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[color=00a651][b]Date/Time:[/b][/color] November 11th, 2022. 6:05 PM.
[color=00a651][b]Location(s):[/b][/color] Redline PRT Headquarters
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The introduction seemed to go well enough - thank god, because Will's heart was still pounding from the sudden arrival of Alliyah and that confetti explosion. Will wasn't ashamed of being a coward, but the usual 'hero' type often had a problem with that kind of thing. 

Or at least they did in the movies. Will had never really interacted with a Hero before, more so because he didn't care for capes rather than a lack of opportunities. But relying on movies only steered him wrong a few dozen times in the past - no sense stopping now...

Will quickly snapped back to attention when Andy started talking to him again, seeming to start up their conversation from before the introductions had started. He didn't bother to reintroduce himself to Alliyah either, a fact that nearly made Will smirk.

[color=00a651][i]Perfect ice breaker right there. 'Oh hey there Alliyah, I don't think you've met my friend Andy yet! We were going shoping later, want in?' Boom. Friend #3, easy.[/i][/color]

When Will realized the pause in the conversation, he was about to confirm the lunch invitation - the easiest way to get animals to like you was by feeding them, same was probably true people. But before he could, Andy started speaking to Fukuda.

"Okay, did I say anything wrong? Most of my social interaction was between people I grew up with or are older than me or are younger than me. So I really don't know if I am failing at talking to people right now."

Yeesh, the kid wasn't lying. Probably would have been eaten alive if he went to the same school Will did.

Not that Will was complaining. Plenty to glean from that response.

Andy probably didn't have any friends his age, and asking Fukuda rather than just Will meant he had a bit of obedience to authority. Oh, and the fact that he [b]changed his hair color[/b] meant he was probably a Changer of some kind. Did everyone here wantonly flaunt their powers? Confetti bombs, portals, on-the-fly hair dye.

Well, Will wasn't really exempt from that jab at the team. Hell, he mastered one of them on accident already, so he was probably the worst of the bunch...

"On second thought, forget lunch and forget what I said if you want to forget - Let's just be friends."

[color=00a651]"Sure thing - I could honestly use some friends right about now."[/color]

A grin there with a little bit of tooth. Relax your shoulders. Lean back, show comfort in the situation.

Well, that was easier than expected. Already got one of these guys, which was the biggest blessing that Will could have hoped for. Making friends gets exponentially easier the more friends you already have - one or two more, and the others will have to ignore the whole 'I can master you on accident' thing.

Right?

Right. Cause that was definitely how it worked, dipshit. 

"So, are we waiting for anyone? Do we have an initial assignment? Is Overclock our squad leader?"

There was no visible change in Will's posture, but his self-deprecation immediately veered into abject terror. He hadn't even entertained the idea of an 'intial assignment' - was that how these things went?! Would they be flung out on a mission on their first day? God it would be hard to get respect if everyone here was throwing fireballs and shit while Will cowered behind a dump-

[color=fff79a]"...Currently, no. Today will mostly be briefing, getting to know each other, and become familiar with your Headquarters down here. At most, if we're good on time, there'll be some nighttime patrols to get you all started. As for a leader..."[/color]

The tension released as suddenly as it appeared. Thank god - nighttime patrols weren't too intimidating of a gateway into this hero thing. If that nice costume lady took his design into account and didn't flair it up for the PR team, he doubted that anyone would even think of him as a Hero. Just a motorcyclist that was walking home...

Not the best disguise, but at least it wasn't a skin-tight jumpsuit or something.

Will only paid the barest attention to the whole 'leader' debate. A part of him liked the idea of being in charge - he was the head of the Drama club at school, and the attention a position of leadership gave you was nice. But being the leader of a hero team was probably the biggest target you could possibly draw on yourself.

[color=00a651]"If we all get a vote on that whole leadership thing, I'm gonna need a dartboard and some name tags."[/color]

Mock realization quickly flashed across the teen's face.

[color=00a651]"ooh, or one of those big spinners with all of our pictures."[/color]

Will quickly mimed spinning some gameshow wheel, making a clicking sound as he did so. Eventually, he got tired of his bit and leaned back into his seat. 

Will was just here to do his time, not to be the captain of the 'Beat up criminals or you're going to jail' team. He couldn't care less who got the position, and would probably use his vote to gain favor with anyone that didn't like him by the time that rolled around.

Soon the introductions started up again, much to Will's relief. Jane seemed interesting, to say the least. Or rather, she seemed more grounded than the others, which was a bit of a surprise considering the robo arm. He didn't know the first thing about Tinkers so he didn't know if making power armor was really cool - if he went off his frame of reference though, making a mech out of garbage was a lot better than being able to lie to people.

Will kind of hoped that they would give her dinner though. She didn't really look like she was getting enough to eat at home... Well, if she has a home. For all Will knew, she was a runaway - that would really ease up on the whole 'get guardian permission' part of the ward program.

Soon though, the elevator dinged once more. Those stragglers that Fukuda had talked about must have shown up finally.

If he had known it was so laissez-faire, Will probably wouldn't have been in such a rush to get here...

The new guy was, like the others, on the older end of teen. Tall, muscular, more casual than some of the others. 

[color=68baa7]“Nice digs, Team, Director. Sorry I’m late, had some trouble with the family. Mind sliding me a pair, boss,”[/color]

The guy was flamboyant to the extreme, his colorful clothes and white hair catching most of the attention in the room. But what Will noticed (and was horrified by) was how this guy carried himself. Confident stride, colorful clothes, muscular build, actual introduction - it could only mean one thing.

[color=68baa7]“I’m Caiden McKay by the by, I’ll be Crosspoint, in costume, but Caiden is fine otherwise. I hope we can get along.”[/color]

This guy wasn't a loser! Shit!

Wait, was it bad? Most of the jocks at school were pretty cool - hell, Greg was a running back, and he was one of Will's bes-

[i]Greg[/i]

It was incredible how fast you can push down those emotions when they come. One instant, Will felt like he got doused in ice water, and a few breaths later, he was back to normal. 

[color=00a651][i]Ignore it. Don't think about him. Everything is fine.[/i][/color]

False alarm on the Caiden situation. Must have just been worried since all the jocks in teen dramas are usually douches - it's not like that in real life. Will's annoying smirk quickly returned to his face.

Right as he regained his bearing, another Ward member showed- oh jeez, this one was a baby huh? The girl that came in was absolutely tiny, to the point that Will was firmly knocked out of his delusion that he was on the younger side of the Wards. She at least seemed friendly, if a bit embarrassed that she was the last to arrive.

Will refrained from talking to her just yet - Caiden had grabbed some earpieces already, but this new girl was still vulnerable. Considering how uncomfortable it felt when Will's master effect broke, he decided silently returning her wave was the safest option.

Jane started speaking up again, shocking Will somewhat. He had pegged her for a shy kid.

[color=5081e1]"So- uh. Hm. I guess this is everyone, huh? In that case- I was wondering. Us? I mean- There’s plenty of kids around here who got their acts together better than some of us do. What- what made you wanna pick us in particular? Why us?"[/color]

Will paused slightly at this. He had assumed that was the entire point - it'd be a lot easier to get a cape brat to join your experimental team if you could blackmail them, or absolve them of their crimes. Why go for a nice team that might do what you say, when you can go for a naughty one that you could force to do what you want?

[color=5081e1]”Or were we just- did we just get picked first?”[/color]

Will opened his mouth, ready to deliver a snarky response to Jane's inquiry. Maybe something like [color=00a651][i]'No, I'm sure he picked us after carefully considering who he could blackmail.'[/i][/color] Or maybe [color=00a651][i]'Oh, we're just the ones he managed to nab before recess was over'[/i][/color]. It was hard to guess, since Will usually started speaking before he sorted out whatever he was going to say.

But he didn't this time. He tripped up slightly before throwing out a casual remark.

[color=00a651]"M-my bet's that our guardians are the only ones that were willing to sign off on it. 'Send your kid to fight crime' is a pretty hard sell, after all."[/color]

Will passed off the stumble as a cough before regaining his relaxed pose, and he did his best to glance at Fukuda without being noticed. Will had simply assumed that everyone here was like him. Forced to be here. That the Wards used those loopholes in parahuman law that the Guardians loved to take advantage of, scooped some delinquents up before they became some hardened spandex-wearing supervillain. After all, what kind of psychopath would [i]want [/i]to risk their life fighting superhumans in a dumb costume? 

But that was the thing - these guys could totally be that kind of psychopath. For all Will knew, every single one of them volunteered for this, parents either bribed or deluded into thinking this was what was best for them. 

Telling them that he had been pressganged into the Ward program would just be revealing his hand to the others. Fukuda had already done a fine job doing that for Will, so he couldn't risk telling them anything else that would turn them off more. Losing any more clout with these kids wasn't an option. Not with how some of them looked at him already. 

Will could wait it out. If he was lucky, he'd find out which of these guys were the crazies, and avoid stepping on any toes.