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[color=00a651][b]Date/Time:[/b][/color] November 11th, 2022. 6:15 PM.
[color=00a651][b]Location(s):[/b][/color] Redline PRT Headquarters
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Will didn't really expect much to come out of his half-hearted plea to be left behind, so the rejection from Fukuda didn't do too much to his anxiety. Still, even with a helmet concealing his grimace, most could probably tell his disappointment at the fact that he would be accompanying the others. The confidence that the Director spoke when it came to Will's ability to use his power was probably the only reason he was able to still make snarky comments.

[color=00a651]"'Not every problem can be solved by smacking it', huh? I agree with you there, but this definitely seems more like a 'smack it' problem..."[/color]

It felt strange to be complimented on his power. Will had despised it ever since he Triggered only a few weeks ago. It forced him to watch everything he said to avoid mastering someone, nearly sent him to super juvie or wherever they send superpowered psychos, and every time people learn about it he's treated like a leper.

...But the fact that the Director seemed so sure that Will could help out - that feeling of [i]usefulness[/i]. It felt... nice.

[color=00a651]"Guess you're right Mr. F - I can have faith in the team to do the heavy lifting. I mean, one of them has a mech, so heavy lifting is pretty much their main schtick."[/color]

An exaggerated shrug, followed by mock realization.

[color=00a651]"Hey, think they've got a gift shop? They might give us a discount for saving their Wax statue of Guardian, or whatever shit they have there. I'll get you a Trump Card T-Shirt, lil' souvenir."[/color]

Before it could be denied, Will snapped a few finger guns Fukuda's way, walking back to the group of Wards as he did so. The anxiety that was building up in his gut was fading slowly, much to Will's frustration. He was talking to the director as a way to weasel out of this mission, not so he could actually get reassured. 

That guy was better at his job than Will thought. 

[color=a51d45]"...run fast, and shooting a gun and tasing people are pretty self-explanatory, right?"[/color]

As he came up to the others, Carmen was finishing up her description of her abilities. Will only caught the last bit of her speech, but latched onto it so he could make his way into the conversation.

[color=00a651]"Yep, pretty self-explanatory - point and shoot. You'll have some problems with recoil and aiming isn't easy in a situation like this, but you don't have to worry too much about wasting ammo with your power."

"Just, uh, wear something for the noise. That's how you get tinnitus."[/color]

Even though Will sounded confident and experienced with firearms from how he spoke, he was mostly spouting bullshit he heard in movies and video games. He had fired a gun exactly once in his life, and only the last bit of advice came from that experience. 

[color=40d3ff]"Well, I got this thing- It's big and heavy, takes some pretty big punches. Not much else it does, so- you know, just let me handle that? Pretty much a Brute cape when I get in this thing and it's built like a tank. It doesn't really do a lot more, unless you hide behind it so you don't get shot."[/color]

Will nodded his head, grinning slightly. While the tinker suit Jan had made initially made him feel terrified and massively inadequate, he now realized that it was probably the best way to keep himself safe in this mission - as long as Will kept it in eyesight, he could just run behind the hunk of metal whenever someone tried attacking him!

[color=00a651]"Really liking that last part, will keep that in mind. Just, uh, how does that thing handle stairs? Don't want to be under that thing if you pull an ED-209, y'know?"[/color]

The lack of laughter made Will blush a bit in embarrassment, and he muttered inaudibly under his breath.

[color=00a651]"...That's a [i]Robocop[/i] reference..."[/color]

Thankfully, the director spoke up to address Jane's concerns about guidance on the mission. While he certainly didn't like the fact that they didn't know who was attacking a Museum (or why so many capes were needed for the mission), the fact that they had even more backup was incredible news. Not the capes - the Director already talked about them. No, the big news was that PRT forces would be here as well.

Will was never big on the cape scene, but he knew that most weren't immune to bullets or Containment Foam.

Fukuda whipped back to his paperwork, and Will's usual obnoxious confidence was slowly starting to come back to him. He turned to the late arrivals and gave them a quick appraising look. One of the guys was short enough that Will initially assumed that he was actually on the younger end of things, his disheveled appearance and lateness seeming to imply that he slept in... Well, Will couldn't really judge someone for napping in the afternoon, that's pretty much what he did every math class. 

The second guy, on the other hand, was tall and somehow paler than Will was. His wrinkled clothes and heavy-looking backpack either meant he was the anxious and overprepared type or, more likely, he was like some of the other Wards and didn't have the best home life... 

The Girl was a bit harder to get a read on. Her appearance wasn't as disheveled as the boys, and the prosthetic leg gave him the vibe that she was more of a noncombatant, like Will... Or she could shoot death lasers, or could read the future, or something else crazy like that. This new girl and Jane should get close with Morie - she might be able to give them their limbs back, and Parahuman healing usually costs an arm and a leg.

Snickering under his breath at his unfunny joke, Will took a few steps towards the new arrivals, beckoning them over.

[color=00a651]"Hey there you three. Glad we got some more company for this thing - can you believe we're doing a mission on our first day? I think those kids working in coal mines hundreds of years ago had better receptions than this."[/color]

[color=00a651]"I'm Will, by the way - we can save introductions for after Rachel hooks you guys up with your costumes, but just felt like throwing that out there."[/color]

Will could feel a small pressure build in the back of his head, but it was small and barely noticeable. He didn't know if these three had already gotten their earpieces yet, so he was pushing his power down. Being late left these three a bit out of the loop, so Will was giving them a bit of an in - after all, if he walked in on a bunch of costumed freaks and a mech suit, he'd wish someone was friendly to him.

...Of course, he was also being nice to try and get in their good books, before he dropped the whole 'I brainwash people' thing on them. Just because Will was being nice didn't exclude him from being a selfish asshole.

Turning to the rest of the room, Will kept up the same energy and continued monologuing. 

[color=00a651]"So any of you guys ever been to this Museum before? I was going on a field trip there back in middle school, but me and my friends ditched it."[/color]

July snuck a 40 from her step-dad's liquor cabinet, and Will had gotten so shit-faced that he nearly fell off the school roof. Just remembering it made him smile - things were a lot more simple back then. 

[color=00a651]"Would probably be pretty nice to know the layout. Entrances and Exits, choke points, ambush spots - that kind of thing."[/color]

And where the safest rooms to hide are.