Of course, you need to eat

Or eat something else than rice, maybe.

The gig was just a grunt job, helping move boxes and installing scaffolding, and - as per the actual, real contract Jinx had me sign - strategic posturing and villain brand advancement assistance , or as I'm actually naming it: Just being a plain grunt, and standing there looking mean - or trying to.

The curious thing: I didn't meet any other grunt, just the other members of Jinx's team. I confess, I'm more up to date with the names and faces of the female heroes - and villains - in general, so I could be forgiven for not knowing the faces of Jinx's team. Because I didn't know the male Teen Titans either. So I was introduced.

One of them was a really short guy, totally bald, tinkering with various gadgets and machines. My new boss introduced him as Gizmo. I steered clear of him, I knew how asocial IT people could be.

The other guy was the total opposition. A veritable giant, hairy as a bear, a ginger. Mammoth, figures. The first thing he did when I met him was hug me and welcome me to the team. Told me to ask him if I needed help with some of the grunt protocol. I asked him if there was a uniform, to which he, with a sad face, told me that they lost the last ones they had when their last crew was imprisoned. I had thoroughly read the contract that the pink bandit had forwarded me , and apparently legal counsel was part of the workers comp' included in the contractual package, so I rested a bit easier signing. I didn't know villain crew work was better insured and paid than my previous, 'honest and legal' workplace. Things looked great.

Won't bore you a lot with details, I had a good first day moving boxes and clearing debris from an abandoned maintenance shaft for god knows what in the outsides of the city, but - again, as per the contract - I was paid not to ask questions. Most of the actual work I was actually able to do, was mostly covered by Mammoth, who could lift in each one of his arms the boxes I had to use the hand truck. Even so, he just smiled at me an waved every once in a while. Why was this team of Jump City villains currently in Gotham City? Who the fuck knows.

the only hiccup happened right before lunch, when I accidentally overheard Jinx and Gizmo arguing in a side tunnel I was setting up some lights on.
"How much longer are we staying in this crud-damned city!?" He spat angrily while stomping the ground
"I thought it was just while you had your spat with your girlfriend and then we were back to business as ush"

"I told you she's not my fucking girlfriend!" She had yelled at him, clearly affected by the comment. "She made that perfectly clear"

Gizmo seemed to calm down some. "Yeah Yeah. sorry. I know. But that's over know, so why are we still here? I thought you'd want to distance yourself some"

"Something else came up" Jinx said, too quickly "But I promise it's not much longer, I just have to .. tie some knots"

I heard nothing more, as in that moment Mammoth came looking for me to break for lunch. He seemed to be the main driving force of work in this team.

While I was wondering how we were to procure some meals so far away from any bistro as we were, when Mammoth opened a large lunchbox he pulled out of one of the crates and brought out a couple of plastic containers and some plate. Some gourmet shit.

"Wow, homemade food!?" I didn't even try to contain my excitement. This was the main reason I was here.

Mammoth waved me over to sit in the folding benches we had brought with us and set up in a circle with some warm LED lights to emulate a camping ground. He then proceeded to dish out the plates with the content of the tuppers.

"I'm the one who usually cooks" explained Mammoth "But this time Jinx insisted that ... " He couldn't finish the phrase when a couple of arms with impressive strength grabbed me from behind and ... pulled me into a hug?

"C'mon big guy, don't spoil the surprise" She then presses her - I could describe it as barely existing - chest to my back. I couldn't really see my attacker, but she was speaking almost directly to my right ear. This was pretty stimulating. I was about to have a conniption.

"I wanted to apologize for invading your home the other day, so i decided to entertain you with some of the local cuisine of my home country" She said this sultrily to my ear, again "Because I know you can appreciate some good rice, made some Murgh Kari with basmati rice"

What. The. Fuck. Is going on. Don't mind me, I can go for some great homemade food any day, but why is Jinx, a super-villainess, preparing me homemade dishes and hugging me like a lovesick teen?

I was handed a plate by a confused looking, but still smiling Mammoth. Gizmo didn't come to the camp, he was still tinkering away in some robot or other. I figured he'd eat later, at his station.
Jinx didn't stop hugging me while I ate, she seemed happy to just watch me eat. She just took a sniff from time to time, must be hungry.

When I finished my first plate, she immediately asked
"So!? how was it? did you like it?"