Exchange of Realities

GV deals with the toughest challenge of any organization: New recruits stolen from the rival.

I know some of you are former heroes new to being Hands of Darkness. You’ve heard our arguments and found them more realistic than the uptight codes of our light-side counterparts, you’ve discovered the power and secrets to which we have access—or maybe you’ve just been tempted by the cookies.

So what now?

Figure out how obvious you’re going to be. Some people are rather blatant about their change to our side, but others can make the best impact by pretending they’re still good. If you can keep secrets, know how to lay red herrings, and have a gift for subtlety, you might be better off as an infiltrator. If, however, you have an aura of untrustworthiness, a tendency to overdramatize your actions, or people who already suspect you of misplaced loyalties, you’ll probably went to just make the shift and get it over with.

Which brings us to your position. You’re probably serving under your recruiter, since let’s face it, ex-protagonists are generally seen as mavericks who can’t be left to their own projects. What this means is that you’re going to need to prove yourself, first to your supervisor and then to the Powers. This is very important. Between counter-conversions, moral crises, and deaths (seventy-five percent of which are self-sacrifice to save one or more of the heroes), people like you have improbably high turnover rates. Moreover, most of these turnovers are in ways that completely mitigate the good the new recruit has done, and even set us back.

In short: You’re a big risk, so it’s time to prove you’re worth it.

Note that some ways of demonstrating your dedication to the cause are better than others. Doing so by dressing in the skankiest manner possible, for instance, isn’t a good idea. You may think it says “Watch me cast aside the old, heroic me!”, but the message we generally read is more “I’m giddy with my freedom from societal restrictions and PROUD OF IT!” In general, dramatic wardrobe replacement is seen as a (On the other hand, for the ex-magical girl, I have no objections whatsoever to wanting to exchange those godawful miniskirts for a decent pair of slacks.) And please, before you decide it is your Sacred Duty to kick every puppy you see, or to eat babies for breakfast, reconsider. Such obvious acts will mark you not as a dedicated new hand, but as a poser.

Make sure you know how your new powers work. Some of your recruiters believe in a sink or swim approach to training you, or won’t tell you about the prices that come with your powers. We lose far too many people that way; if your recruiter won’t tell you, find someone else. This is vital.

Remember these, and you’ll be well on the way to establishing yourself.

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