Date/Time: November 11th, 2022. 6:09 PM.Location(s): Redline PRT Headquarters
She had a name now! Carmen. She seemed nice, and polite to boot. Honestly, seeing the handshake made Beverly do a double-take; why hadn't
she done anything like that? The cost of making a more general introduction, she supposed....One she thoroughly wished she
hadn't made. But that was in the
quite recent past! In the meantime, though, the nest had gotten stirred with the Director's statement, as others began voicing their concerns, even little Carmen! It certainly made Bev a bit more subconscious on how she'd passively ignored it...
Still, with a response not seeming to come from Mr. Fukuda, the youngest Ward took her chance on the floor for a more proper introduction. 13, huh? Wow...Even ignoring she was apart of this whole thing, imagining someone as young as her going through a Trigger honestly made Bev's guts churn a bit. Following that up, she unintentionally hit the Tinker with a sucker punch, openly admitting how she'd ended up here. Her...Her mom signed her up?
Against her will, a small frown made its way to her face; not for Carmen, no, but for herself. She couldn't imagine her mom being up for this, much less learning what she
was. How could she? Beverly wasn't the most well-versed in understanding people, but even she could grasp that her mother wasn't in a good place. She might
never be in a good place again...That kind of revelation wouldn't change things. If anything, it'd get worse with it.
In truth, both her and the PRT were sorta going behind her back, under the pretenses that given time, Beverly will be able to get her guardian's express permission for The Wards. She had no intention of doing so....Which didn't bode well to her long-term staying power in the group, but that was a bridge she'd cross another time. Shaking those thoughts away, a smile clung to her once more, though clearly tinged with a bit of sadness.
Luckily, that was broken swiftly when Carmen got to demonstrating her power, ever-so-casually manifesting what, for all intents and purposes, was a real-ass goddamn basketball and tossing it to the side, letting it bounce around for a moment before it vanished once more at her whims. It was all Beverly could do to stop her jaw from dropping. First Morie, and then Carmen?! Not even
mentioning Sean....Why was
she the one straddled with a Power that made her just some tired mess with nothing to show for it but collections of weird knick-knacks and the like? Jeez, she felt outclassed by a middle schooler now...This was a new low.
In spite of her own personal shortcomings, she too was amazed by the demonstration, having to hold back a veritable tide of questions about it. Instead, she opted to turn to the barely-teen with a big grin.
"Well, I'll be darned! No wonder yer here with that kinda power, it's somethin' else!" She followed it up with a playful little punch to the shoulder, a thumbs-up at the ready; and she'd certainly earned it. Even without knowing the full scope of it, it sounded pretty darn useful, and applicable to almost any situation. Like a living Swiss Army Knife! Heck, she can
make a Swiss Army Knife! Er....She assumed.
'Course, then Andrew began speaking up again, asking some downright
ridiculous questions, like if Morie's dupes could
become sentient? I mean...Benefit of the doubt, some Powers were downright
weird, but she doubted anyone ever had a cloning deal where the doppelgangers abruptly gained sentience. Usually they were, or they weren't, not much room for in-between. So, understandably, she stared at him like he was off his rocker. Didn't help when he abruptly pivoted back to Sean to, er...Compliment his name? And then jumped right back to Carmen with questions. Gosh, and she thought
she was the mile-a-minute thinker here!
Him asking her about food made her already confused gaze towards him turn absolutely incredulous. Why the
HECK would that be one of your first thoughts?! What, was he thinking about what she'd do on an abandoned island or something?! Okay, it was official; Andrew asked the
weirdest stuff. Granted, the bit about sophisticated technology was one that piqued Beverly's interests a bit. A basketball was, from a design standpoint, rather simple. But how complex could she get? Guns? Explosives? Or, if she were to go the extra mile, was Tinkertech on her table? She doubted it, since the kinda stuff people like her came up with was mostly straight out of Science Fiction, and usually made in far too unorthodox ways; even trying to explain that to most people was a hassle. Like, no one would get how she made a time-dilating explosive out of old sheet metal, a car battery, and...A sapphire that she hadn't particularly remembered obtaining. Hell, even when
she tried to redo her old work, it never went right.
Seriously, she hated her power.
Part of her was ready to honestly ask Hope why on our green Earth he asked about the food sitch with Carmen, but she was interrupted (and frankly, more than a bit startled) by the shifting of a wall panel...And the arrival of Rachel Elton! She couldn't even help the honest smile that came across her face seeing the Vice Director appear. Somehow, the woman just radiated light. Just...Not in the literal sense. In stark contrast to Mr. Director's cold and distant approach, Fashionista, even upon initially meeting her, always felt open and warm, even after Beverly had handed her that....Very poor request form for her costume.
Suddenly, Beverly felt quite sheepish.
Feeling awkward about seeing the kind V-D after giving her something that obnoxiously vague, similarly to Morie, it looked like Bev was trying to shelter herself in her winterwear like some form of turtle, out of sight and out of mind. Still, when she did her re-introduction to the group and flashed that brilliant smile of hers across the room, she couldn't find it in her to huddle away from that. Heck, if Beverly didn't know any better, she'd guess she has some Master ability that caused good vibes. That was just how noticeable the effect of her presence was, honestly. She even noticed that Caiden guy soften up a bit, with a small shift in his smile. She wasn't sure exactly what the shift meant, but she took it as a good sign. Seemed everyone liked this lady to some degree, and truth be told, she couldn't blame them. Maybe she could learn from her example...
With her arrival, The Wards were shuttled off to the Changing Rooms with the promise of an explanation from Rachel, and a new surprise; personal ID cards! Beverly couldn't help but giggle a bit receiving hers again; truth be told, she hadn't been exactly sure what the photo-shoot at the end of the interview had been for, so she decided to have a little fun and make a dumb hero pose for the camera, which was now immortalized in the mugshot of the card. Maybe if Fukuda had been the one handing them out, she would've been embarrassed, but with Fashionista's presence it just brought her a bit of childish joy seeing her dumb display.
Seeing the Vice Director get stanced up near the two Changing Rooms and nodding eagerly to the personal lockers, Bev obliged, darting to hers and sliding the card down the scan-lock present. With a brief
click the locker swung open, and she giddily scooped up her new attire, darting off to change, and just as quick to return with the rest.
Yeah, Beverly's sentiments about the
make of everything was the same as the rest; incredible! It felt so nice to wear, comfy and breathable, soft, yet still with enough resistance to make you know it'll protect you. She also got the sense it'd be pretty thermodynamic, given the fact it lacked any winter additions, it seemed. But in a way divorced from most of the others, as a fellow Tinker, it was exhilarating in its own right to wear something made by someone of a like mind. It felt
personal, and Beverly somehow instinctively understood the care and effort put into even her simple wears, just like everyone else's.
Workshop's attire wasn't quite the eye-catcher most hero costumes could be (which could be blamed on Beverly, truthfully); where she would normally be wearing a sports top and her zip-up leggings, she instead wore a form-fitting blueish-grey suit that, while looking rather basic, still looked good. Granted, it helped that
Beverly had the body type to rock this kinda thing. Maybe a little
too well, but it wasn't something she particularly thought about. In contrast, her hands were covered by thick, yet flexible black gloves, and her simple shoes were exchanged for a pair of tough-looking steel-capped cleats. Wait, why hadn't
she thought of that?! Oh, these things'll help her keep her footing for sure! She had a tendency towards being a bit clumsy...Had Rachel done this with that in mind, with how little they'd interacted?
Sheesh! She was so thoughtful it made Beverly just feel bad by proximity. Shaking that off, she took in the rest of the costume, which was where the
real costume began, in her opinion. Covering her frontside (which helped cover just
how form-fitting her body-suit was) was a welding apron of sorts, just like she had asked! It was steely gray, and in spite of how light it felt, Bev could get the sense of how tough the make of it was; she had a suspicion it could turn away some stuff the rest of her outfit wouldn't, which could come in handy.
Then, there were all her spots for equipment! Oh,
so many spots! She had a full-blown
UTILITY BELT! Sure, it was empty right now, but how cool was that?! Not to mention two holsters for potential firearm-esque weapons; a smaller one at the hip, and one that went over her back. And, get this, a friggin' bandolier! She excitedly strapped it over her shoulder, looking it over fondly. It'd be perfect for storing a bunch of her smaller makes, which were typically her bread and butter. Last, but certainly not least, was a metal case that strapped to her back, she supposed for holding stuff when she had run out of all her other slots, or perhaps containing objects of more delicate make.
By the time she'd geared out, one could envision her with all those empty spots all loaded out with equipment, as if she were some kind of one-woman armory. It sounded like it'd get downright backbreaking if she really
did fill every nook and cranny, yet she'd never looked happier. And thus, to finish the look, she donned the last piece; honestly, one of the few pieces she'd actually suggested. Her mask.
Circular red lenses inside a blackish-metal welder's mask, giving her a...Surprisingly menacing look, honestly. Before she spoke again, at least.
"OH. MY. GOSH! This is amazin'! I look awesome! Oooh, I can't wait to fill all this out..." She was practically prancing with excitement over it, in stark contrast to the utilitarian aesthetic of her new attire, as her voice tinned past her mask, giving it a strange echo. However, she found her celebration halted when she saw Caiden test out his own digs (which, she couldn't lie...Looked
so cool!) with...Was that a friggin' energy sword?! Yep, nope, she held back with Carmen, but this wasn't happening.
Lifting her mask off as it loomed over her visage, she responded in kind with this other girl. It was Ally, right? Right. Speaking of....She also looked
incredible! And she could get the sense not all of it was Fashionista's handiwork, much like her mask; it seemed like metals didn't play well with Fashionista's designing sensibilities. It just made it even more interesting, honestly! Heck, she might need to bug Rachel about the make of the costumes at some point, cuz now she was getting curious on
that too. Anyhoo...
"Some power's right! First it was Biokinesis, then, er...Object generation?" She shrugged, uncertain of what exactly to refer to as Carmen's power.
"And now we got some kinda energy sword deal? Feelin' a bit outta my league at this rate!" She laughed, to play it off, but an edge of nervousness could be caught in it; because she honestly felt that way. With each announcement of a new ability, she felt less and less confident in her own...But she'd grin and bear it for now. What else could she do?
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