[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fUG0Ve0.png[/img][/center] [hr] The girl, Ethos, laughed as Ethan finished speaking. [color=803247]"I dare you to fucking try me."[/color] [i]Shoot her in the throat with your crossbow, even if you miss you can lunge with knife or smash her head in with-[/i] Ethan shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to respond to the other Ward. He expected some pushback from the little display he did, but not that much direct hostility. [color=a36209][i]Guess she has some emotional hangups. Probably like everyone here...[/i][/color] Everyone in this room had gone through a Trigger Event at some point, and if it was anything like what Ethan went through for his, then every kid in this room needed some serious therapy. He tried keeping that in mind, hoping it would help him cut the others some slack when they didn't use a coaster or some other inane shit that would piss him the fuck off. [color=fff200]“Shit, that sucks.”[/color] Ethan was knocked out of his internal monologue, turning to face the girl in the body armor. She quickly elaborated, sounding apologetic as she did so. [color=fff200]“Sorry! I mean, it seems like a useful power, both for the obvious and because pointing out our weak points means we know what to work on. It’s just… no, that sucks. It sounds like a lot to deal with, all the time.”[/color] A few tense seconds passed before Ethan let out a light chuckle, a stark contrast with his demeanor this entire meeting thus far. He seemed a little less tense, shoulders slumping slightly as he spoke. [color=a36209]"You're right, it fucking blows."[/color] At least one person here could kind of get it. Ethan wondered how long she'd be able to hold onto that sympathy - it was only a matter of time before he snapped at her, and she didn't seem like the type that would take it lying down. The girl, Hornet, introduced herself and gave the briefest of comments on her power. Nothing for him to work off of, but teleporting was always useful. Another Ward, the boy who had a similar outfit as Ethan, was next. They boy introduced himself as Richter, and decided to give a demonstration of his power rather than a direct explanation. He held the coin that he had been playing with most of the meeting, and promptly caused it to disintegrate. ...Well, that explains why his power didn't recommend he get close to the kid. Some kind of disintegration ability? [i]No. Vibration Manipulation. Don't let him touch you, he'll find your resonance frequency and turn you into a puddle. Trigger a fight between him and Ethos, worst case scenario one is seriously- [/i] So he's one of the heavier hitters on the team. Between him, Shattercrash, and Hornet, the team could probably compensate for having so many non-offensive capes. The thought of throwing a smartass comment about how descriptive Richter was crossed Ethan's mind, but he decided against it. For some reason, annoying the guy that could disintegrate shit didn't seem like the smartest idea. The tinker-looking girl seemed to skip introductions - must have had her cards close to her chest? [i]... Attack fast before she can react... Crossbow? Sneak behind and stab in the back of the neck...[/i] Ethan frowned, shaking his head a little bit. At first he appreciated his power not really working too well on the girl, but when he actually wanted some information, the delayed and imprecise responses were a little annoying. Thankfully, Shattercrash's introduction quickly drew Ethan's attention, as she flicked a blast of violet energy into the nearest wall. Thankfully, the tinkertech material the wall was composed of did its job, and Ethan didn't even sway on his feet as he felt the vibrations echo through the floor. Kinetic energy manipulation sounded strong on paper, and based on the few pieces of information he knew on Shattercrash from the news, Ethan could tell that she was experienced and her power was strong. But the complete lack of subtlety was definitely gonna be an issue in the future, he didn't even need to use his powe to figure that one out... Grandmaster answered his phone and was making his way out the door within seconds, leaving Axiom to take over the rest of the meeting. [color=6655ff]”Any questions?”[/color] Ethan had a lot of questions - 'Do we get to pick our babysitter hero' and 'Does the health insurance cover getting brained by a lead pipe' were some of the big ones. [color=a36209]"How many hours are we working on average? Dad wants to make sure I get caught up at the new school you guys set me up with."[/color] Ethan paused for a few seconds before adding; [color=a36209]"You guys probably already covered it, but I didn't read the documents that much. The weird margin spacing and small font kept fucking me up."[/color] He'd save some of the questions about pay and benefits for later, but this one was pretty important and would at least fill the silence.