[h2]Alessa Heather: Little Owl Cafe[/h2]
Evelyn left almost immediately once Alessa had made her statement. Honestly, she didn’t blame her. She herself couldn’t just abandon the majority of her team without telling them what was likely going to happen, but since there were more people here who needed her than outside, she’d follow outside only once Lillian and Kendall were okay with that plan.

Or... until Lillian stood up and motioned for Alessa and Kendall to follow her outside? She was crying, evidently, and Alessa couldn’t just leave her to be upset. Hell, what sort of girlfriend would she be if she did? What sort of girlfriend was she at the moment, considering how she hadn’t helped soothe Lillian accordingly yet? And...

Too many questions, frankly, given how quickly things were moving along. Downing the remainder of her coffee very quickly- a perk of absorbing all the heat, though it made drinking cheaper coffee impossible- and uttered to Kendall ‘I think we ought to start heading out now,’ before promptly doing so, bringing out her phone to begin texting Decoy.

The ensuing conversation between Lillian and Elliot was, to be frank, a bit confusing, and apparently represented some sort of catharsis for the younger girl. Lillian hadn’t been with the Wards for years, had she? She’d been with them for a few months at most. Hell, Alessa herself was in charge primarily because she had the most experience of the group, having been with the Wards for a bit over a year total, and she was still screwing things up regularly... they both seemed to think they were weak? Well, weak for Lillian, and a total failure for Elliot, and... gah, this wasn’t fun. How would she go about fixing this? There was some sort of attempt to form a bridge, evidently, and maybe helping with that would be a good idea.

‘Maybe I’m gonna come off as insincere,’ Alessa began as Elliot tried to free himself from Lillian’s grasp, wringing her hands together at her waist, ‘but if it matters at all, I’m very sorry I’ve contributed to how alienated you feel from the rest of the group, Elliot. I should have done more to include you, and I know there was at least one time I could have done that recently where I just failed. And, really, that goes for the rest of you guys as well,’ she felt the need to add, glancing over the three other girls regretfully too. ‘It feels like I’ve been doing everything wrong with the Wards since I started up - Evelyn, you were so upset by what happened with Shatterpoint, and I don’t think I helped you enough with those negative feelings; Lillian, I know you like me, but in light of what you’ve said, I don’t know that I’ve been supporting you very well at all, even as your girlfriend; and Kendall... well, we must seem like a pretty incoherent team, huh?

‘...I will say, I don’t want to hear anything like what Elliot said to Lillian in the Little Owl again,’ she made note of after a second. ‘And that’s from [i]anybody[/i] in this group, before anyone thinks I’m singling Elliot out. I do understand where the frustration comes from, but putting it that way is rude, and doesn’t solve anyone’s problems. And... I think group cohesion is something we seriously need to work on, as a whole,’ she concluded, ‘especially with a new member to introduce. After this, I’m gonna see about setting up activities we can do together, as a team- ...as [i]friends.[/i] Because, I want to think we can all get along, you know?’

Once she’d had her say there, she finished off the half-written text to Decoy, essentially reiterating the idea she’d had about using not the Wards, but the [i]idea[/i] of the Wards heading out on a group mission as bait to catch whoever Collin was using as his collaborator, complete with Evelyn being able to trap him using her abilities, and sent it on to him. She only hoped he could spin up something to fill in the gaps and make the whole plan cohesive.

[hr]
[h2]Raymond Haywood: The Airport[/h2]
With his equipment gathered, and after a brief, subtle check to make sure all was well in that regard, it didn’t take long to find a bathroom to enter and start changing into uniform. And in that timeframe, everything went to shit, complete with the noise of an explosion overshadowing all else. The moment he stepped out, it was clear something on the runway had been destroyed; from the look of things, it seemed to be an air traffic tower that had been standing a moment ago, and not too much time after that, as the rest of the Jacks communicated their verdict - sensory manipulation caused by a parahuman - the nearby tram went off the rails, the line evidently bombed.

‘Visuals on my end are as follows,’ he promptly reported, efficient as a soldier could be. Ideally, he’d just be taken for pre-emptive military assistance by passengers. The plus sides of having an official uniform for a Cape outfit. ‘The air traffic tower near Terminal C is down, as is the corresponding tram and tram line. Could be a Thinker and/or Master, if the explosions are illusory; alternatively, a Stranger might be intentionally hiding the real destruction. Shaker influence either way, given the scale.’

As Chatterbox gave his proposal for Headhunter’s next move, he nodded. High ground, unobstructed view. ‘Confirmed. If I find the target, I’ll try to take them out. If I can’t do that, I’ll keep you informed of their location.’ With that, he began his hunt for a better vantage point. The only question there was, where would be best?