[IC] The Wards: A Grimdark Teenage Superhero Story

[The Man Emperor]

Constellation

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:13 PM.

Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

Oh, hell no.

Thelonious scrambled out of the taxi, still unable to believe that he got late for the first day of actually going out as one of those kids in the Ward Program. This was one of the better things that had happened in his life so far, and somehow, he couldn't get wake up early enough just to get here on time. The exact situation that surrounded the whole affair of oversleeping was a bit inane, and yet at the same time a bit believable, given that Thelonious was just a 17 year old kid, albeit one that could make orbs of starlight at a whim. Truth is, the newly installed air-conditioner did its job too well, and he slept as sound as a baby, as the cold air kept him pretty drowsy and very comfortable in his sleep. When he woke up, he felt like one of those animals that just emerged from a frigid winter into the resplendent glory of spring; groggy, absolutely slow, and positively still wanting for more. To make matters worse, his own parents had pretty much forgotten to remind him the day before, so it was in the middle of having breakfast that he realized that he had to go to the PRT headquarters at this particular time, instead of the usual times.

"Hopefully they don't get too mad at me for being a little late in here." Thelonious muttered to himself as he walked up the sidewalk and into the entrance of the headquarters. The building was a pretty imposing structure, easily distinguished from the other structures around it. Of course it was, since it housed the people with the most important jobs in this whole town. Protecting the people from rogue parahumans and villains was quite the burden to bear, and something that should demand proper payment and recognition. At least they are supposed to.

Stepping inside the building proper, Thelonious finally got to the reception desk, which had this nice lady on, just like almost every reception he could remember. "I'm a concerned citizen. I'm here to hand over a sapient angry tinkertech sugar ant that I found twerking."

"You're late," the lady said, smirking slightly. "Alright, go on in."

---

Sure enough, Thelonious walked through the hallways.. and heard the voice of the director filtering in from his office. Apparently they were having the briefing of the situation now?! Oh this is bad, very bad!

Thelonious, or as the more formalistic know him, Constellation, half walked, and half stumbled into the doorway. "I am... so sorry," Thelonious said, his voice quivering. "Am I not too late?..."

[LostDestiny]

---

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6-ishPM
Location: Somewhere on the streets of Redline -> Redline PRT HQ

---

Lito hadn’t realized how late he was until he had caught a glimpse of the time from a clock inside a shop. The redhead did a double take before running off muttering to himself. Luckily he wasn’t too far from the PRT headquarters so he didn’t have to run long. He had managed to get a shower earlier in the day and had put on his cleanest clothes in preparation to being around other people. Though he was still all around disheveled, his hair a mess and his clothes wrinkled to high hell, not that he cared too much about his appearance. His backpack with all his belongings bounced along on his back as he ran.

He reached the PRT building in no time, and spent a minute admiring it before he adjusted his backpack and finally entered. He seemed to be just behind another individual who was already at the receptionist deck. They looked to be about his age, if he took a guess he would say this was likely another ward. At least he wouldn’t be the only one who was late. It would take some heat off of him for sure, that was if he was correct. Lito hadn’t paid too much attention to the other person and rather admired that interior of the building with a blank look.

Lost in thought it took a moment for the receptionist to get the young male’s attention. “Oh sorry um, I'm a victim of crime. I'm here to complain that my overpriced blender has been chipped by a mysterious unnaturally competent woman in a suit.” The words felt odd leaving his mouth. It was a sentence he for sure had never formed before. But the receptionist got the message. “Another late one, go on in.” She motioned for him to continue on his path, presumably in the direction the male before him had gone. So he was right, he wasn’t the only one who was late. For some reason this calmed him down a bit.

He quickly walked down the hallway until he was almost on the other boy’s heels, though he realized how close he was and backed off a bit. A voice floated down the hallway to the two and they headed toward it. Though Lito wasn’t sure the person in front of him even knew Lito was behind him. He watched as the brown haired boy almost stumbled through the door and calmly followed behind him. “Sorry, no watch on the streets.” He finally spoke up after the other asked if he was too late. Though he was apologizing there was no sign of remorse in his voice, it was monotone at best and no emotion touched his face. The only signs of nervousness was Lito rubbing his wrists above where the shirt sleeves ended. A nervous tick he had developed only after his trigger event.

He carefully scanned the room somehow avoiding eye contact with each and every cape clad person in the room. It was almost a skill at this point, avoiding eye contact, he even avoided direct eye contact with The Director. He did shrink back a bit at the number of people in this room. He was a loner, this many people made him more than uncomfy, which of course made his wrist rubbing even more vigorous.

[yoshua171]

_{^{Caiden McKay
Crosspoint}}

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022; 6:08 PM
Location(s): Redline, PRT Headquarters

---

---

As the others smothered Rachel in compliments and thanks, Caiden’s gaze shifted slightly as a feminine voice pulled at his attention. With that same easy smile on his lips, the teen’s demeanor no less relaxed in costume than it had been out of it, Caiden glanced Aaliyah’s way. A single eyebrow raised as he gave her a once over before his gaze shifted to some of his other teammates. He liked what he was seeing as, despite the fact that some of their costumes had clearly had more thought put into them than others, none of them were something he’d find himself embarrassed to stand alongside. Furthermore, they were all eminently flattering, a fact that made itself clearer as Aaliyah spoke up again, this time deliberately pulling his attention towards her. This time he kept his eyes firmly fixed on her face as he took in her words, processing the interest in her tone. “I’m glad you think so,” he replied, his tone containing the same degree of subtle emotion, conveying that he found her words flattering.

“It’ll be nice when we’ve got the time to share,” he said, his features slipping into a slightly more coy smile as he leaned his head back slightly and let out a small laugh. However, before curly-haired Aaliyah could engage him further, the sound of something weighty made itself known. Raising an eyebrow, Caiden turned his gaze to the entrance to the girl’s changing rooms where a veritable mech was emerging. His brows raising, he found himself momentarily speechless even as the others responded to Jane’s arrival. Reading the room, and taking in a few of the other costumes in greater detail he noted that their other tinker had outfitted herself with a quite formidable quantity of pouches and holsters, clearly in preparation for any number of gadgets she might possess in the future–near and far. If he was being entirely honest, he enjoyed Bev, Aaliyah, and Jane’s choices the most, though he found Will’s costume had solid presentation as well.

Then he heard the sound of something falling and immediately took several steps in that direction. However, before he could do anything, Will had–surprisingly–reached out to help the falling Bev, who appeared to have rather suddenly fainted. Caiden’s mouth opened slightly as his expression shifted from serious and back to one of faintly startled amusement. It seemed that some of them had been significantly more impressed by Jane’s rig than others. As with other tidbits he’d picked up over the last ten or so minutes, he filed that bit of information away for later.

With Fashionista quickly moving to help the younger boy, Caiden decided that things were well in hand and so turned his attention back to Jane’s mech for a moment. After a brief inspection, he nodded his head, satisfied, before he moved to follow after Fashionista, having processed her brief explanation of their costumes. All the details matched what she’d more or less told him when they’d been working on the outline for it a week or so back. Donning his mask well before they ended up amongst the other PRT employees, Caiden filed in alongside the others as they crowded around the Director for their briefing of the situation.

By now, given the seriousness he’d detected in the mannerisms of their two superiors–along with the fact that they’d all suited up–Caiden had surmised that his earlier assessment had almost certainly been wrong: This was serious. That fact excited him far more than anything else, as despite the worry for himself and his teammates’ wellbeing he just couldn’t wait to let loose for once.

So it was that his thoughts were confirmed as the Director’s words washed over all of them. As the man went back to his work, Caiden found himself grinning slightly even as he tilted his head to the right and gave Aaliyah a sidelong glance. “Well Gress,” he began, a sort of pleased mischief in his tone, “...it looks like it’s time to dish eh?”

With that said, Caiden let his mind flash through his surroundings as he’d seen them in the previous moments before he focused his intent on the space some feet above his person. A coiling prismatic luminescence spiraled into existence in that spot before it expanded into the shape of a blade and then solidified. “The short of it, is that I can manifest these blade projectiles near myself and then launch them with a certain range of specific properties.”

The blade, still hovering in the air where it had formed around 3 feet above his head, began to spin slowly. He met Aaliyah’s gaze–or attempted to at least–and continued. “I can dictate their durability, speed, and the nature of their trajectory. Ah…and before launching them I can control them telekinetically, as you can see.” He laughed slightly before snapping, the blade vanishing into thin air as he did so.

“If I’ve got multiple blades already fired, I can use them to create fields of pressure to damage or restrict the movement of anything within. So there’s that to watch out for as well. What about you?” He aimed the question at Gress, curious of the precise nature of her power–especially given her keen interest earlier.

[canaryrose]

Carmen, too, stood in awe of Jane’s incredible costume. She went slack-jawed, gazing up at the very tall suit of power armor. Jesus, that was so cool. Bev, though, seemed to think it was even cooler, because she promptly tumbled onto the ground like some sort of Victorian woman taken by the vapors. Carmen blinked, staring dumbly at the situation while Will and Ms. Rachel managed to get the Tinker back onto her feet. She had half a mind to ask Bev if she was okay, but other things were on her mind- understandably- as they walked back into the main room to confront the Director.

He looked… Carmen couldn’t quite figure out how he looked as he told them what was going to happen. Not afraid, but he wasn’t confident in them. Not at all. The revelation wasn’t unexpected, but it soured her mood, making her wring her hands. Maybe the others didn’t know what they were doing after all. Could they be just as clueless and weak as her? If so, they were all about to meet a grisly end- or at least get stabbed. If she got stabbed- no, if she even had a broken bone, her mom would make her quit before things even really got started. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? She didn’t wnat to be here. But despite herself, Carmen started thinking of possible ways they might succeed. She had been to the museum on class trips once or twice, but didn’t know the layout as well as she’d like. And this was such a big team, so many powers to balance… she looked at everybody else, assessing. If they wanted to succeed, they’d need to work together.

Carmen turned her gaze to the door as it clicked, surprise appearing on her face as two more faces walked in. She thought she was the last one! Neither introduced themselves. Both looked to be much older than her- in line with the others, she supposed. One inquired about being late, while the other looking to the side, seeming uncomfortable. She could relate. But that didn’t matter much to her right now.

She watched Caiden’s performance with a degree of fascination. The other boy thoroughly intimidated her. His smile hadn’t gone unnoticed earlier, but he still seemed so scary. His tone was always biting, his words smug. But his power was cool as heck. And complicated. The uses, though! She might have to speak with him about it after all this.

Carmen cleared her throat, electing to say some more about her power.
“Car- V. Again. Um. I already kind of explained the basics, but I do object conjuration. They said I’m a Striker, but a really weird one so it’s not important… I just got them a bit ago, so I’m not too sure, but my power has a sort of limit, I guess. The amount of energy conjuring an object takes depends on the specificity of the creation, how much I need it, and its complexity. And size. Sometimes. You’d think specificity and complexity are the same, really, but they’re not, complexity just means making something as complicated as a computer would tire me out but specificity means the more I specify, like, for example, I want a mauve fuzzy scru- oh. That’s not relevant. Sorry! I can’t make things that I can’t visualize exactly and my objects disappear within thirty minutes to a few hours-” As she was speaking, Carmen’s scrunchie disappeared in a sudden burst of smoke, her curly hair floating around her shoulders. “Gah! Oh, sorry…” She hurriedly conjured and put it back up again. It was green, now- she hadn’t cared about the color. “Sometimes, if I don’t specify, it kind of just makes things up. And as for me, I’m, um. Nothing special. I’m not strong, I’m not a good fighter… I can run fast, and shooting a gun and tasing people are pretty self-explanatory, right?” Carmen finished her garbled speech, shifting on her feet.

[Crusader Lord]

Aurorea

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6-something PM.

Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

Redline PRT Headquarters, her destination...finally!

Whilst the paperwork issue had not stalled her much, thankfully, traffic had been another matter altogether when she'd been inside of the taxi. The trip had been long, the time she had short, but to pass the time and avoid getting too antsy she'd begun to try to talk to her driver. An older, easygoing, friendly, and even-tempered gentleman who was rather familiar with Redline named Gus. His grandkids were going to be visiting for Thanksgiving, and coming back for Christmas later in December. He'd been driving taxis for over forty years, and hadn't left it since he enjoyed the stories and conversations he could have with those he was driving around. Wife had died fifteen years ago from a form of throat cancer due to her smoking habit, and it was enough to get him to kick it for good himself in the aftermath.

By the time they had rolled up to the PRT Building, she'd found herself enjoying talking to the older man. Yet with the sight of the building and the taxi pulling over to drop her off, Eleanore found heart racing as she looked over to the taxi's clock. She was late! Not too late, but very late anyway!

"Thank you, Mr. Gus, but I must be leaving now! I'm late!"

The elderly man simply tipped his flatcap at her in return with a knowing smile as she hastily got out of the taxi cab, her bag with her mask in it in her right hand, and rushed toward the building. Her prosthetic leg would make its usual 'click clack' as she hurried along, almost overlooking the relatively imposing and grand stature of it before she ran in to the reception desk. What was that phrase agai-...ah.

"I'm a victim of crime. I'm here to complain that your mom has been hypnotized by the League of Door to Door Salesmen into planking in the post office!"

The receptionist sighed for a second in response, but silently motioned for her to go on in deeper into the building. Her eyes could likewise catch a glance of a boy heading deeper in as well. Ah. She wasn't the only one to arrive like this, was she?

Eleanore lightly grimaced for a moment, before giving an appreciative but quick nod to the receptionist.

"Thank you, mam! And sorry!"

With that, she could take off running down the hall after what actually seemed to be...two boys?!

...

Arriving with a smaller delay after Lito would enter the room, Eleanore would find herself amidst the throng of other Wards. The girl then reached to pull out her mask, holding it in her hand, before looking about at the others. Apparently they were already both in-costume and not. Wait, was that power armor? Was that also a floating blade in the air for a moment there? Things were also getting a bit crowded as well from her angle of things as well. That and she boy she'd followed seemed to be shrinking away some and rubbing his wrists.

She would, however, at least speak aloud to the room to make her presence properly known.

"Apologies for being late, the traffic kept my taxi from getting here quite on time..."

[Duoya]

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:13 PM.
Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

---

---

Will managed to keep Bev up long enough for Rachel to rush over and help him, the aid almost instantly relieving the burden that the boy was carrying.

'Note to self - never carry anyone, people are heavy as hell...'

Rachel quickly made sure that the younger girl was alright, and as soon as Bev found her footing, Will backed off. Not only was she heavy, but she was tense enough that Will was starting to hurt from supporting her... Well, at least Will wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable here so far.

"Hope your blood sugar is fine - I'd offer gum, but I keep that in my 'not about to die' suit..."

As Rachel spoke up again and began to lead the teens away, Will felt anxiety prickle his skin. And as they rolled up to the Director, this feeling was justified as he confirmed Will's worst fears.

An attack on a museum. Of course. He pinched his leg to see if this was all some bad dream, but Fukuda kept talking, much to Will's chagrin. In only 30 minutes or so, all the Wards would be headed straight to a crime scene, and have to fight someone. Fukuda didn't bother to include the details of their assignment, either because the precogs that predicted this fight didn't know, or because he was allergic to keeping people informed. It was probably for the best though - Will was already grimacing under his helmet.

Near the tail end of the mission briefing, two more people walked into the room - presumably even more Wards. The Will of a few minutes ago might have been disturbed by how many children were being thrown against criminals, but now he couldn't be happier. The more kids there were, the less likely he'd be targetted - that was just basic probability. And since these kids seemed to follow the trend of nigh-adults, maybe this wouldn't be too terrible.

After all, the Wards were supposed to be an under-18 group. If 90% of the team graduates to the Guardians by this time next year, then Will might luck out and this whole thing gets dissolved!

Of course, that's assuming he survived this encounter in the first place. And with the new arrivals, a desperate idea started to come together. As Caiden, Carmen, and the other Wards began to converse about their powers, Will walked up to the Director, who seemed to be trying to make progress on some paperwork.

"H-hey Mr. F. Not sure if you forgot to mention it or anything, but it seems like I'm going to be coming along for this mission too."

Despite his attempt at a nonchalant tone, Will's voice hitched slightly. He managed to get it under control as he continued, however.

"I mean, I can't really throw fireballs or lift a car or anything - I think unless there's a hostage or something, I might just be dead weight... so uh, maybe I should stay outside the museum with the cops. Y'know, until I'm needed or something."

Will barely noticed Eleonore enter the room as he spoke, but he used that to his benefit all the same.

"Look, at this rate, we might need two school buses for the field trip! So I, uh..."

Will frowned a bit under his mask, noticing the Director's face as he spoke. He leaned in slightly and lowered his voice, just above a whisper.

"I just don't think I'm really needed around here."

Everything he said was true, but it was hard to tell where the insecurity ended and the cowardice began. This plan probably wasn't going to work, but the directors wouldn't be able to force him to fight. Worst case scenario, he'd go in the Museum and run around like a dipshit until Overclock and the other Wards did all the real heroing.

Yep, just keep thinking like that, and this will all be over in no time...

[Blizz]

______________________________________________________________

Striding out in front of everyone and standing over a head taller than the taller people in the team, while they had costumes and she had a veritable tank with legs was an interesting feeling. Ever since she got her powers, Scraprig's mind had been full of ideas pertaining to things that were like this suit. Heavy, imposing machines where she was the computer running them. The arm she had built for herself fit that, considering it weighed at least 30 pounds on its own, but seeing the shock and surprise on the faces of her fellow Wards was almost as gratifying as putting on her costume. Bev's fainting gave her pause, but the Vice-Director and Gray Man had her covered. Everyone else's costumes were just as damn good-looking as the one she had under the several-ton coffin she was piloting right now. Hearing the explanations of everyone's powers, a few of them really stood out to her. Crosspoint had some kind of blaster power that gave him shaker-like control over a spot if he put enough swords in it, and V- what the hell did you even classify that as? Striker?

In the times Jane spent at the library between scrounging for crumbs and building freakish tech, she logged a lot of hours on Parahuman forums looking into all manners of cape knowledge. Strikers made things happen by touching something. Based on what V said, she just made things with no major stipulation. It was a weird kind of power, she heard about others doing the same thing where they produced objects- they really needed a 13th classification at this point- that had their own rules. If you specifically produced only guns, were you a Blaster? Whatever, she thought, it was weirdly complicated, and Jane didn't like weirdly complicated things. There was other shit to worry about. An attack on the museum wasn't good. Why there? She wasn't the most tactically intelligent person, but who attacks a place full of cape history unless they're just pissed? It didn't add up, but if they were going to attack, then obviously someone had to be there to do something about it.

So, naturally, the kids got to do it.

"Well, I got this thing-" The radio-conveyed voice said as the machine's arms deliberately moved in a presenting gesture. "It's big and heavy, takes some pretty big punches. Not much else it does, so- you know, just let me handle that? Pretty much a Brute cape when I get in this thing and it's built like a tank. It doesn't really do a lot more, unless you hide behind it so you don't get shot." If nothing else, Jane was at least somewhat less squirrely inside her robot. Maybe it was the fact that she looked like she could punt Gaia across a football field like a sack of potatoes. One damn day...

"So- the museum, huh? Who's gonna attack it? Are we all that's there aside from the security around the place? Is- Is anyone coming? Do we get backup?" She sure as hell hoped so. Honestly, she hoped the Directors would answer all of the above. If it was anyone who turned everybody into arsonists again, that would've been a dealbreaker right then and there- it would've been just like those guys to do that- and she'd go right back to the junkyard. Overclock had experience, but he already looked like a total hardass. Not the most leader-like dude she's met. Not that she met many leader-like people, but impressions mattered.

"It's not just us...right?"

[Mintz]

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:14 PM.

Location(s): Redline Guardians Mobile Fortress

---

---

They both made good points, of course, and both made a fair observation; there was no guarantee that the danger would be greater for either scenario, given the team was running blind either way. Still...For as much confidence Presidio could place in the rest of the team, Risen wasn't quite sold, either. Naturally, the two of them made obvious choices for going with The Wards, having what he would consider primarily defensive and utility-based abilities, which would serve well in safeguarding the untrained talent that would be those children. But, of course, that left the rest of the team mostly unprotected....

There was Jason himself, of course; he didn't worry about his own safety. Some may say he never does...Or maybe never did. Regardless, he was the least of his concerns. But the rest? Fenris was tough, sure, but she could be pierced by bullets, and the sizes where she'd be too big or tough for normal assaults to be a risk were out of the question due to how it can affect her psyche. Blaster's a competent young man, and not entirely unprotected with his self-designed suit, but it could still leave plenty to desire if he was put under serious duress. And TC? Well, that was hard to simply guess; you can never pin a single thing on him with a Power like his, but generally, physical confrontation would end poorly for him.

There was supposed to be that newcomer, Avalon...But Risen hadn't heard from her since he hauled her sorry ass back to talk with the Director. That had been a miserable experience. Back on track though, the facts were straight; his team, if pushed hard enough, could prove all too vulnerable without these two around. That was risky...He was fast, sure, and could stop just about anything coming his way, but there was no guarantee he could defend all of them while trying to actually put down the threat at hand.

...Well, still, he knew it was best for The Wards. Regardless of general defenses, their absolute lack of training and experience left them more vulnerable than anyone on this team bar none. They needed protection.

"I agree, you two are best suited for the job. From the little I know about a few of them, it won't be the easiest to work together with them, but I'll put my faith in the both of you." A small smile came from Risen; a rarity to be certain. It dropped shortly afterwards though, as he now turned his attention back to Blaster and the monitors. "See if you can contact Trump Card again. If he doesn't pick up...I'll look for him myself." The look in Risen's eyes spoke a thousand words...Likely none of which TC would want to hear. With a brief nod, Blaster started up the comms once more, for....What was it now, the tenth time today? Sheesh.

---

---

Downtown Redline, filled with the scum of the city, as well as the disenfranchised. Usually, the two aligned more than anyone would like to admit...But, of course, we aren't here to scour the shady snow-filled alleys or view into the sad windows of the poor few making a honest living. No, there's a different locale in mind....

From the outside, you'd be forgiven for thinking The Devil's Eye was just any ordinary dive bar - with, admittedly, a pretty fancy name. However, behind the curtained windows and worn-down door, it was a hive of villainy. Quite literally. The Devil's Eye had always been a spot of interest for criminal enterprises in the city, even before Parahumans were on the map. Really, the only thing that'd changed over the years is that instead of mobsters and thugs, you had mobsters and thugs with superpowers. It made for a nondescript location for the ne'er-do-wells of the city to meet and talk (thankfully with some quite threatening enforcers to ensure the peace of the small infrastructure), away from the prying eyes of citizens or the PRT. Which....Made it quite odd that a well-known hero would choose to spend his time here.

Enter Trump Card. He kept his heroic attire simplistic, but snazzy nonetheless, with a stylish white domino mask, an equally pristine yet loosely-kept white dress suit that ever-so-slightly exposed his chest, black dress pants that were cuffed off (presumably to avoid the potential embarrassment of tripping on them), silky smooth violet gloves, and last but not least, his polished-to-a-shine velvet dress shoes. Truly, he looked more like he was dressed for some gala than for hero work. Still, it certainly gave him a presence....Presence enough to avoid unnecessary scuffles even in an establishment such as this.

He straightened out one of his golden locks, as Richter was laughing it up with two others, undoubtedly Capes; specifically, Rough & Tumble, an infamous(ly embarrassing) pair of 'villains' who were, more often than not, laughingstocks. That of course didn't stop them from getting lucky breaks every now and then, causing their fair share of trouble in the city. Rough was a lanky guy, which mirrored humorously with his more rotund companion. In comparison, TC was a bit more average in terms of build...Though he certainly had them beat in the looks department.

"Ah, you two're a right riot! Ever considered getting on the telly?" Richter was being absolutely sarcastic, but it wasn't like that occurred to either of these two. "Pfft! Nah, pal. We got the skills to pay the bills; we just gotta make some real players realize that first, ya dig?" The scrawny 'brains' (hard quotation) of the operation spoke up with his rat-like voice, getting a nod (was it a nod? Hard to tell with him, frankly) from Tumble. For his part, Trump Card merely offered an assuring nod.

"I can feel ya. It isn't easy hitting it big, is it? Ah, well..." His casual, playful demeanor changed sharply to a more serious edge, though somehow not coming across outright threatening. "You two know how this plays, yea? After the last stun you lot played, Pops PRT isn't gonna let it set. And, well...You know how it is." A few other patrons spared a glance towards this conversation now; perhaps slight concern on this hero's sights being turned towards them? Or perhaps confused on what exactly these two bumbling buffoons did to receive such direct attention? It was hard to say, but eventually, they all turnt away.

"H-Hey, man...We're pals though, aren't we? Maybe just let us slide this once?" A wily, but equally scared grin now graced the face of Rough, plying for any kind of mercy. TC just sighed. "This'd be, like, the third time, ya blighters. But hey, don't take it too personal; just business! 'Sides, if you come in of your own accord, it'll be a lighter sentence. Ain't like you two murdered someone. Whazzit ya did again? Stole some dumb necklaces from a jewelry store? For God's sake boys, you can at least try and think bigger..."

Rough groaned. Not like anyone in the Eye would stand up for the two of them, and as tough as he though he was....He knew better than to really piss off Richter. That's what had founded this strange friendship anyhow. Tumble just had to open his big fucking mouth though..."...This about us scuffing you up the last time?" The flash of irritation was unmissable even behind the mask, and his voice showed it too. "Course it is, ya twit! Unlike you two, I have some reputation to uphold. Gettin' run over by a living wrecking ball isn't part of that image..." Rough just gave his partner a sharp jab with his elbow, though it barely elicited a response from the nigh-spherical man. "Well, if we gotta walk, we will, but uh....One more drink, for the road?"

His attitude shifted back, all smiles and sunshine once more. "Aw, why not? You blokes're my pals, one way or the other, jails bars or no. 'Sides, not like I got much better to do tonight. Oy, bartender! 'Nother round for my table!" It was of course, at this time, he could hear that incessant buzzing in his ears again; another goddamn call. Could they seriously not trust him for thirty minutes? This time, the one groaning was him. "Aight, don't wanna hear a word from either o' you while I'm on call, you hear?" A sharp glance is shared between himself and the two C-List villain, who nod vigorously in response. Reluctantly, he picks up the call...Which, unbeknownst to him, is reaching the entirety of the Guardians. He's just lucky The Devil's Eye is pretty quiet, all things considered.

"To what do I own the pleasure, O Glorious Leader?" Those present could visibly see Risen's eyes narrow, however subtle it was. "We're getting called in for a mission." A long silence followed, with the only confirmation that he was still on the line being the screen itself saying so, until he spoke up once again. ".....And?" "From the top of the chain. The Director."

"...Aw, fuck. Fine, I'll get back, alright?"

"It'll be within the hour. If you aren't back in twenty minutes, I'll pick you up myself."

....Well, the Glorious Leader sure knew how to put a damper on things. A 'tsk' escaped from TC, unable to conceal his irritation. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be there, ya cunt. No need for a bloody curfew." With that, in spite of definitely hearing Risen ready to reply to that remark, he hung up and turned his attention back to the two twits before him.

"Sorry lads, duty calls. Still don't mean you're off the hook though; if you aren't in a slammer by the time this sitch is up, y'know what I'll hafta do, yea?" The pair of them nod all-too-knowingly, to which Trump Card gives a grin, playfully patting them both on the shoulder. "Grand! Well then, I'll be off; you two oughta enjoy the night before that deadline." With that, without having to raise a finger, Trump Card had snared up two eventual villains for the PRT's cells. Simple enough; ought to get that bastard Fukuda off his back for a moment, at the very least.

With that, begrudgingly trotting his way out to the sleet-slick road, he called an Uber. Like hell he was walking in this weather.

[Akayaofthemoon]

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: Redline PRT Headquarters Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6-ish PM Interactions: A lot ______________________________________________________________________________________

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"And now we got some kinda energy sword deal? Feelin' a bit outta my league at this rate!"

”Hey, don’t say that! I’m sure that your power and skills are just as amazing as anyone else. Everyone has something to contribute, you just have to learn how to apply it to a situation.”, Aaliyah said, trying to give the friendly girl some encouragement. Half of prepping for anything, a battle included, was believing in yourself and not ready to give up so easily. She was about to add more to her comment when another voice popped into the conversation drawing her attention to Cameron and taking in her hero look in all its glory. Honestly, it had her debating if she should have added some more color to her own outfit. It was too late for that obviously but she could admire the design and creativity of someone else. The more that showed up in uniform, the more impressive this group appeared than it had with the massive amount of teens chilling in a conference room. It made it feel all the more real and a tad dangerous which started nervous jitters but also keen excitement. It dwindled a tad as Rachel spoke, the weight that this was protection but still limited. She shook it off, determined not to let any fear leak in until the situation was before her. She would not let herself have a fear of the unknown. They could do this!

“It’ll be nice when we’ve got the time to share.”

No one really had time to speak though and she certainly didn’t have a chance to reply with the grand and over the top entrance of a literal tank walking into the area with Jane’s voice coming out of it. It was legit cool as hell but maybe too much so as the girl next to her swooned, full on passing out style swooning. Aaliyah was too stunned to react in time to help in any way before Rachel and Will were on the case to assist but she was impressed the girl didn’t wake back up with a bloody nose from the sudden excitement. It was enough to make her have to hold back a chuckle in an otherwise serious moment since they weren’t exactly sure what they were about to do. That fact even more so driven in by what the Director was explaining to them as they had a location and were walking in blind. That was at least something she was used to, going at a situation blind and having to think on the fly to get to the ultimate goal.

"I am... so sorry, am I not too late?...", a quivering voice spoke out from the back as the Director spoke, causing her attention to turn to the back but with her stature and the large crowd of other teens, it was hard to see who was exactly talking. It was obviously someone who hadn’t made it to the conference room earlier. Couldn’t say she blamed them for the nervous tone of voice since the whole situation could be intimidating and being late meant all eyes on you or more attention. “Sorry, no watch on the streets.”

If the voice hadn’t been so clearly different, she would have thought it was a continuation of the first, explaining why they were late but this voice held her interest. She wasn’t the only one who had been on the streets then. It made her hopeful to have someone that could kinda understand the situation she had been in. It was unfortunate that they were so far from her position. They all had a chance to meet and catch up later though and who was to say they would want to talk. That was a disappointing thought but often those things happened. She had been more in her fair share of situations with an aggressive person, telling her to get lost from their spot. Heck, maybe she knew them? No, that wouldn’t be right since she didn’t really know any other powered people until just now. In any case, that was best left for later and needed to focus back on the mission at hand. It didn’t take long to prove that some people were just bound to be late as another person just into the fray but this one much more feminine in town than the last two. "Apologies for being late, the traffic kept my taxi from getting here quite on time..."

Even with the slight disruptions, the Director finished his speech to them. It was good that they would have a bit of time to show off tricks, see the potential in combos before directly figuring it out in battle. She almost didn’t catch the last part with her queries on the new members of the group but Caiden’s words would have made for great clarification.“Well Gress...it looks like it’s time to dish eh?”, the tone mischievous but still enough to bring a smile to her own face since she got to know more details about the powers she had viewed earlier. That also meant she would be able to share her powers like he had mentioned before. Hearing the full details of his powers laid out though was not only intriguing on their own but it opened up a wide range of possibilities when combined with hers. They could make some pretty awesome trick shots if they played it right. “What about you?”

She was about to respond but held off when Carmen…wait V, Aaliyah corrected herself since they were in ‘hero mode’, she really needed to get used to that, went ahead next to further explain her powers instead of just the quick show from the conference room earlier. Her power really was fascinating though she shouldn’t be surprised they would want the best though from whatever list they were given to work with. “Sometimes, if I don’t specify, it kind of just makes things up. And as for me, I’m, um. Nothing special. I’m not strong, I’m not a good fighter… I can run fast, and shooting a gun and tasing people are pretty self-explanatory, right?”

”You are kidding right? Nothing special? I don’t know why you would think that way when you have such a uniquely awesome power. As I said earlier, we all have something to provide and you were chosen to be here right? That is half the battle right there to show you belong here and have the potential. Anything you don’t know, you can learn right? So try and believe in yourself a bit more.”she said with gentleness before turning her attention to Caiden.

”Oh, um, and to answer your earlier question, I can create two interlinking portals of various sizes for the transport of people or objects but the longer I hold it open the more complications can possibly arise.” Aaliyah explained before a purple glow started in mid air before ripping open in two places, creating a portal before her as well as one behind Caiden which she stepped through, closing the one she left from. ”However, with some creative thinking, I’ve learned to use it for offense instead of just evasion and defense…._{even if I’m not the best at the timing just yet}.”, she added, removing her portals so each was one above and below the other, pulling out a penny from the last bit of money she had shoved there and flicking it into the bottom portal to watch it continuously free fall for a few passes to gain a bit of speed before switching the top portal to a blank wall so the penny would shoot out towards it. ”So yeah, that’s the simplified version anyway.” It wasn’t long before it kicked off the next person's turn so to speak, turning back to the goliath metal form before all of them.

"Well, I got this thing—-It's big and heavy, takes some pretty big punches. Not much else it does, so- you know, just let me handle that? Pretty much a Brute cape when I get in this thing and it's built like a tank. It doesn't really do a lot more, unless you hide behind it so you don't get shot."

Aaliyah definitely felt safer with a literal walking tank around but it didn’t seem like everyone agreed since Grayman spoke to the Director, trying to more or less to persuade/convince him that he was not an asset to the mission. She could understand his concerns being a little more…vulnerable than most with the power traits she had seen so far but did he have so little faith in the team that he didn’t trust them to protect him? It seemed though that some were in agreement with Grayman’s thinking as Scraprig spoke up next to voice concerns about going at it with just the group. Aaliyah probably looked physically confused and about to facepalm when this occurred because…literal tank? How was this the second one to get nervous about the unknowing aspect of what they were facing? If they didn’t have someone with precognition in the first place, this would be the norm. Besides, it seemed logical that they would have some guidance from someone that has been around the block who could be a leader until someone rose up to the position themselves. Panic leads to failure, that is what she had learned in the past. You have to keep a cool head and face the unknown without giving in to the tempts of fear that it builds. ”All of us will have each other’s back and I doubt that we are going to go in without some kind of authority figures when some of us are lacking full combat training.”

[Mintz]

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:14 PM.

Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

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Huh. Newcomers? Now? Couldn't have chosen a worse time, frankly...But the more the merrier, especially now. One of them he was quite happy to see, Eleanore. Sure, just like the rest, she had...Complications, but her Power was quite impressive. No surprise really, given the circumstances of it, but still...The other two weren't anything to sneeze at either, but they couldn't float and tank high-yield explosives without a scratch on them.

Fukuda found his attention snatched away by one of the kids approaching him already, barely seconds after he had spoken. Great. And it was Wilbur. Great....He sat there, his expression unchanging and unflinching as he absorbed the information Gray Man presented, all the way up to his eventual plea; one he saw coming from him, of course. By the end of it, the only break he made was a sigh, one of the many he had made since the beginning of this mess.

"Listen here, Gray. You may not explode things with your mind or throw someone across a city street, but that just means you've got something much scarier." He caught the young man's eyes, locking them into a near glare-off, as he continued quietly, trying to preserve at least a bit of the boy's self-respect in the situation. "You get in someone's head. You make people play by different rules. That's a weapon that can be more dangerous than any gun, or knife, or whatever the hell else, if you use it right. And you can." The Director spoke with...Strange confidence in what he spoke of, confidence that no doubt Will would find unwarranted. "Not every problem's solved by smacking the shit out of them, or trapping them with weird gravity swords, or what have you. This team needs someone who can problem-solve not just with their head, but with their Power. That's you."

With that, Atsushi leaned back in his chair, a smug look growing on his face after such oddly inspiring talk. "...So the long and short is that you're going, and you'll have to suck it up. Your alternative isn't much better anyhow....Besides, put a bit of faith in the others here. If you can work with them and figure things out together, I think you all won't have nearly as many problems as I'm sure you're thinking of."

With that, his attention turned to the rest of these gremlins, specifically Scraprig, who bombarded him with a bunch of pointless questions again. Leaning back in, a spark of irritation could be caught in his eyes as he spoke up once more. "Like I said before, and as Gress just mentioned, you won't be going in without some experienced back-up. A few members of the Guardians are going to be there as well, so....Just try not to stress out so much pre-mission, alright? As for the rest...Lightning round."

Taking in a breath, the Director spat out a spattering of answers that would hopefully satiate the paranoid Tinker long enough to actually get her out the door...Or at least long enough for her to decide to head downstairs to the 'Proving Grounds' that his Vice-Director quickly renamed.

"The museum, yes, no, we don't know who - or what - will be there, and yes, PRT forces will be accompanying and providing damage control and assistance where possible."

Not waiting for a response, he whipped back around, returning to his main focus; paperwork. Eugh....Just a couple more pages to be prepped, and then he can get around to more useful things.

[Duoya]

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:15 PM.
Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

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Will didn't really expect much to come out of his half-hearted plea to be left behind, so the rejection from Fukuda didn't do too much to his anxiety. Still, even with a helmet concealing his grimace, most could probably tell his disappointment at the fact that he would be accompanying the others. The confidence that the Director spoke when it came to Will's ability to use his power was probably the only reason he was able to still make snarky comments.

"'Not every problem can be solved by smacking it', huh? I agree with you there, but this definitely seems more like a 'smack it' problem..."

It felt strange to be complimented on his power. Will had despised it ever since he Triggered only a few weeks ago. It forced him to watch everything he said to avoid mastering someone, nearly sent him to super juvie or wherever they send superpowered psychos, and every time people learn about it he's treated like a leper.

...But the fact that the Director seemed so sure that Will could help out - that feeling of usefulness. It felt... nice.

"Guess you're right Mr. F - I can have faith in the team to do the heavy lifting. I mean, one of them has a mech, so heavy lifting is pretty much their main schtick."

An exaggerated shrug, followed by mock realization.

"Hey, think they've got a gift shop? They might give us a discount for saving their Wax statue of Guardian, or whatever shit they have there. I'll get you a Trump Card T-Shirt, lil' souvenir."

Before it could be denied, Will snapped a few finger guns Fukuda's way, walking back to the group of Wards as he did so. The anxiety that was building up in his gut was fading slowly, much to Will's frustration. He was talking to the director as a way to weasel out of this mission, not so he could actually get reassured.

That guy was better at his job than Will thought.

"...run fast, and shooting a gun and tasing people are pretty self-explanatory, right?"

As he came up to the others, Carmen was finishing up her description of her abilities. Will only caught the last bit of her speech, but latched onto it so he could make his way into the conversation.

"Yep, pretty self-explanatory - point and shoot. You'll have some problems with recoil and aiming isn't easy in a situation like this, but you don't have to worry too much about wasting ammo with your power."

"Just, uh, wear something for the noise. That's how you get tinnitus."

Even though Will sounded confident and experienced with firearms from how he spoke, he was mostly spouting bullshit he heard in movies and video games. He had fired a gun exactly once in his life, and only the last bit of advice came from that experience.

"Well, I got this thing- It's big and heavy, takes some pretty big punches. Not much else it does, so- you know, just let me handle that? Pretty much a Brute cape when I get in this thing and it's built like a tank. It doesn't really do a lot more, unless you hide behind it so you don't get shot."

Will nodded his head, grinning slightly. While the tinker suit Jan had made initially made him feel terrified and massively inadequate, he now realized that it was probably the best way to keep himself safe in this mission - as long as Will kept it in eyesight, he could just run behind the hunk of metal whenever someone tried attacking him!

"Really liking that last part, will keep that in mind. Just, uh, how does that thing handle stairs? Don't want to be under that thing if you pull an ED-209, y'know?"

The lack of laughter made Will blush a bit in embarrassment, and he muttered inaudibly under his breath.

"...That's a Robocop reference..."

Thankfully, the director spoke up to address Jane's concerns about guidance on the mission. While he certainly didn't like the fact that they didn't know who was attacking a Museum (or why so many capes were needed for the mission), the fact that they had even more backup was incredible news. Not the capes - the Director already talked about them. No, the big news was that PRT forces would be here as well.

Will was never big on the cape scene, but he knew that most weren't immune to bullets or Containment Foam.

Fukuda whipped back to his paperwork, and Will's usual obnoxious confidence was slowly starting to come back to him. He turned to the late arrivals and gave them a quick appraising look. One of the guys was short enough that Will initially assumed that he was actually on the younger end of things, his disheveled appearance and lateness seeming to imply that he slept in... Well, Will couldn't really judge someone for napping in the afternoon, that's pretty much what he did every math class.

The second guy, on the other hand, was tall and somehow paler than Will was. His wrinkled clothes and heavy-looking backpack either meant he was the anxious and overprepared type or, more likely, he was like some of the other Wards and didn't have the best home life...

The Girl was a bit harder to get a read on. Her appearance wasn't as disheveled as the boys, and the prosthetic leg gave him the vibe that she was more of a noncombatant, like Will... Or she could shoot death lasers, or could read the future, or something else crazy like that. This new girl and Jane should get close with Morie - she might be able to give them their limbs back, and Parahuman healing usually costs an arm and a leg.

Snickering under his breath at his unfunny joke, Will took a few steps towards the new arrivals, beckoning them over.

"Hey there you three. Glad we got some more company for this thing - can you believe we're doing a mission on our first day? I think those kids working in coal mines hundreds of years ago had better receptions than this."

"I'm Will, by the way - we can save introductions for after Rachel hooks you guys up with your costumes, but just felt like throwing that out there."

Will could feel a small pressure build in the back of his head, but it was small and barely noticeable. He didn't know if these three had already gotten their earpieces yet, so he was pushing his power down. Being late left these three a bit out of the loop, so Will was giving them a bit of an in - after all, if he walked in on a bunch of costumed freaks and a mech suit, he'd wish someone was friendly to him.

...Of course, he was also being nice to try and get in their good books, before he dropped the whole 'I brainwash people' thing on them. Just because Will was being nice didn't exclude him from being a selfish asshole.

Turning to the rest of the room, Will kept up the same energy and continued monologuing.

"So any of you guys ever been to this Museum before? I was going on a field trip there back in middle school, but me and my friends ditched it."

July snuck a 40 from her step-dad's liquor cabinet, and Will had gotten so shit-faced that he nearly fell off the school roof. Just remembering it made him smile - things were a lot more simple back then.

"Would probably be pretty nice to know the layout. Entrances and Exits, choke points, ambush spots - that kind of thing."

And where the safest rooms to hide are.

[Mintz]

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:17 PM.

Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

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Gosh, could she have been any more embarrassing? It was only after Rachel helped her up that she finally realized what she had done; as if she couldn't be more thankful for her costume, she was ever-grateful for how the mask hid the redness that lit up her face for a time. Luckily for Bev, it seemed like everyone was more interested in moving past that little incident, as they began to make their way back out to the Command Room.

As Fashionista ushered the group back, they found themselves seated once more, and finally they got some explanation on what was going down; an attack on the Museum of Parahuman History, though the perps were still unclear, and it didn't feel like Mr. Director intended on telling them about it...If he even knew. However, Beverly didn't do a great job hiding her excitement at the prospect of the museum. She remembered going there a few times as a kid! Even once for a field trip, although she didn't really like having to be corralled everything...Still, maybe this was a way she could help! Beneath her mask, the Tinker scrunches up her face, willing back as much as she could remember of the building and its layout.

Before she could actually speak of what she recalled, however, Fukuda spoke his last statement quite pointedly towards Workshop herself and Jane. Right! She'd been in such an awkward mood in the moment that she'd grazed over what Ms. Rachel had talked about, some kinda proving ground of sorts. Sounds like some sort of place to work on stuff, and given her complete lack of gear...Yeah, she'd definitely have to go down there sooner than later, though her thoughts, and eyes, turned back to the metal-clad Tinker nearby. Try as she might, Bev couldn't think of what she could really do to improve or augment her neat suit in this kinda time frame...Granted, Bev's made crazier in shorter time, and she didn't really know what made the other girl tick, so...She dropped that line of thought as quickly as she could, hoping not to make her mind run laps like it always did.

Before she knew it, the rest of the group got chatty, getting into the nitty-gritty of their abilities as best they could. Even though Bev really wanted to interject with her lame, yet practical advice about the building, a combination of natural politeness and a certain measure of eagerness to understand their tricks kept her silent, quietly absorbing the information as best she could, pretty much gluing her eyes to whoever was happening to speak at the time. Gosh, they were somehow even crazier than she thought! The guy, Caiden, could make crazy energy swords he could shoot, pin people with graviturgical fields (she was definitely interested in that part), and even telekinetically control them under a short range! It sounded crazy effective, and super flexible. Then one of the other girls (it...Was Ally, right? Probably...) started speaking up about making portals! Holy crap! Even if it wasn't 1:1, having something comparable to one of the greatest Capes in the world was nothing to sneeze at, and yet again Bev was thankful the welder's mask could hide her slack-jawed expression taking that all in.

Carm-Wait, wait, that's wrong! Hero time! V also spoke up, though it was all stuff that Workshop had mostly guessed after seeing it in action; temporary duration, based on the complexity and specificity of the desired items, and given they marked her as a Striker, probably a very short range on where exactly she can conjure up these objects. Still, that left a lot open to imagination, so she couldn't help but nod along as portal girl reaffirmed the potential of her ability. Well, speaking of, there was finally a lull in chatting, beyond Will walking back and chatting to - wait, how long had those people been here?! Talk about awkward, not even noticing them until now. Sure, things have been hectic, but she didn't think it was so bad she'd miss three whole new people! Especially the new girl; how could she miss her? She had this sorta elegant air about her, and was awful pretty to boot. Though the prosthetic leg brought a slew of invasive questions into Beverly's mind, which she had to desperately try and push down. Still, now actually noticing the newcomers, she pulled her mask up with a smile, waving to them cheerfully, before turning back to the group; she probably would need to head down to that Proving Grounds place soon, so she'd have to be quick about it....

"Oh! Uh, well, 'fore I go where Ms. Rachel was asking for me to head to, I guess I oughta contribute a bit, right?" She gave a bit of a nervous laugh, awkwardly brushing the back of her bushy hair to relieve some idle tension. "When it comes to what I do, well...I-it ain't super self-explanatory, so, um...You'll hafta wait and see!" With a more comfortable-sounding joking giggle and wink, she pressed onward. "Still, that don't mean I have nothin' worth sayin'! I've been to the Museum a few times, so I can tell y'all a bit of what to expect!" She beamed, proud she could at least do this much...Even if a map from the place's lobby could've done the same as she would.

"So, uh, it's got two real big floors! There's stairs, a'course, but there's also an elevator near the backs of the Tinker and Guardians exhibits, respectively. Hrm, what else....Well, there's a restroom on each floor, an' I know the first one's near the lobby-place with the big ol' Guardians statue! Er, I know I got more..."

Rubbing her temple as if trying to massage the thoughts out of her head, Beverly seems to hit something as she fires back into conversation. "Oh yeah! There're tons of exhibits, and explainin' them might be helpful! May even give us an idea what someone may be after, I guess...There's the Tinker one, but I'm pretty darn sure all the tech there is all deactivated or junk. Guess other Tinkers might be able to do somethin' with the stuff there?" She shrugs, clearly unsure of her statement, but at least spitballing a possibility.

"Uh...There's one for the PRT, but..." Leaning in almost conspiratorially, she whispers to the group "Personally, that one's kinda borin'..." She pulls back, with a bit of a grin, but it isn't long before she launches into it anew. "The Guardians exhibit has some cool memorabilia stuff, but I don't think any of it'd be worth much...But I guess that place would also just be a good one to smash up if they wanna send a message, y'know? Er, beyond those two....I mean, there's the History of Parahumans interactive exhibit, but there wouldn't be much for anyone to do there, I think...Oh! There's the Herald exhibit! But, uh, beyond the cool animatronic models, there isn't really anythin' worth messin' around in there for..."

Seeming to think hard about this again, her face seems to darken at her last prospect. "There's, uh...The Seven's exhibit, but...I don't really wanna think about anyone who'd pop in there with ulterior motives." Beverly openly shudders at the possibility, not eager to elaborate. Honestly, she always found it kinda scary that they had their own exhibit. But in the end, she guesses that they're a pretty big deal in Parahuman History...Just not the good kind. "That's about all I got, I think. Hope it helps! But, uh, I should probably head away and do me some Tinkerin' if I don't wanna be dead weight. Y'all better let me in on all the cool plans and stratagems ya come up with when I get back!" With a grin, she hopped from her seat, happening to pass right by Ms. Rachel herself as she comes up the stairway.

"Oh! There you are, I was just about to come up and get you two; I think the Proving Ground is as ready as it can be, so if either of you need to do some work before it's time, now's your chance! Just try not to make too much of a mess in there, alright?" A faint giggle escaped the Vice-Director's lips as Workshop nodded eagerly. "Will do! I don't usually make too much of a mess, but I'll be sure to try extra-hard!" Just as Beverly is about to gallivant off downstairs, however, Fashionista catches her for a moment longer, a bit more serious. "Oh, and before we have you all head out, we'll need to double-check your work and ensure it won't be too dangerous. Just a general precaution, really, but I'm sure you'll do fine." The soft smile of Rachel gave the younger Tinker a small shot of confidence; much-needed for what was to come. "Thank ya! I'll be sure to not try anything too crazy!" And with that, Workshop was off to do her namesake, with what little time remained...

But for the time being, the Vice Director approached the newcomers, doing nothing to hide her clear pleasure at seeing more of the kids arrive. "I'm glad you all could make it! Even if the circumstances aren't great...Well, regardless, if you don't remember me, I'll say it again. I'm Rachel Elton, the Vice-Director of the Redline PRT. I also happened to be the one making all the fantastic designs you see before you!" She gave a smooth motion to the group at large, all clad in their Cape attire, all of it gorgeously made and, of course, made to last. "Speaking of that..." Her gaze turns to the two boys, Lito and Thel. "I suppose you two need to get suited up before you drop yourselves into the chatter here. Follow me, please. Oh, and before I forget..." For a moment, Fashionista's attention turned to the young lady amongst this trio of latecomers, stepping forth to meet Eleanore face-to-face. If only for a second, it feels like there's palpable tension in the air...Before Rachel breaks into a mocking pout, with an equally joking huff to match. "I know you're too good for little old me and my designs, buuut..." Shifting from her jesting demeanor to the same gentle smile from before, she pulls out Eleanore's personal card. "...You'll still be needing this for things other than my stellar Cape designs. Now you should get in there and introduce yourself while I handle these two."

With a wink, Rachel turns her attention back to the not-so-dynamic duo. "Alrighty, follow me! We'll get you two looking like heroes in no time!" With a twinkle of glee in her eyes, the Vice Director begins her jaunt back to the Changing Room with two newcomers in tow. Seems like sooner than later, things were going to be going down...

[Blizz]

That was... a lot of people. Jane was inside a 4.78-ton hydraulic monolith, whose existence was dependent on forces beyond the collective understanding of everyone in the room, and she was starting to feel uncomfortable by the number of people filing into the bunker. Jane wasn't used to be around a crowd, and it was just generally a lot of things to keep track of, someone says something between conversations directed at her, and she might not notice and end up getting on someone's nerves. Or maybe someone asked a certain question she didn't feel comfortable saying, and then Jane would have to think of a way to say, "it's none of your business" in a polite way in front of everyone. She hadn't even been here for a whole hour, she didn't expect that she'd even be touching this robot for another week. At least she wouldn't be going in alone... right?

And of course, the Director was at least a little bugged that she was making absolutely, crystal-clear certain that things would go over smoothly. And then everyone started going into powers after her... Teleportation, holy shit. They basically had Gatecrasher on their team. Maybe they'd make it out alive long enough for Jane to see where the nearest warm, insulated bedroom would be. What were they doing before she got spooked? Oh- right, the Proving Ground. Jane hauled ass very careful there in the suit, clunking down the stairs with what sounded like quiet thunder from far-off clouds. She was here for weeks at a time, slowly building her rig up from nothing as entire days went by in minutes, and until, now, Jane didn't consider other tinkers using it. It wouldn't be a problem, necessarily, but what if the other girl asked about her arm? What if she asked to look at it? That nervous feeling of being out of her element came back again, right up until she opened the doors to familiar territory.

A huge workshop full of everything multiple tinkers could ever need for any of their tech. Jane hadn’t built and kind of special tools for things yet, but she could if she had the need for them. The junkyard she lived in had ample materials to salvage, but everything was either molded, rusted through, both, or home to one or more colonies of insects. But here, the condition of materials wasn’t a concern. Jane could make damn near anything as long as Rachel said it was okay.

She hobbled over to a sectioned off portion of the floor marked with yellow-black hazard lines- something she recommended during construction of the suit for safety. Jane positioned the rig so it was inside with enough space for people to walk, and a loud hissing noise signaled the back plates unraveling as she climbed out, and stepped to the ground in a thud. The suit reoriented into a stationary pose as Jane rummaged through stuff in a set of drawers. She pulled out a notebook and a pencil that she left there, and started frantically scribbling things down about the internals. Things like, “mag-wheel 2B sticky,” “relayer consistency in orange,” and “needs more gain.” These were things that sounded like an alien language to most people, and likely other tinkers as well, but they were like second nature to Jane. Notes for the mechanical monster that she would use for fine-tuning the little things. It was still fully functional, of course, but tinker tech was rarely perfect.

Jane then quickly pulled off the right gauntlet and clamped it into place on a table. Jane then ran across the room to a metal container and removed something from it. It looked like a ball bearing with a mandala inside of it, and when she slid it into an indentation on the gauntlet’s surface, it began to spin. Jane slid the gauntlet back on, feeling it connect to her arm, and the arm felt looser. It was a rusted stick held together my geomagnetic forces and esoteric alien brainpower, but with the strange disc attached to an outer shell, Jane could feel the rust smooth over, and the joints clench less when she moved it.

It was like getting an extra bar for cell service, and wouldn’t be difficult to explain to Rachel. Even if it was now starting to glow. Jane looked up and saw Beverly tinkering away with something. They would both probably be down here together a lot, almost every day. Jane felt like she should say something to Beverly, maybe make a good first impression if it hadn’t been made yet. She walked over to where the other girl was, and tried to socialize. ”So- uh. This. This is a lot. At least we don’t have to worry about resources, right?” She was mentally kicking herself for sounding awkward when they were about to get thrown into the shit together.

[yoshua171]

_{^{Caiden McKay
Crosspoint}}

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022; 6:08 PM
Location(s): Redline, PRT Headquarters

---

---

It was good to hear some more information on his teammates’ capabilities, not only because it was fascinating to learn about other parahuman’s powers, but also because it was exceptionally useful to know what he’d have to work with. As he considered the composition of their team based on Aaliyah, Carmen and Jane’s explanations, another individual arrived. Tilting his head slight, Caiden raised an eyebrow, a faint smile quirking the edges of his lips. He had no idea who the brunette was, but she seemed nice enough. Stepping forward, he held out a hand to greet the newcomer (Aurorea/Eleanore), giving her a winning smile as he did so, “I’m Caiden–Crosspoint if we’re talking business–it’s nice to have you.” Whether she shook his hand or not, Caiden would glance back at the others briefly before continuing.

“Feel free to introduce yourself to the others. We were just briefing eachother on our capabilities before we are all shipped off to our first little mission at the museum. Might be best to get you up to speed on the way there, but do feel free to let us know what you’ve got up your sleeve power-wise haha.” As the words slipped from his lips with casual confidence, he flashed her another friendly smile and gave her a wink before craning his neck slightly to the side to regard the others who’d been lingering at the edges of the group.

“Looks like we’ve got quite the assortment of teammates. Heh, I bet it’s more than Mr. F bargained for. I suppose we’ll have to do our bargain best not to give him too much trouble eh?” As he said the words, there was a sly amusement in his gaze, as if he had no intention of being easy on the Director.

With a small laugh, Caiden beckoned the others to join the group. “It might get a bit crowded, but feel free to huddle up.” With that said, he turned from them and found somewhere out of the way to lean against a wall, regarding everyone with interest. While he remained there he considered what Bev had given them regarding the Museum’s layout. That would surely be helpful, especially in tangent with Aaliyah’s portals. Still, it was hard to say precisely how things would pan out until they were on the scene.

[LostDestiny]

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Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6-ishPM
Location:Redline PRT HQ

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Lito jumped a little when a third person,a girl this time, walked up behind him, yet another of them who was late. He felt slightly less bad about being late but didn’t like that the number of people in and around this room was slowly increasing. He tried his hardest to ignore everyone else and focus on the Director’s words, the rubbing of his wrists slowing as he managed to calm himself down, though he lingered in the doorway not wanting to fully enter the room. The lanky redhead had just managed to calm himself down when one of the wards started talking directly to the three of them who were late. He didn’t catch the start of the other boy’s words but his overly friendly nature made Lito shrink back even more, stepping ever so slightly behind the female who was a part of the late trio. People being overly nice usually wanted something from him, not that he had anything to give.

It wasn’t long before two people left to go to this place called the “proving grounds”. He carefully stepped out of the way though he couldn’t help but stare as one of them was in a mech walked past him. Interesting, they must both be tinkers, at the very least the one in the mech definitely was. He hadn’t been fully paying attention when the director spoke to them. From there it was an even shorter time until a woman he vaguely recognized approached them and started talking. Ah right, the Vice-Director, how could he have forgotten. She motioned the other boy and him to follow her after handing the female that was with them a card. Did this girl not need a cape, what kind of powers would one have to have to not need a cape? Though he supposed he had almost not requested anything himself, thinking that whatever they made for him would just end up being destroyed. Not that what he had requested was anything fancy, just something that made sure his arms and hands were exposed in combat, since those were the easiest locations to make the creations he wields from, though he was not looking forward to exposing his heavily scarred arms to the rest of the group.

He turned away to follow the Vice-Director, relieved that, at least for the time being, he was leaving the bulk of the group. It seemed it would just be the two boys and her, which was a far more comfortable number of people than what he had been previously looking at. He knew they would have to go back soon but at least for now he could relax a little bit. His previously rigid demeanor relaxed the farther they moved from the larger group, though he remained silent. He would not be the person to start a conversation, and he kind of hoped the other boy was the “comfortable in silence” time because Lito wasn’t sure he would be able to hold a long or engaging conversation with anyone.

[The Man Emperor]

Constellation

Date/Time: November 11th, 2022

Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters

Thelonious didn't seem to pay the third latecomer much heed, though it wasn'tout of a wilful ignoring or disinterest. He was simply too stuck in listening to what the director was saying about the incoming strike upon the museum, where there were foes to be taken down with the aid of some professionals. For Thelonious, it sounded like an apprenticeship with a few less steps, as it looked like they were teaming up for this one occasion only, and then maybe others along the line if it seemed that he and the other new capes needed some more guidance in their abilities. By the looks of it, though, tthey were all capable in their own right. This girl, a Tinker, was in a mecha made of garbage; he could only shudder to think what she could create with the proper materials.

Either way, being late, he wasn't suited up, just like the guy that had arrived slightly earlier than him. The Vice Director called them away at the end of the briefing, leading the two towards the aptly named Changing Room. Here they were to, as she said, going to change.

But first, conversations.

"Hello," Thelonious waved at Lito, whose name was still unknown to him. The height difference between them was almost hilarious to look at; if the six footer was much older, one might have thought that they were son and father. Alas, it was all just a case of genetics. "I'm, err, Thelonious Kastrati or Constellation, depending on what you prefer. You are...?"

As if to provoke a response, Thelonious began making his namesake. On his right hand, streams of yellow and orange particulate matter began to collect towards a central point, somehow pulled together by a miniature gravitational influence. At first, it looked like a chaotic cloud of gas, every part of it trying to find where each particle was supposed to be. It then began to pull itself together in a stable, spherical form, with a barely audible roar of wind from seemingly nowhere heralding its creation.

Then the main sequence star burst into a total existence, a glimmering sphere of plasma the size of a golf ball. The whole process took about two seconds, and just as quickly, Thelonious dissipated the ball of rich starlight, crushing it in his palm as if it were merely an orb made of straw. One moment it was, and in the next, it was no more.

"So, uh, what can you do?"