[h3]Nell[/h3] [code]...Call connected.[/code] The phone clicks. "...Eyyyy Nellieeee. You make it to that 5-star joint yet?" "I just got down here sir." Doors slid open. A synthetic imitation of what was once a train whistle played. "What? What held you up?" A metallic ringing trailed behind concrete scraping against the ground. Aluminum and the like lightly clattered. "Traffic." Ironically the crowding kicked up around the time she left for the train station, and it didn't feel any better on this side of town. It didn't stop her client from going off though. "Nellie what the *%#^? I could've sent you a whole @*% limousine- why the hell didn't you say anything??" "I doubt it would've changed much. Two whole lanes were closed." "Don't #&$*^%& make excuses with me little Missy. I would've sent in a helicopter for @$#^$' sake. You know you sure as hell used to be a helluva more punctual for the $^*& you're spouting at me right now. What the hell were you doing?" "Getting [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/872696644049707048/1157419929495154759/20230929_155031.jpg?ex=65188acf&is=6517394f&hm=eea48ba4a9a658f1285e3e9e7c8065019278a7e583b5b96d0980b2c00011120a&]dressed[/url] by the tailor you ordered." A bow tie was clinging onto the base of her collarbone, resting nicely on top of a tuxedo top and white buttoned shirt. Their sleeves were clipped, exposing her usual armor underneath. Though she typically wouldn't leave her mask up, the tailor insisted that it would make the whole outfit come together, "Didn't want to be misrepresenting you in high society after all." A hoarse chuckle made its way into the audio, "Yeah, yeah listen. Just cover for me in there, will ya? I ain't got time to be out and about no more. You had better not miss anything." "Of course, sir." "And quit with the ^#&%#%^ sir nonsense..." A second of silence passes before the man snarkily chortled. "Lighten up a little." "Course'." The signal cuts. Her smile fades as the softened humming of the train grew distant and the blistering chattering of people grew clearer. No matter how crowded the clearing was, it seemed that she was alone for the time-being. She turned her gaze to the golden gates of a priceless building. ... . ... . ... . ... She worked her way through HQ after looking at the map, placing one of her crutches forward before taking a step, swapping through her small array of vision, searching for anything that would've indicated a meeting hall. As always, she could sense the innumerable eyes locked onto her appearance. There might have been a thousand questions reverberating through their minds, a thousand opinions running rampant. Someone even had the nerve to speak about theirs. "Do you think they chose that augmentation? Tsh, people would do anything for attention these days, wouldn't they?" The words had tested her nerves for a moment, but as always she didn't allow their remarks to cling to her. Even beyond the incident, dating back to her very birth, these were the things that were out of her control. Either she had to get used to it and work with what she had, or let the inevitable eat away at her mental. Besides, she had finally caught something once she switched to her thermal vision one more time. A great blotch of red flaring up before hiding away into the walls of blue. She followed the halls to the direction of the source, transitioning to a quieter space. It wasn't long before she reached venue in front of the meeting hall. Security had eyed the envelope tucked away in her chest pocket. "You mind?" "Not at all." They take hold of the invitation and quickly scan it before placing it back. "Welcome." She nodded and passed through them, catching one last sentence in the ou before their words blended into the music, "...Still doesn't top the octopus." From the moment she stepped on the floor, a dull metallic clink resonated throughout each of them. Each time she lifted the metal slabs on her shoulders up, she could feel a fair bit of resistance magnetizing her gear to the floor. Luckily it didn't seem like she needed to use any magic to move at a steady pace. She'd hate to waste any magic on it considering how much it shouldn't matter, but it was annoying having to manually aim her steps. And even then she couldn't exactly say the same for the chairs. Not even half a foot from the table, she could already sense the ever so faintly subtle scraping of metal legs. If she was careful she might have been able to stand by the table for a few minutes, but eventually her magnetic field was going to screw with the entire end if she let it be. Just then, the clattering of a pole radiated throughout the domed room. She looked across to find... others. Four others to be exact. She kind of felt bad for bringing the tux now, seeing how some of them didn't really cared to dress all that much. It would have saved so much time in the long run. If what she saw was any indicator, they were bound to be some interesting types. Ready to stare and make assumptions, the first to be judged was the bombastic one in purple. It was kind of unnerving seeing the muscles on her body. During the years when she was hitting the gym, she was nowhere near achieving that much beef. She wasn't sure to be jealous or impressed. She just knew that she wouldn't be able to fight her head-on if she had to. She seemed A wonderful or a horrible asset to the team, depending on what's to come. A man donned in garbs quite perfect for the occasion. And look at those tendrils. They would be perfectly suited for anything dexterous, and looking at their material they should also be pretty sturdy. Was that a syringe sticking out of his other arm? If he wanted to go for a jack of all trades build, this was excellent. Surely, she was curious on how he'd implement the tools at his disposal. The lady in red. Or rather, the Red Queen, given the dress. Oh wait, it was a metal dress. Hmm. It seemed cool on paper, but it looked so stiff. Could she even move in that armor? Admittedly though, the axe was kind of sick. Made her wish that Solaris was more of a traditional weapon, or something that she could wield One Sword Style instead of having to conjure magic to even fire it. It'll be interesting seeing how she fought. And lastly, a little mini Jester thing. A tiny jester thing that was gesturing. It was sort of cute to be honest, especially with the big old jester hat it had. The glint in place of its eyes seemed a bit sinister though. She wondered if he ran any dark magic. Overall, this group was a decent enough team. They felt well balanced enough to at least live long enough to complete whatever mission would be assigned to them. Nell felt like she could be a ranged supporter at best, a liability at worst. Although she knew that she could hold her own in some scenarios, she wasn't certain about her effectiveness in a team composition. This was her first live mission with Solaris, with only a year or so to understand a fraction of its power and a fraction of that fraction to actually wield it. It wouldn't have been so bad if that didn't effectively ruin her previous abilities as well. But alas, She had too little information on the job to recommend a better suited individual, and she wouldn't dare think about dropping out now, especially with how little people had arrived thus far. She and everyone else would just have to deal with it. For the moment, it would be best to get intel on the situation and report back to her client, considering how late she was. She took a few steps towards the gathering, planning on making her introduction a smooth one. The mask receded into her visor as she readied to speak. "Hey-" Only a fork hidden amongst the piles of shattered dishes hurtled towards her at the speed of light, cutting her words short and her intent lost. Almost reflexively, she switched up the current surrounding Solaris, repulsing the fork with a little too much power. It skyrocketed straight to the ceiling, bouncing around the chandelier before landing between two of the candle-holders. [i]Crap.[/i] Oh well, It was always better to be straightforward anyways. "...Did I miss anything?"