The organizational cultures required to sustain them would be hard to maintain in the same organization, and it'd be hard to believe that they're getting funded by the same sources without considerable subterfuge. Plus, what kind of situation could only be solved by a Division 6 response instead of a League of Triumph muster, and why couldn't the same "encouragement" motivating a villain to work as a Sixer be used to get them to play nice as Protectors?
The idea is that Division-6 basically does black ops missions that don't officially exist. Being that the Protectors are an international task force, they still have to follow "protocol". For example, if a government official from another country doesn't want them to operate there under suspicious circumstances, they are obliged to follow that.
This is where Division-6 comes in. They round up captured supervillains to do their Dirty Business, being deployed in secret (with the supervision of more 'heroic' Division-6 members) to these countries to undertake the mission. Since Division-6 doesn't officially exist, they can't be blamed if the villains are caught, as they can just use them as a scapegoat. That's just one example. Basically, they operate as a cover up to the more sensitive missions that the Protectors don't want to be seen, or can't take part in.
The reason why Division-6 members (at least, the criminals. As mentioned, Division-6 also includes members who joined willingly and are also part of the Protectors) aren't acting as Protectors is because they've usually built up well-earned reputations as criminals for committing heinous actions. Having them work as Protectors would look awfully suspicious.
Author.
The one problem I see in this scenario is that an Explosive Leash is a pretty poor loyalty-building tool. We've seen that in the Suicide Squad movie - everyone on the team starts to plan their getaway the moment they're out of Flagg's earshot. Another issue is that one could make a very good case for this being little more than slavery - and a very drastic form of slavery, at that.
This being said, the willing members of Division 6 could be pretty useful. If your world has any Legions of Doom or Brotherhoods of Evil Mutants, an established villain would be a priceless infiltrator.
Rejoice!
I recall that the Legion of Super-Heroes over at DC had an espionage squad (called, I believe, the Legion Espionage Squad) made up of those members whose powers leant themselves particularly to concealment and covert operations (Chameleon Boy, the Invisible Kid, Phantom Girl, Duo Damsel, etc).
Generally a good idea for dealing with blackwatch stuff and covert ops divisions is to avoid explosive leashes. Try and build genuine loyalty or give them something they could never get on their own.
If you are using supervillains, definitely get them something they want but could never get easily. It's positive reinforcement that's more likely to get them to come back if you ask.
A explosive leash just makes them more likely to betray you. Like incredibly more likely.
I previously asked what a superhero organization as an international task force would be like
, now I'm asking what the more secretive part of it entails. For more details on the Protectors, read that topic.
I created his subdivision of the Protectors recently. It takes heavy influence from Blackwatch, as well as Task Force X. This is a branch of the Protectors that doesn't officially exist and the fact that it does is classified not only to the public, but also Protectors without high enough clearance.
The idea is that they take part in things that the Protectors wouldn't want to do publicly. From things like kidnapping, torture, assassination, blackmail, and other such matters that are thought that only the bad guys would do. There are those who are offered to join and do so willingly, liking the freedom that it gives them because they can operate in secrecy. However, one of the big factors is that they also recruit captured supervillains to do their dirty work, going on highly dangerous and/or politically sensitive missions. They do so in-exchange for commuted sentences and the ability to see the world (you get pretty stir crazy in prison). To keep them in check, they naturally have an Explosive Leash to make sure they don't try to escape. If all goes wrong, it's an easy guess as to who will get the blame. This branch is currently named Division-6, though I don't know if it will stick.
You can imagine why it's secret. A sister branch to an organization that presents itself as The Paragon that takes part in dark matters thought only to be done by bad people, and they round up supervillains to work for them? That wouldn't sit well with a lot of people, including members of the organization. While it might seem like a villainous thing, this sort of duality runs through my story, as no one is perfect, not even an organization that supposed to the epitome of good. Sometimes, you have to do less-than-good things for the greater good.
So what do you think a sister branch to a organization of superheroes that takes care of Dirty Business would entail? I would like to hear your ideas on the matter.
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