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[b]Pierce Residence, 6:54 AM
June 19th, 2021[/b]

Sunlight beamed in from the kitchen window, the only source of light in the dreary room. Ethan grabbed another egg from the nearby carton, cracking and pouring the contents into the pan with a single fluid motion. He grimaced a bit as the oil from the pan splashed, stinging his arm.

[i]High temperatures, can cause first degree burns with extended exposure. Handle is loose, will detach with enough force and/or when swung at a 60 degree angle. High in cholesterol and saturated fats, this meal can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease.[/i]

Ethan sighed as he continued cooking, turning the temperature on the stove top higher as the information from his power flowed in. The meal wasn't the healthiest, but right now his dad needed comfort food.

Eventually Ethan's power signaled that any more cooking could burn the food, and he slid the eggs and bacon onto a plate. Ever since the incident, he had taken over the cooking in the house - and while he wasn't the best at it, his power and the last few weeks of practice has made a massive improvement.

Ethan grabbed a fork and knife before going upstairs, stopping at the door to the master bedroom. He knocked twice. Paused.

No response. 

That scared him the first few times, but he had gotten used to it over the last two weeks. Ethan walked into the dark bedroom, maneuvering past the bundled piles of dirty clothes and bags of trash. His father was laying on the bed pretending to be asleep, some wildlife documentary playing on the TV. Ethan gently placed the plate down on the bedside table as he spoke.

[color=a36209]"Morning dad. Made your favorite - eggs and turkey bacon. Breakfast of Champions."[/color]

[i]Exposed jugular, slicing his carotid with the knife will result in death by blood loss within 10 seconds. Depressed. Holding it together for his son, say you hate him and he can be pushed-[/i]

[color=a36209]"I know you're probably tired, so I'll just leave it on the table for you, okay?"[/color]

Ethan turns around and begins making his way out of the room.

[color=a36209][i]Focus on something else, anything else. He's fine, don't worry, everything will turn out okay. Just get out of here. Don't break down. Don't let him know that you know how bad things are.[/i][/color] 

Ethan stopped at the door, resting his hand against the frame as he spoke.

[color=a36209]"I'm headed to meet with the other Wards, so I left your lunch in the fridge. I'll try putting myself out there a bit, maybe make some friends - order a pizza or some Chinese if I'm not back for dinner... I, uh... I love you, dad. Just want to make sure you know that."[/color]

The man didn't stir from the bed, and Ethan closed the door behind him. 

He stood there for a dozen or so seconds before he heard the creaking of the bed, and the clinking of the knife and fork on the plate as his father ate. Ethan smiled a bit to himself, before grabbing the duffelbag with his costume and heading out for work.

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[b]Protectorate HQ, 8:42 AM
June 19th, 2021[/b]

Ethan bristled under his costume, thick cloak wrapped around himself as he walked down the hall. The costume took a lot of time to design and still didn't match his specifications. The name wasn't his first choice, all of his coworkers were going to be traumatized teenagers that would probably be as annoying as the kids at his old school, and the less said about the douchebag PR department the better. This hero gig would have been an instant rejection if the protectorate wasn't Ethan's best shot at getting these powers under control.

The only upside was the paycheck and the new school. Fuck saving people, making six figures before he could legally drive was the real reason he was playing dress up.

The security checkpoints were a nightmare for someone like him - when he saw one guard walk past the gate without going through proper Master/Stranger password protocols, Ethan nearly had an aneurysm. At least after the first checkpoint things seemed to be more up to standard - metal detectors, patdowns, access cards and passwords, the whole nine yards.

Ethan suspected that the guards were pulling out all the stops to try and annoy him or make him late, but he preferred the full view of the protocols. Let him see all the little steps that they were fucking up. He planned on writing up some notes for the Director later - a fingerprint reader at the very least would protect against a lot of Strangers.

Ethan ran his hand along the wall as he walked down the hall, feeling the cool material against his hand.

[i]Kinetic force won't work to break it - tinker-made material, crystalline structure and shifting resonance frequency absorbs impacts to a nearly perfect degree. Rapid temperature fluctuation can help destabilize the chemical properties, causing fissures in the-[/i]

Ethan shook his head, continuing to walk down the hall. Not the fucking time. He was about to meet his coworkers and superiors, and meeting new people always triggered his power the most. Didn't want to lash out too bad, especially when everyone else in the room could probably shoot lasers or breath fire or some shit. Especially when his dad would be happy to see Ethan make friends with kids his own age.

[color=a36209][i]What the fuck am I thinking. I'm gonna die here.[/i][/color]

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[b]Protectorate HQ, 8:45 AM
June 19th, 2021[/b]

Ethan walked into the spacious meeting room with a measured gait, the glowing eyes of his costume scanning the surroundings. Just in time - showing up late or early put him a bit on edge, so this was already better than it could have been. The architecture in this part of the building was decent enough - several exit points was nice, the one-way windows were reinforced decently enough, and the TV and consoles nearby should keep his coworkers too busy to annoy him. 

Ethan bit the bullet, and took a look at the people who had already arrived. Three of them were recognizable Protectorate members, all of whom Ethan had gotten the chance to familiarize himself with since joining the Wards. Grandmaster was ([i]relies on melee and throwing knives, keep barriers or enemies between one anoth-[/i]) decked out in formal wear, two swords at his side and a number of throwing knives hidden in his sleeves. Next to him was Nightstalker, the ([i]highly adapted for night vision, can use flashbangs and high-powered flashlights to disorien-[/i]) only case 53 that Ethan knew off the top of his head and Axiom, a tinker who ([i]clog air intake on larger pieces of tech with flour from the kitchen, can further capitalize by striking joints with a knif-[/i]) Ethan had already spoken with a few times for recommendations on his costume design. 

The other two figures in the room were new - presumably other Wards that had arrived early. One was another boy who was seated on a nearby couch, his costume superficially similar to Ethan's. He actually gave Ethan a bit of pause - he was spread out on one of the couches, and Ethan noticed several parts of his costume seemed a bit tattered or damaged already.

[i]Internal or indirect damage such as poisons or drowning is best. Avoid direct strikes, might break your hands. History with the foster system that he doesn't talk about. Lacks empathy for others, may-[/i]

The lack of direct physical vulnerabilities gave Ethan pause. Most people couldn't handle a knife in the throat or having thumbs jabbed in their eye sockets. A brute of some kind, with a focus on durability? Not relevant, he'd reveal his power later. Ethan stopped in front of the couch the teen was sitting on, looking at the coin moving in the other ward's hands as he spoke.

[color=a36209]"Let me know if you want me to put a word in to the engineering department for you about that costume. They do alright work, but you gotta needle their ass if you don't want something subpar. Either they're fucking something up or you don't know how to put your clothes on, and I really hope it's the former."[/color]

Ethan didn't bother waiting for a response, already turning and scoping out the last person in the room. To be honest, he just wanted an excuse to go complain to the engineering department again.

The other ward looked like some kind of tinker, an older girl with an armored bodysuit and some kind of high-tech helmet. Pretty similar looking to Axiom in that regard - maybe they compared notes?

[i]Cover the oxygen vents with adhesives or pepper spray before they seal. Spray paint on the helmet to reduce visibility, can kick out the knees while shes wiping it clean. Bodysuit doesn't provide protection against blunt trauma, shouldn't be too useful if she gets kicked out of the window... Physical assault difficult due to power, requires sneak attacks or exceptional timing...[/i]

His power was working, but when it was targeting the ward herself and not just her equipment, the responses were slower. Less accurate. It was... nice. Less aggravating when his power wasn't pinging like crazy. Ethan wasn't sure if it was some kind of tinker tech she was using or if she had a trump ability of some kind, but whatever the case, she was the least annoying person in the room right now thanks to it.

Ethan thought about sitting on the couch that the other boy was taking up a lot of space on, but quickly decided against it when his power signaled how stupid that would be. Instead, he stood a bit off to the side, standing somewhat near the older girl and Axiom. He leaned closer to Axiom and murmured a question.

[color=a36209]"How many kids did you guys pick up for this? I don't want to get you in trouble since you're cool, but I'm not very good with big groups. Especially if there are a lot of dipshits."[/color]