Becky comes in to to work, they are still not paying her enough for this, and finds the application. She reads it. Lifts an eyebrow. She always wanted to be a columnist and now that Gav was not doing the job this was her chance, but she couldn't just destroy the letter, no. The guy will come back and ask and then what? It got lost? No, no, there has to be a better a way.

Becky looks left, then right, and instead of putting it in Amal's box, she leaves it in Tera's. She wants to make more money and this is her chance. She hopes they don't find out that she "accidentally" misplaced the letter. She then goes to work on her own advice column to leave in Amal's box, unsigned. Yeah, that way she won't know it's from her. That's a good plan.

It was usually a miracle when Jewell came into work (she had too many other, more important things to concern herself with she would argue) except immediately after a new issue of the paper came out. She needed to get paid, didn't she?

She waltzed into The Oracle building fashionably late (read: midday), new high heels--that she bought with the money that Amaltea had yet to pay her--clicked and clacked so satisfyingly on the tiled floor of the lobby. She and Becky wasted time in a short stare down because Becky just could not forgive the fact that Jewell had went and married the man that had shot at her. It didn't last long, however, as Becky always looked away first and Jewell was allowed to continue on her merry way, smiling smugly.

Seeing that Amal wasn't in at the moment, and therefore unable to hand over her money, Jewell needed some way to pass the time. A few minutes were passed in chatting amiably with one of the interns that did most of her work for her and didn't get more than diddly squat for it; she felt that is was nice to smile kindly upon the poor boy now and then to make up for that fact. Unfortunately, the kid was hardly able to hold up a conversation with her for long, palms sweaty and pulse racing from just being so close to her!

Bored with that, Jewell moved on over to her desk to see if anyone had left her any interesting messages. She rarely checked them but poor sweaty boy (whose name was Jose, not that The Empress really cared) had been doing her job for her quite well and there was only one item in her in box. Flopping gracefully onto her seat, she lifted the paper up and perused it for lack of anything better to do.

She was quickly sitting up straighter, frowning at what she read. "You!" She barked over at poor Jose, who, after contemplating running away, came dashing to her side in a manner of seconds.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"What is this?" She waved the paper rapidly in front of his face, too fast for him to be able to even see what it was. He waited patiently for her to hold still for a few moments before actually daring to grab it out of her hand! She scowled at him.

"Uh...it looks to be an application, ma'am. From someone named Bob."

"Yes, I noticed that. But I don't handle applications around here." Her tone was all sorts of condescending before she paused and doubt filled her next question, "Do I?"

"Uh...no, ma'am, you don't."

"I didn't think so!" Back to being smug. "Though," snatching the paper back from Jose and looking it over, "maybe they should let me...that way no more useless misfits like Becky would be hired. Do you know she hit on my husband?" eying Jose over the top of the paper.

He swallowed visibly, "Umm, no ma'am I had not heard that."

"Well she did, and now they want to let this psycho work here? I simply cannot allow it! He insulted me once and simply cannot be forgiven. Here," she held Bob's application out for Jose to take back again. He eyed her before nervously reaching out and taking it, "Take care of this."

"Ma'am?"

"What!?"

"What exactly do you want me to do with it?"

She groaned, covering her face a moment. "I don't know! Boy, can't you think on your feet? Give it to Miss Wyh or something!" Shoo'ing him away.

He didn't waste a second in fleeing the area, dropping the paper haphazardly in Wyheree's inbox before fleeing the office. He was taking a second lunch break today.

Jeff Pike just happened to be stopping by the Oracle offices to pick up the plate from the cookies that Norman's old lady had made in honor of making deadline. As he walked through, though, looking for that plate, he couldn't help but notice a sheet of ice-encrusted paper laying in Gav's inbox.

He paused there and looked at it for a moment, then back in the direction of Wyheree's desk, then shrugged to himself and tried to read it. It took some peering to see through the frost on it, but eventually he made it out.

And then, laughing for reasons that were purely his own, he shook his head and kept on going. Yes, Gav could handle that one.

It?s been nearly two months since Sharon was last sighted at the Oracle?s office. Where she?s been and what she?s been up however remains somewhat a mystery. Looking a bit bedraggled and more clumsy than usual, she trips her way inside, bobbing her head to Becky before making her way towards her desk.

For a moment she stares at the papers scattered over the surface, somewhat distractedly, until her eyes find the rejected application. Gingerly she picks it up between finger and thumb and begins to read over it. Eyes widen behind thick ugly glasses as her lips form the perfect shape of an ?O?.

?My! A supervillian offering advice?! Now that is novel, but truly a bad idea.? She sits down in her chair contemplating if there is a story behind this or not.

The ?Rejected? stamp infers that this applicant isn?t getting the job, but the confession of being a supervillian holds some promise. Of course, Bob had been mentioned before in the Oracle, and she is well aware that many of his exploits have already been documented. However since he?s back in Rhy?Din, it might be wise to keep an eye on him.

News comes in many forms, and a self-professed supervillian ought to offer up a lot of tidbits worthy of mention. If for no other reason than to keep the community at large well informed so they can potentially avoid trouble and conflict. (After all, that?s what a good reporter for a respected newspaper should do!)

Not at all sure what she is supposed to do with the rejected application, and assuming Gav has already seen it, (because of the ?Rejected? stamp in big bold letters), she decides to ?file? it away in the trashcan beside her desk. Then, before she forgets, she jots herself a quick note to keep her eyes peeled for any sightings of Bob.

About an hour later, after sorting through the two months of papers and notes on her desk, she goes to toss out the irrelevant bits and once again spies the application. Realization dawns; Amal may want to keep it on file for real, if for no other reason than to be organized and thorough. Fishing it out of the trashcan, she writes a quick sticky note to Amal asking if this should be kept which she places at the top of the application. Wandering over towards her editor?s office she places it in the box labeled ?In? that sits on Amal's desk. Yes, let Amal decide what to do with it.

Always wiser not to annoy one?s editor and chief, especially after taking a leave one hadn?t officially asked for.

Promptly forgetting all about it, Sharon heads back over to her desk and gets down to business. There are many stories on her plate which have had to be shelved due to her absence, and now she has to work double time to catch up. But first, she needs to prioritize and that may take her the rest of the day.

Things in Rhy?Din are fluid and change often. What was relevant and useful last month may well be outdated today. Sharon needs to re-evaluate, which stories to keep and which stories to shelve. Of course, then she needs to finish them! Interviews, research, fact checking, they are all part of the process and must be done before a story goes to print. Boy, does she have a lot to do!