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Ethan noticed that one of the cloner girl's bodies had approached, and when a lull in conversation appeared, she was quick to interject and start speaking with him. 

[color=938787]“Hey Keystone. If your power hypothetically maybe at some point tells you that I’ve got something in my inventory that I could get in trouble for could you keep it a secret? I promise it’s not to hurt anyone, just for emergencies and stuff like that. You seem like you get being prepared, right?”[/color]

Her voice was a hushed whisper, so quiet that Keystone doubted Axiom would be able to hear despite only being feet away. Axiom smirked a bit beneath his mask - his power had already filled him in on this girl's paranoia, so it made sense that she'd be trying to get on his good side before he snitched on her.

[color=a36209]"The only reason I'm using a crossbow is because they said no to a pistol - still pretty pissy about that, so I'll keep quiet. Just don't point shit at me or set something off when I'm in the room, and we're cool."[/color]

Ethan hesitated as he finished his whispered response, a second or two of pause filling the conversation as his power started filling in more details on the situation. Some of the things this kid had was pretty fucking dangerous, but if she was able to hide it from the asshole PR department, more power to her. No, what made Ethan hesitate was something a bit deeper than something related to her power.

[color=a36209]"...Hey Clone gi- oh, Tandem, you're Tandem apparently. While we're talking favors, you mind partnering up for the patrol tomorrow? You and Shattercrash look like the most experienced ones here, and I could use the pointers. Plus I don't want to get randomly assigned with Bird Boy, he's setting my powers off like crazy."[/color]

[i]Pointless. All the Protectorate heroes here are more experienced than any Ward, ask one of them for help instead. The changer probably heard that last part, you might have hurt his feelings. Keep it up.[/i]

Ethan was trying his best to be friendly, but damn it was hard to do that without stepping on toes or invading people's privacy. Offering to tutor her would probably offend her, and Ethan doubted he'd be patient enough to handle teaching her anything substantial. Asking to hang out after work would be way too annoying - he wanted to be friendly, not waste all his free time with people he worked with every day. This way he could make small talk with a Ward that didn't set him off too bad during work hours, and he'd probably be able to badmouth the PRT without too much retaliation on her end. 

Plus he'd be able to tell his dad he made a 'friend' without lying to him. Win-win.

It wasn't even two minutes after Grandmaster left when another figure entered - well-dressed, somewhere in his 30s, and clearly annoyed with the situation at hand. He gave a sweeping glance across the room, taking in the various wards that were present, before introducing himself as Vice Director Fukuda. The name sounded vaguely familiar - Ethan might have seen him in a news report a year or two ago, or learned it via cultural osmosis. What mattered a lot more than this guy that Ethan didn't really care about was the news he was bringing them - instead of the relaxed schedule overview, team building exercises, and whatever other bullshit Axiom had planned for everyone, the Wards were apparently going to be stopping a bank heist.

On the first day.

Ethan had never even went out in costume before, so the fact that they were going up against a group of seasoned mercenaries was making a pit form in his stomach. The fact they only had 10 minutes to prepare was even more concerning - within seconds Ethan was already sliding his helmet off so he could equip the earbuds, throwing anonymity to the wind.

The changer almost seemed to explode, limbs and torso shooting vertically until he was pressed against the ceiling, chest shifting rapidly as he hyperventilated. Surprisingly, this helped ease some of Ethan's own anxiety around the situation - the buzz of his power in his head was able to hold his attention much more easily than the fact he might die in a half hour.

[color=a36209]"Ugh, fucking piece of... Okay, someone calm him down before I have an aneurysm..."[/color]

It took a lot to not demand one of the master girls try to fuck up bird boy's perceptions or emotions ([i]wouldn't work, they'd ignore you at best and attack in relation at worst. Better to bash his knees in, then go for-[/i]), and if the Engineering department had actually made the tranq bolts that Ethan had requested, he almost certainly would have unloaded half a dozen into the changer on the spot. 

Instead, Ethan pried himself away from the scene, walking over to the small kitchen area to look over his costume. He breathed slowly. In. Out. In. Out.

[color=a36209][i]Don't look, don't listen, don't think. Focus on the now. You're about to go fight mercenaries who you don't know, so ask Axiom or Nightstalker about them once everyone settles down.[/i][/color]

Ethan patted himself, feeling the various pieces of equipment hidden beneath his cloak. Knives, crossbow bolts he barely knew how to load let alone aim, his phone, pepper spray. The first aid kit he felt at his side was probably his biggest contribution to the team in this situation, though he wasn't sure how useful it would be for wards like Richter or the changer. 

Ethan saw a small bag of flour sitting at the edge of the counter, and instinctively snatched it, already jamming it into one of the many pockets lining the inside of his cloak. It could be useful - blocking line of sight was a pretty good defense against most powers, and worst case scenario it's combustibility would surprise an opponent and create an opening.

[i]Excuses. Scared, looking for distraction. Painfully aware of your own inexperience, you're afraid of dying like he did. Focus on the others, hide behind them and rely on striking from range. You know more about this than any of the other wards - use that to your advantage.[/i]

Ethan stopped himself from scavenging anything else from the room, moving on to making final adjustments to his costume and cocking his crossbow. He would return to the group as soon as things settled down more, not trusting himself to not lash out right now. He could get filled in on the details and make a plan on the drive to the bank.

[color=a36209][i]I'm a 14 year old, a thinker, and this is my very first day in costume. I'm probably just looking over the blueprints and asked to comb through strategies, not throw punches or some shit... Yeah, that's probably it. Nothing serious, relax.[/i][/color]

The breathing exercise and logical reasoning helped ease some of Ethan's tension - he hadn't expected to get so wound up over this, but then again, he also hadn't expected to be stopping a 'real' crime within the first month, let alone the first day. 

Ethan unconsciously gripped one of the knives at his side, practicing his quick draw to distract himself. 

[i]Practicing something Grandmaster remarked on, doesn-[/i] 

[i][color=a36209]Shut the fuck up already...[/color][/i]