Back at the elevator, Jacob couldn't really hear it, they must have turned the volume of the speakers down. There were people in pairs, holding each other close, slow dancing to a melodic rendition of "All I want for Christmas is You". 

Daeni entered the dance floor and motioned for Jacob to join her. He shook his head at first, but seeing her over-exaggerated frown gave him a change of heart. He joined her on the dance floor, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close. Daeni threw her arms over his shoulders and stared into his eyes. She stepped slowly to the left, then slowly to the right. A simple two-step dance that she was leading. Jacob didn't mind following.

She smiled at him and whispered, "Do you really not remember your kills, Jacob?"

Jacob rolled his eyes, "I so totally do."

"But you told the Boss that Maxine keeps track for you. She keeps track of everything, so she's good to default to when you want actual record keeping."

Jacob nodded.

She raised an eyebrow, "But you like to get your hands dirty. Come on, pookie, you've been working with me for years now and you're going to hold me in your arms and lie to me?"

"I really don't know, Daeni." Jacob admitted, "My registered is like, seventeen? But if we're talking about the actual total then... I dunno twenty? Twenty-five? That's only like, eight unregistered. It's been a slow year."

"But you'll make it eighteen registered? For me?"

Jacob chuckled, "Anything for you, pookie."

Daeni's smiled widened, and she leaned in close to hug him. Jacob let go of her waist for a moment, completely taken aback and unsure what to do next. Eventually he decided to hug her back. It was nice, the embrace. Jacob almost felt at home in her arms.

"When you kill Chris Cooper," Daeni whispered into his ears, "I want to watch."

"I know, I'll make sure it's got good angles for you."

Daeni shook her head, "I'm coming with you. I need to see this in person, too."

"Are you sure? What about Theiket and Kara? Are they coming too?"

"Just you and me for this one, pookie. It's special."

Jacob nodded, and they continued to slow dance without saying another word to one another. The music died down, the song replaced with some other generic Christmas tune that Jacob didn't recognize. He wasn't paying attention to the music or Daeni either. His mind was focused on the job ahead, the one he would take as soon as this Christmas party was over. He thought of the more creative ways he could tear apart the body, then he thought of the longest, most drawn out way to inflict pain on someone for Daeni's sake. He could have fun on the job again, for the first time in ages. 

What a wonderful present.

The Boss spoke from the DJ's booth, taking the mic and using it, "Good evening ladies, gentlemen, non-binaries and everyone in between. Thank you all for coming."

Somewhere in the back of Jacob's mind, Maxine's voice rang a snarky comment about how this was an obligation.

The Boss continued, "I have good news I'd love to share with you all, if you'll hear me."

The murmurs in the crowd died down as everyone waited with baited breath for the Boss' next words.

"This year was... impressive. One hundred and fifteen Vaporizations."

The crowd hooted and hollered for a while before the Boss raised his hand to quell them.

"But there are a few areas I'd like to see improvement in. Unregistered Vaporizations are against company regulations," He said, glancing at Jacob, "They're difficult to keep track of. I would like to see us minimize unregistered Vaporizations in the coming year."

Jacob looked around in the crowd, saw a few people muttered to themselves, some of them sheepishly looking at the floor. Apparently Jacob wasn't the only one doing extra curricular activities. A wave of relief washed over him. At least he wasn't in trouble. 

For now, anyway.

"The denizens of New Glasford have never felt safer. We celebrate our success, our co-operation, our family." The Boss flashed a huge grin and opened his arms to the crowd.

Everyone cheered, even Jacob himself.

"Again, I would love to thank you all for your attendance. Will Mr. Gheller, Mrs. Houston, and Mx. Way please see me in my office on the fifth floor?" The Boss framed the question like it was a statement. 

Jacob swallowed hard and looked at Daeni, who just shrugged and patted him on the back. She gave an unconfident smile and tilted her head to the elevator. It was time for him to face the music.

The trio met at the elevator and Jacob called it. The other two were sweating bullets. They were Annabelle Houston, one of the newer interns that they'd picked up a few months ago. Jacob had seen her and her head of auburn hair floating around the office when he was here between assignments. The other was Jeffrey Way, a short black man with thick box braids. Jacob hadn't ever seen him before, so he was either new or one of the lab boys who didn't get out and socialize very much.

It was Jeffrey that spoke first, while they were waiting for the elevator, "How many?" He asked.

"Thirteen since I started," Annabelle admitted, "You?"

"Eight," Jeffrey said.

They both looked to Jacob expectedly, but he just shrugged. He could hear them swallowing hard, and then the elevator arrived and they all stepped inside. Jacob was the one to press the button, and they ascended, a slow march to their punishment.

The fifth floor was exactly as Jacob remembered it, ornate with a huge mahogany table in the center of the room. The Boss sat at the head of the table, staring at them under the cover of shadow. The lights were dimmed, obscuring his face, but Jacob could still see the Boss' hands clasped together on the table, sitting prim, proper, and patient. 

"Please, come in," The Boss said, his voice level, "Take a seat."

The trio did as they were ordered. Jacob sat as far away from the Boss as he could and tried his best to make his knees stop wobbling and kept his hands from shaking. His heart threatened to leap out of his throat.

"Thirty-two between the three of you." The Boss spoke slowly, turning his attention to each of them, "Mr. Gheller, I'd like to congratulate you on your prowess. You seem to be taking quite a liking to Substance 9."

Jacob nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Thanks, Boss."

"You're quite welcome. Why don't you tell me it is you do in your free time?"

Jacob swallowed, "I hunt down pedophiles, sir."

The Boss raised an eyebrow, then turned his attention to Jeffrey, "And you?" He said.

"I um... I have some personal grudges, enemies. That kind of thing. Sir."

The Boss turned his attention to Annabelle, and she said, "I have to protect my wife, sir."

"Ah, noble causes, all of you. Some more than others, but noble nonetheless. Thank you all for your honesty."

The trio nodded, waiting for the Boss to continue his thought.

"I forgive you."

Then, as soon as the Boss finished speaking, Jeffrey started convulsing. His body was twitching, shaking uncontrollably. He screamed, but his scream was cut short, replaced by the sound of him choking on his own blood. Jeffrey fell on the floor, struggling to move his hands. His eyes went wide as he laid there, blood pooling in his mouth. He looked to Jacob, to Annabelle, for any sort of reprieve, but neither of them dared to make a move. 

The seconds passed like hours while Jeffrey laid on the floor choking on his own blood. Before long, the gurgling stopped, and Jeffrey's eyes rolled into the back of his head. The Boss sighed and stood up, walking around the table to where Jeffrey lay. Both Jacob and Annabelle took an involuntary step back. Jacob could see Annabelle shaking in her shoes.

"Thank you for your time," The Boss said, his voice even, his face stoic and unfeeling, "You are dismissed."

As Jacob and Annabelle entered the elevator, Jacob turned around to look at the Boss and Jeffrey. Jeffrey rose to his feet awkwardly, like he was being pulled by invisible puppet strings that controlled his movements. Jacob's heart skipped a beat. The Boss glanced back at them before the elevator closed, and Jeffrey held up his index finger.

I forgive you.