He snickered as a plume of smoke erupted from his mouth. The answer was completely unexpected.

"Fair enough! Our dental is to die for, I've heard." He left out the part where Rocket's dental program also filed down the teeth of Megalopolan prisoners so they couldn't devour human flesh. He didn't want to scare Vasla. She didn't strike him as the idealistic type. "Our potlucks are good, too."

No, definitely not idealistic. She reminded him more of a lost puppy trying to find somewhere to go. If the world was going to reject her, it made sense to reject the world by joining Team Rocket.

Everyone who had been scorned by life in some way found their way to Team Rocket. From the pettiest thieves to the grandest of criminals, nobody was exempt from that fact.

Still, recruiting Vasla seemed wrong. The admin sighed as tapped his cigarette against an ash tray. Nobody deserved to join Rocket. Howard wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

"You're sure about this? It won't be a walk in the park." Howard leaned forward, his eyepatch peering out from the shade of his hat. "If you join us, that's it. No backing out. Rocket becomes your past, present, and future."

He silently hoped that she'd refuse.

"Is that worth being what you want to be?"

---

Vasla Mercer