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rabidbacon
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pkken
Izurich
Lildear18
Expllo
Noctis
Otreas
Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:07 PM.
Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters
Memento seemed to be a little more like Andrew than Will initially thought - while she wasn't nearly as forthcoming with information on her personal life, it only took a bit of prodding from Fukuda and Beverly for her to start giving a more elaborate explanation of her abilities.
Of course, Will didn't really mind that. It was the best-case scenario - he hated the whole cloak and dagger shtick, so the sooner everyone else aired out their baggage and secrets, the sooner Will wouldn't feel the need to hold onto his own.
"I guess I don't really heal--m-more like I move the injury over to myself. It's a bit morbid, but it's not q-quite as limited as it seems, because I can make duplicates of myself. They take t-time to create, but I can use them to 'heal' a bunch of wounds or illnesses until... the body can't take on any more and dies, or w-whatever. A-and then I can absorb those duplicates to give myself, um, basic Brute stuff... i-it's a kind of organic matter manipulation at its core, basically..."
The display was a bit macabre, but nothing compared to the freakshit that some capes could do. Will hadn't even tried to hide his interest in her explanation, leaning in as the wound seemed to migrate between the arms of the girls.
He didn't think too much of it during her initial introduction. Didn't want to risk going to that dark place. But this changed everything.
Could she heal Will's mother? Memento might go into a coma, but if she could just wake up in another body, would that really matter? What if this was-
Don't get excited. Will's grip on the chair instantly relaxed and he turned away from the display, heart racing.
'Don't lose your cool pal. You don't know if her shit would work on something like that, you don't know if she would help you pro bono, and you don't even know her. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.'
Had to keep himself in check. He's gotten too used to building himself up, only to come crashing down.
That's right. Will could just ask her once this dumb meeting was over. 'Hey, you probably get asked this a lot, but could you heal my terminally ill family member?' That kind of emotional blackmail didn't really sit right with him, but he was willing to take whatever chance he could.
Of course, Overclock's question of 'pain immunity' never even crossed Will's mind. It wasn't that he didn't think of it - he just didn't care enough to ask. Too focused on the application rather than the process.
Quickly, Will focused back on the kid next to him - Andy. He had started talking again, responding to what Jane had asked.
"I volunteered. I'm an orphan living in the orphanage near the docks and I wanted a new home - Aka this place's dorms - and money. I know it's too late to get a family now that I'm 14, but I presume that I can get a bit of financial independence."
Will was almost impressed with how easily Andrew said what he needed to know - now Will knew that this guy was one of the nutjobs that actually signed up to this willingly. Didn't even need to press him, considering how loose-lipped the younger boy was with his personal life...
Will could already see that being a problem in the future. Gonna need to break that habit for him if he ever needs to know confidential shit.
What Andrew said also caused Will's train of thought to flicker. Dorms? It made sense, considering some of the people here didn't exactly look like they had a home to head back to, but Will didn't really grasp how... ubiquitous this team would be to some of the kids here. Andy was talking about basically leaving everyone he's ever known and living with strangers until he outgrew the Wards. And if Jane's living situation was half as Mad Max as she looked, she probably wouldn't be too far behind the kid.
The thought of hopping into the dorm situation made Will a little sick to his stomach. He wasn't fond of living with his brother, but at least he liked Will enough that he didn't need to wear special earplugs.
Andy kept talking, and Fukuda underwent the burden of answering his more obvious questions (Maybe he didn't get interviewed before coming here? The first thing Will asked about during that was the pay). Will started to tune out the discussion going on - but when Will made his comment on guardians, Fukuda had to chip in again.
"You may have a point there, Wilbur. Most people know the risks with this kind of position, and are rightfully afraid. Still, perhaps we can avoid digging into everyone's circumstances, mmm?"
Will bit his cheek and tried to avoid making his glare obvious, but he doubted that Fukuda could really miss it. 'Let's not get into people's personal business huh? Little hypocritical, considering the whole 'Your teammate is a master and will master you guys' thing.'
You're talking to yourself again. Will shook the train of thought. Fukuda was forced to babysit a team of super brats - one that had Will on it.
He wasn't really in a good situation career-wise. No sense harping on the guy. Instead, Will chose to listen in on Sean's introduction, curious as to why Andy was so obsessed with him.
Initially, Will had been pretty hopeful - Sean's comments on the PRT thus far had been firmly set in the 'edgy teen that doesn't appreciate authority trying to protect them' camp. Which was exactly the same way Will felt about the whole Ward thing. But then the guy started going into how he had 'discipline as a hero' and the new 'call to action' quickly snuffed Will's hopes.
Another guy that thought the whole 'parahuman in spandex' thing going on is serious business. Disappointing, but if Andy's opinion was anything to go off, this guy at least brought some power to the team - and the more of that around, the less Will had to worry about getting crushed by a thrown car, or shot with an energy beam, or whatever other weird shit he'd have to be paranoid about from now on.
It was around now that Memento (Morie? Marie? Will couldn't really hear the name that she gave Carmen) and Bev made their way towards the team's rugrat, clearly wanting to make her feel more comfortable. Will was able to easily ignore Andrew's more blunt commentary, but this act was what nearly made the boy cringe. A bunch of (near) adults crowding around a pipsqueak and talking down to her didn't seem like the best way to avoid being intimidating.
Carmen was pretty good at masking her feelings though - Will wasn't sure if his estimate was off the mark, or if she was just used to the behavior.
Before he could get much further into playing armchair psychologist and badly analyzing his teammates, Will was distracted by a sudden ringing. Fukuda reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, raising a finger to his mouth to signal silence as he did so.
Of course, Will took that chance to be an asshole.
"Oh, phones are allowed in class? Glad to hear, I got a crazy game of Minesweeper going-"
Will paused mid-bit, not because of the glare that Fukuda gave him, but because the older man had simply answered the phone anyways. Will was a dick, but judging by the look on the Director's face, this was actually important.
Fukuda started speaking with whoever was on the other end of the call - and while the group was only hearing a one-sided portion of the conversation, what Will pieced together was making him pretty damn intimidated.
Guardians were being called up, there was only an hour to get ready, and Elton...?
Oh, Fashionista. That was the costume lady. Well, one mystery solved, god knows how many more to go.
The fact that they would be needing their costumes was what made Will the most nervous - he had assumed today would be more like an orientation than anything else. If they needed their costumes, it meant that they needed to do cape shit, or at least looked like they did cape shit.
Will really hoped it was the latter. He had focused a lot more on the drip of his costume than the actual functionality - best defense he had was a damn motorcycle helmet.
The teen quickly began looking at things logically. It couldn't be too bad, right? If it was villains, why would the Guardians be alerted while we were 'prepared'? And why would the 'higher-ups' need to be told off if this was something out of everyone's control?
Will kept trying to pick at little things like that - the way Fukuda used certain words, as if that meant anything and wasn't just Will deluding himself into a sense of security.
Relax. Breathe.
Will complained under his breath, though he didn't really do a good job at concealing the venom in his words.
"I swear if this is cape shit on day 1, I'm going to find if this place has an HR and bitch so hard..."
Grumbling out of the way, Will looked around quickly - a decent chunk of the group was getting antsy, with Carmen and Caiden already asking the important questions. No need for Will to do the same, even though he was probably the one shitting his pants about it the most.
Oh, and Carmen can just make items out of thin air. Will would have to remember to not call her a pipsqueak or something, or else he'd have to worry about a hormone-filled tween with a firearm.
Will leaned towards Aaliyah, cupping his hand around his mouth as he spoke in a loud mock-whisper.
"My moneys on the Superhero PTA finding out we're a thing - what you thinking?"
A last-ditch effort to leave a good impression on the teleporter - Will didn't know how far south this thing was going, so it would be good to make sure that Master fuck up from earlier was water under the bridge.
