Log:Teen Mentorship Program

2020/06/11 	 Bran Phantom Jason Jennifer Ghost Heather Union Wild Thing

1

The workout room is set up like a informal briefing room. Comfortable chairs, in a round semi-circle facing a lone chair set on its own. There's a sufficient supply of coffee (warning: Steel's Gym coffee. Best grab a coffee from Past Times before coming).

Another day, another seven thousand calories before lunch. At least that is how Heather's life has been of late. Not that she is upset by this. She can eat whatever she wants and keep working out to maintain her shape. Sure, she NEEDS to work out to stay in shape. So it's a good thing she likes workouts.

In fact, she ran here today. Left a little early, and dressed in shorts and a tanktop, she jogged her way to the gym. Sure, she'll need a shower ASAP, but it's a gym. They have those sorts of facilities. But she is here, coming in with a towel dabbing at her forehead as she steps into the workout room. Good thing they provide such towels out front. "Am I late?" she asks.

Wild Thing arrives in the workout room, smells the coffee, backs out immediately. A few minutes later she's back with Past Times coffee. She perches, rather than sits on a chair.

Jennifer enters from the reception area. "Hello. Welcome to this training session. My name is Lady Jennifer Markham-Lothven. For those who wonder about my qualifications for giving this talk and session, I'm ex-SAS. I was a member of the New Blood team. I hear some of you are from my old high school. I was also a member of SGG for a number of years." She walks to the lone chair but doesn't sit yet. "Is everyone here who's expected?"

Bran steps in during the middle of Jennifer's introductory comments. He keeps very quiet to not interrupt.

Wild Thing is rather in awe, having known of New Blood since she was young,

Phantom is running late because he foresaw the need to get his own coffee. Thanks, visions! What they didn't tell him was that the coffee run would make him a bit late. He shows up after the introduction with a venti mocha frappe. He tries to sneak into a chair without being too disruptive.

"So, not late. Awesome." Heather says with a smile as she steps over. She sniffs the coffee and wrinkles up her nose, "Hey... Computer Jul.. whatever. Are you telling me that with all of the tech here, this is the best coffee available?"

But she's sounding good natured about it.. and she shrugs. Then pulls out her Q-Watch interface and orders a catering delivery to the gym for a bit later. She's gonna need more calories after all. "So, happy to have you teach." she says towards Jennifer as she moves over and sits down.

Behind Jennifer's back a white furry bipedal three foot tall rabbit in a tux, top hat and monocle appears sitting in the lone chair.

Wild Thing says, "No point in good coffee when maybe the best in town is across the street, I guess,"

Jason steps through the door with his chin dipped slightly, wearing a pair of faded old jeans and a loose denim jacket. Pausing at the coffee pot to pour himself a small cup of liquid tar, he moves over to a seat and settles down, attention fixed mostly on the table.

Wild Thing thinks. o O (That rabbit - AGAIN?)

Having been told about the rabbit, Heather narrows her eyes and then shrugs, "Looks like we're being haunted again." she says, "Are you late, late, for a very important date?" she asks, leaning to one side to address the rabbit.

Jennifer smiles at Wild Thing's coffee comment, "Precisely. Now I assume most of you know each other. But I don't, so let's have a round of brief introductions, starting on my left." She points to Wild Thing.

Phantom sips his frappe while trying not to make any awkward slurping sounds. He sits up a bit abruptly as he notices the rabbit and keeps an ear open for Ghost.

Bran sighs quietly at the idea of having to do introductions. This is just like classes when he moved to the city.

Wild Thing says, "Oh - I'm Wild Thing. New to the whole ro thing - don't even have a real costume yet, as you can see. As of yesterday a member of Team Phoenix."

Wild Thing says, "Is that enough, or do you want us to talk about our powers and junk too?"

Jennifer says, "Names are sufficient. Saves me having to point and say 'Hey, you.'"

Bran sighs again as the order gets to him. "Umm... I'm Bran Black. No official code name or costume yet, but my sister has taken to calling me 'Flake'. I might go with that for a while? I'm not sure. My powers are...mostly mental, I guess? I can attack people's minds."

"Jason Grey." the fairly average-looking man in his 20s offers to the group, grey eyes fixed on the coffee cup held carefully between his folded hands.

"I still like Migraine." offers Heather with a shrug. But then she looks to the others. "Heather." she offers, "Codename Knockout." And she grins, "No, I didn't pick it myself, but I do kinda like it."

Phantom raises his hand in a greeting and just answers confidently and clearly, "Phantom."

Jennifer nods, committing the names to memory. "Thank you. I have some apologies to relay. Victory has Starguard duties to attend to and cannot make this session. I'm sure he'll try to make later sessions duties permitting. Paragon's daughter is not well and she's tied up with that. You're too young to know this as yet but the choice between saving the world and tending to a sick child is a diffient one to make. Anything less than saving the world and it's a no-brainer.

Phantom raises a brow Bran's way and mouths...well, it, it looks like 'Migraine?', but the details of his mouth may make it difficult to tell. He looks back to Jennifer when she starts talking and pays attention.

Jason smiles slightly into his cup of coffee at Jennifer's words, but doesn't say anything for the time being.

Jennifer says, "So grab coffee if you want. There's some cold drinks and tea as well. Then get seated and we'll start." She turns and spots the rabbit in the chair. "Warleader Nariliin, I was pleased to her of your partial recovery. You are of course welcome to attend this session. But GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CHAIR."

Wild Thing laughs aloud at that!

Phantom tries not to laugh. He had no idea Ghost knew this Jennifer Markham person.

Bran nods and gets up. He heads over to get some soda...and he sits back down. He flinches a little bit when Jennifer's voice raises.

The rabbir gives Jennifer a snappy salute and blinks out, to reappear on one of the empty chairs.

Lifting her brows, Heather just stands up and reaches for her watch to initiate her change from sweaty workout clothes to her costume. I mean come on, she is here to train, so she'll train in her official uniform! And then she grabs a protein shake which... almost comes out of her nose when she starts to laugh.

Wild Thing is glad she wasn't drinking at the time! She take a big gulp of coffee now.

Jennifer waits for folks to get settled.

Jennifer says, "I'm not exactly sure what you were expecting for this session. We may get to practicing what is taught later if there's time. But today I want to start by talking about not the conflcit situations you'll likely be facing, because every such situation will be different, but what to consider before you reach that point. So, who can tell be what the difference is between objectives and plans?"

Phantom is settled and attentive. He's tempted to raise is hand, but figures it'd benefit the others more to answer the question.

Wild Thing grins to herself as she thinks of an answer, but doubtless not the one wanted.

Bran speaks up. "Umm...the objective is what you're trying to do? And the plan is how to do it?"

Sure, Heather thinks she has an answer to that question, but she doesn't speak up yet. She gulps down more of her drink. After all, she's not trying to be the teacher's pet, so to speak.

Jennifer nods, "Exactly. Well said, Bran. That's it in a nutshell. Now lets consider the lifespan of these. Objectives last until circumstances force a change. How long does the average plan last before it goes awry?"

Jason says, "First contact with the enemy."

Jennifer smiles, "I was expecting that. Almost but not quite correct. More accurately, 2-3 seconds after contact with the enemy. But those 2-3 seconds, used effectively, can be decisive."

"My dad is a firefighter. So not a combat guy but.. he told me once that they try to have plans for every type of situatino they'll encounter. And then backup plans for when the initial plans inevitably become obsolete." says Heather.

Jennifer nods to Heather. "Your father spends five days a week on the job. Four days in the station training and practicing. One day fighting a fire? You are all students I assume. Do you have the time available to make that committment to training. Bare in mind that with the array of powers that villains have there will be many many more varients to learn and remember."

Jennifer looks for reactions to that.

Wild Thing frowns. "Are you saying it's not worth the time to make plans?!"

"Not a student." Jason offers quietly from where he sits, the bulk of his attention still on the untouched coffee in his hands, "I, hope that's alright. Just new at this. Never hurts to learn."

Phantom admits, "Not that sort of time."

Bran answers Jennifer's question, "I do have a job I need to work at. I...owe it to my sister to follow through with it. But I can try to make time?"

Jennifer says, "No, I'm not, Wild Thing. I am saying that excessive planning is not worth the time and effort. What is excessive planning? Anything that requires a conflict situation to evolve in a pre-determined fashion for more than those 2-3 seconds I mentioned. You also need to be aware of the difference between a plan and a theme. Plans are specific. They rarely work for more than the exact situation you are facing. Themes are more general, and thus more likely to apply to a greater range of circumstanes."

Wild Thing nods. "So - we need to learn themes so we can use them to make quick plans?"

Bran quirks a smile, "This is going to be like improv theatre?"

Jennifer nods to Wild Thing, "New question. What is the most valuable asset you can have before entering a potential conflict situation?"

"Level head?" Jason offers a touch uncertainly, tilting his hands to make the sludgy coffee within his cup shift about.

Jennifer says, "Anyone else?"

Bran rubs his chin, "Something about the people involved?

Phantom tilts his head. "Information?" he suggests.

Wild Thing says, "surprise? But infrmation's probably better."

Jennifer gives Phantom a thumbs up. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Information. Without information you cannot even start to make a plan. You can't even be sure what your objectives should be."

Jennifer says, "One of the greatest assets a team can have is a sneaky infiltrator, clairvoyant, etc. They are worth their weight in gold even if weak on the combat side."

Phantom sips his frappe and subtly sinks a little in his seat at the mention of clairvoyant.

Wild Thing nods. This much she knows from rPGs.

Jennifer says, "So, back to objectives. You need to be flexible but also aware of the risks of mission creep. Also, prioritize your objectives if you have more than one. That way when objective conflict occurs, and it will, you won't have half a team going after one objective and the other half going after another objective. The usual result is to achieve neither."

Jennifer says, "Hold that thought. We'll do a mind exerice in a minute or two. Meanwhile, themes. Ever seen two good martial artists fighting one to one?"

Bran shakes his head, "Just in the movies. Which I'm assuming it's like real life."

Wild Thing says, "Me neither."

Phantom tilts his drink as he thinks on that, shaking his head in the negative.

Jason says, "Yes."

Jennifer smiles, "What's the usual outcome, Jason?"

"One gets advantage and it ends in one hit, more or less. Knock one guy dizzy then finish him off when he can't defend himself." Jason explains, looking up from his coffee for the first time since filling it, eyes calm and focused.

Jennifer nods, "When they are equally skilled and being tactical, how long does it take for one to get that advantage?

Bran smiles slightly to himself when he realizes that's what the rats tried to do to him. Only it backfired, kind of.

Jason takes a moment to mull the question, seeming to think back on various experiences he's had both in the suit and out of it. "A while. Usually starts with a stare down waiting for the wrong first move. Then it's mostly luck. Equal skill and equal smarts means they're going to be going for the same things."

Jennifer nods. "Yes. It can take quite a while. Now if you have advantage in numbers trying up their martial artist with your martial artist works fine. Don't bother putting a slow heavy hitter in. He'll have to be lucky to land a punch. If you have one, and you want to take the martial artist down quickly, who should you use?"

Wild Thing says, "A mentalist?"

"Blaster, or maybe a mentalist. Blaster is the safe bet though. Have to try and hit the whole area." Jason states, much more confident this time.

Bran shrugs, "Maybe have a brick type hit him with a car?"

Bran says, "Something big...and hard to dodge."

Phantom thinks. "A speedster, maybe?"

Wild Thing says, "Or something to blind him. Or stick him still?"

Jennifer says, "Yes. Mentalist is first choice. Blaster type who can fill an area, or widen his beam to increase the chance of hitting is second. Brick with car is a long third option. Not because it's ineffective but because you're the heroes, right. Unless it's - your - car, don't do it. Even if it's your car it looks bad in the press. Public option IS important. It's the public that ultimately decides if you are a hero or a vigilante."

Jennifer says, "But good answers, all of them. That's a theme. A mini plan that holds true in most cases."

Wild Thing says, "How many themes like that do you need to learn?"

Jennifer says, "Not all that many. Which makes them cost effective. I could go through more. But better you think about each conflict you have a part in, as a team exercise, and work out your own. They'll stick better and will be suited to your team makeup. No point in my saying use a mentalist to take out the opposing martial artist if you don't have one in your team."

Wild Thing nods. "More useful is a list of the sort of situations that will come up so the team can plan for each one!"

Phantom sips his drink, then leans forward a bit to pay more attention, nodding along with Wild Thing.

Bran nods slowly as he listens quietly.

Jennifer nods, "Greatly simplified. One very tough opponent. A Dr Destoryer type. Well maybe not that tough. A theme. Know when to run, regroup, and call for backup. Dead heroes do nobody any good. So one very tough opponent. Numbers are your friend. Numbers have a quality all of their own. Whoever is attacked plays defence. Block, DFC, go desolid, whatever. Abort without hesitation. Because that hero has already done something very useful. Used up the oppoent's time and energy. The rest of the team can pound him.

Jennifer smiles, "It's why my sister and I were so successful. That what we did.

Wild Thing thinks. o O (I should have brought a notebook...)

Phantom gulps down a big swing of his drink and almost gets brain freeze. "I sure -hope- we're not taking on someone like Dr. Destroyer."

Jennifer says, "Second situation. A horde of minions. That's where your area of effect experts shine. If you don't have that ability, do what you can to keep those your team has on their feet and active."

Wild Thing nods. That sounds like an important one!

Jason has gone back to examining his now cool coffee, listening quietly while Jennifer and the others speak.

Bran nods again to himself. He has a rough idea what his tactics would be in each situation.

Jennifer says, "Third case. Fast, agile, tough, and powerful. This is like case one except this guy is way hard to hit. Combination tactics. Your fast guys, blasters with spreable beams, heroes with flash or entangle attacks. Slow him dome. Make him easier to hit. Then the heavy hitters move in."

Phantom frowns a little in thought at the talk of minion hordes. He doesn't do well when he's outnumbered. Especially by a horde.

Jennifer chuckles, "The desolid guy who wants to escape. Hard to stop him. The desolid guy waiting to land a sneaky punch. Put a hand in his chest. He won't un-desolid and that neutralizes him.

Phantom winces at the thought as it reminds him of the body of Barnabas BigBrain.

Bran tracks his options. Blast one person. Blast lots of people. Blast one person. And...blast one person. So far, so good.

Jennifer says, "The mentalist. Sorry good guy mentalists. Because the bad guys know this. Mentalists can be deceptively effective. Make them a priority. Flash is effective at range. Darkness. Anything to block line of sight. Some mentalists have powerful TK shields but in general they tend to be physcially weak. Kind of like brain or Brawn. Not both."

Wild Thing says, "Mentalists can get desolid people, right?"

Jennifer looks to Wild Thing. "I believe that's correct. I'm not a mentalist so get a second option."

Phantom listens and sips his drink. That's exactly why he's tight-lipped about his powers and picked the vague name that hopefully doesn't scream mentalist.

Jennifer says, "Another theme. Use the environment. Use the advantages you have over the opposition. Example. I was in an ACRO base in a corridor. Our group had split up looking for a prisoner. A dozen agents appear. My senses are acute and I can track and target by sound. I wiped out the lighting in the corridor and after that mopping up the agents was easy."

Wild Thing says, "Though you've got to be careful not to make the rest of your team helpless!"

Jennifer grins, "Okay, I threatened you with a mind exercise. Lets do it. The teller in a bank presses the panic button. The police turn up. One of the bad guys inside shoots fire from his mouth through a window and ignites a police car. A call goes out for heroes. What are your first set of objectives and their priorities?"

Jennifer says, "Talk among yourselves while I get a coffee."

Bran thinks about it and says to the others. "How about...Get the fire put out so the car doesn't explode. Then get the civilians to safety."

Phantom leans back in his chair and thinks on that. "There's a teller inside, so there's hostages, right?" he asks the others.

Wild Thing says, "I guess it depends how likely the car is to explode, whcih depends on the sort of car and the fuel or battery it uses? But I don't know much about that."

Wild Thing says, "I'm thinking hostages first, yes. So - we need intel. Need to know where the hostages are and junk,"

Wild Thing says, "And ideally, what intel they have. If they can see us coming that makes a difference."

"So..." Phantom thinks a moment. "Get someone who can scout unseen to determine what's going on inside while the others put out the fire? They'd know we were there if we dealt with the fire right away."

"Reversed, yeah." Jason replies quietly, eyes on his full cup of coffee. "As long as nobody is in the car, it's third priority. Stay away from it, focus on civilians. Getting them out is first, subduing the villains is second. Car is third."

Wild Thing says, "Unless it'd going to explode *now*. IN which case we should have prioritised that over making plans!"

Jason shakes his head slightly, but doesn't volunteer why, face calm and impassive.

Wild Thing says, "I guess people who can't scout can put out the car while people who can are scouting/"

Bran shrugs, "I work on cars for my job. There's a very real chance it could explode."

Bran says, "That's why I suggested that first."

Wild Thing says, "So, those simultaneosly. Then a plan for getting the hostages safe. Stopping the bad guys is last."

Wild Thing says, "Since we don't want to go into the bank blind!"

"Doesn't matter if the car explodes." Jason points out, looking up from his coffee and around the table at the others gathered.

Bran furrows his brow. "It doesn't? How do you know others won't get hurt by it? Do you know how big hte explosion is going to be already?"

Phantom sips his drink and thinks silently a moment. He smiles faintly at the comment about going into the bank blind. He'd be doing that no matter what. "Okay, so...deal with car while one scout checks out the interior. They share intel on what's where so we know locations of hostages. Those who are good at guarding and defending prioritize the hostages while others who can't keep the vil's attention? Set off the sprinklers maybe? It could keep the guy from burning us up."

Wild Thing says, "Huh, you'd think a guy with fire powers would have set off the sprinklers already."

Jason just nods his head, glancing away from Bran and back down at his own lap. "Yeah. Fuel tanks are what explode in cars. And they're surrounded on all sides by material, except for down. Most of the force in an exploding car goes path of least resistance, so down. It's scary, but you'd need to be close for it to matter. As long as the car is empty and people are away, the car doesn't matter."

Phantom shakes his head. "Not if he only did a few brief blasts."

Wild Thing says, "Ooh! Fire extinguishers! Use the environment!"

Wild Thing says, "not that that's part of the planning bit so much, but maybe useful when it reaches fighting fire-guy."

Phantom points out, "The sprinkler's got to be hot enough for the glass to break to go off."

Bran still looks a bit disturbed by the idea of just...letting something explode. He shakes his head and folds his arms, but goes back to listening ot the discussion.

Wild Thing says, "I guess the car is a distraction - I mean, planned to be one. Why else would it be on fire? but i'm not sure that makes a difference."

"The objectives are what we need, and their priority. First are the civilians, second are the villains. Third is the car. Burning car can't knock down another bank, or take another person hostage." Jason states calmly, before lapsing back into deeper silence, his peace having been said.

Wild Thing says, "Of course, all this is pretty abstract. i mean, individual powers could make a difference to priorities. If someone can, say, remove all oxygen in the area for a bit so the fires go out and everyone passes out..."

Jason frowns without saying anything.

"I think...maybe cars mostly just explode in movies?" Phantom thinks. "So like maybe Jason has a point."

Wild Thing says, "So priorities are influenced by who's on the team."

Jason says, "Priorities are always the same. Plans change with the team. Civilians are always more important than the car, villains are always more important than the car."

Jason says, "Can't always handle your top priority first, but it is still top."

Wild Thing says, "Hm, I guess."

Bran nods tersely. "Sure. If you can GUARANTEE that the car exploding won't hurt ANYONE, then I would agree. That was my point. Keep it from exploding so no one gets hurt. Let's move along."

Jennifer clears her throat to get attention.

Phantom looks over to Jennifer, staying quiet.

Wild Thing was about to speak again, but shuts up.

Jennifer says, "So, objectives and priorities?"

Jason remains silent.

Wild Thing is also disinclined to talk, having had the flaw in her thinking pointed out.

Phantom takes a breath. "Objectives: Keep civilians safe, stop the villain, prioritized in that order. The car is just a potential risk to the civilians and we need to assess its threat level."

Jennifer nods. She grins and points to Wabbit.

Phantom looks to the rabbit and raises a brow.

The rabbit says, "Neutralize the robbers."

Jennifer says, "Why that over the potential hostages?"

The wabbit answers, "Eliminate current and future threats. Deter others from risking the same fate."

Phantom looks conflicted by that. "But...what if people are in immediate danger?"

Wild Thing says, "But what if the villain kills the hostages whule you're trying to neutralise him?"

Jason frowns slightly, but chooses not to speak up.

Jennifer nods, "Phantom is correct. And was the conclusion you came to as a group. And as to Warleader Nariliin's assessment. She didn't get to be a Warleader for growing roses and being nice to stray dogs."

Phantom thinks. o O (...but I like dogs...)

Wild Thing says, "But we also came to the conclusion that priority doesn't necessarily mean the order you do things in."

Wild Thing says, "which is the plan part, i guess."

Jennifer says, "I'd like to think about the exercise you've just done. I gave you minimal information and a simple known situation. It took you what, about fifteen minutes, to correctly define your objectives. Time you might not have on site. But if a similar case occured now, how long before you knew what your objectives should be?"

"Saving civilians is always the first objective. If it isn't, things are, bad." Jason states quietly.

Wild Thing says, "Objectives seems pretty easy usually: save people, then stop the bad guy, then stop the crime. What took the time was we started thinking about the *plan* as well."

Wild Thing says, "Of course, knowing me I'd just get on straight away with hitting the bad guy before I even have time to think..."

Jennifer nods, "Ghost, can you ask the Princess if I can use the Princess Guard's training facility to run training simulations for these people in future sessions?"

The rabbit nods, "Yes, Lady Markham-Lothen. I will do that."

Phantom looks a little confused. "Isn't, uh, this a training facility?"

Wild Thing says, "Maybe the coffee is better there?"

Jennifer smiles, "I almost feel a little guilty saying this as the owner of this Gym is my aunt, but the Princess Guard's facility is vastly superior."

Phantom leans in a bit out of interest. "Pos? Like what does it have?"

Wild Thing perks up her ears too.

Bran continues listening to the conversation, but doesn't say anything.

Jason lifts his now stone cold cup of liquid sludge and tips it back, draining it without expression.

Jennifer says, "The Fae are masters of glamour. Add in Dwaven magic and the result is a workout room that is faithful for magic and nentalists as well as physical powers."

Jennifer sits in her chair, "Okay, next session if you're interested is taking part we'll use the bank situation as a practice scene. To wind up this session I'm open to questions on all and any subjects."

Wild Thing thinks a bit before raising her hand. "With that bank scenario - would it make sense to put out the car even before working out a plan? Because if it might explode, that's kind of urgent, even if it's low-priority."

Bran shakes his head, clearly not having any questions at the moment.

Phantom hasn't got any questions to ask yet, though he is interested in the answer to Wild Thing's question.

Jason pushes quietly to his feet, taking a moment to slide his chair back under the table before turning for the door.

Jason pauses after a couple of steps to glance back toward Jennifer, offering a simple, "Thanks." before continuing on his way.

Jennifer says, "That depends on the make and model of the car and whether you want to keep the presence of heroes secret. If it was an electric car it's not going to explode. H2 fuel cell, then probably. Realistically, anyone pulling a robbery in Colonial Bay with a meta is going to expect hero response."

Phantom affords a glance in Bran's direction, then to Jason as he gets up and leaves. "Nice meeting ya," he says as Jason departs, leaning back and slouching a bit.

Wild Thing smiles. "OK, that's what I thought! Thanks - really helpful!" she does a backflip off her chair. . o O ( I never thought of breaking things down to objectives, priorities and plans like that before. I should use this in gaming! )

Bran gives a half-wave as Jason heads out.

Jennifer adds, "Whoever it was who said that objective priority is not always the order in which they are done is correct. Priorities should determine when to switch tasks if the opportunity to achieve an objective comes up.

Phantom thinks a moment and looks to Bran, leaning over a bit as he whispers, "Hey, wanna chat after this?" He suspects something's up.

Bran looks up at Phantom and then nods. "Yeah, sure. I can do that."

Bran slowly gets to his feet as things wrap up.

Phantom looks to Jennifer and the Rabbit, smiling. "Thanks for this. It was really helpful," he says in appreciation before getting up.

Bran also says to Jennifer, "Thank you for the class."

Jennifer says, "I hope you find it helpful."

Phantom smiles. "It'll take a while to get used to thinking that way, but I think it'll help soon enough."

Bran nods. "I think it will help, yeah. Thank you."

Phantom walks over to join Bran on his way out. He doesn't say anything just yet, suspecting Bran will be more comfortable without an audience.

Bran sighs. "I think...the adults were sounding like soldiers. I'm not a soldier. And I won't be one."

"Yeah, I have a thing against the idea of being a soldier. The rabbit was a...weird manifested spirit belonging to this Warleader person I helped out. I guess like a general?" Phantom says as he rubs the back of his head. "Only I didn't know it at the time. Neither did she."

Bran nods. "But I also wasn't keen on being told I was wrong...when my suggestion about the car was to protect civilians or the police."

"I agreed with you on your suggestion. They weren't concerned about the civilians. I don't want to be that. I may as well be a vil if I'm going to turn my back on the reason to do this," Phantom opines. Perhaps he's just a naive teen.

Bran nods. "I get that they were trying to be 'practical', but it sounds cold.

"Yeah, totes," Phantom nods and sighs, looking back at the cleared room as he plants his hands on his waist. He frowns faintly. "Things with my friends were never this hard. Or heated. We didn't even feel like we needed to call ourselves a team until...well, people started asking who we were. We were fine without being called anything or being anything 'official' or 'sponsored' by nups."

Bran nods slowly. "I don't understand why they're all being so...difficult. It doesn't make sense to me."

Phantom sighs as his shoulders sag a bit and his head tilts down to look at the ground. "Bad attitudes? Cuz they're not friends?" he suggests. He just shakes his head and lifts it to look at Bran and gives a little shrug. "You can't force people to like each other. And you definitely can't force 'em to trust each other."

Bran nods at that. "Yeah. That makes sense. Speaking of...I know your group decided to not expand your membership. I get that. But what was your stance on it? Your personal stance?"

"It's...complicated. They still equate 'code dark' as 'family'. And...there's more to it than that," Phantom says, unsure of how to even explain the bond they all have or that they're not even from this dimension. "They'd still want to work with people, just under a different name. Some of them are worried that if we just team up with anyone, we could find a bad egg who'll land us in juvy." He smiles gently at his question. "My personal stance? I wanted us to be able to work together as an even bigger team. Though right now, I wonder if I couldn't just try to convince them to open up just a little bit. If they had voted to open up, I was gonna recommend you as a start if you wanted. But they don't know any of those other teens yet, so...they voted without knowing the who, ya know?"

Bran lets out a long breath. "Well, if they're worried about being sent to juvy, I wouldn't want me in the group either." He doesn't go in to details, but it's clear that he doesn't exactly think highly of himself." He shrugs, "Maybe no group will actually form at this rate. Which is weird. I thought most people wanted to. Then Riptide kind of backed off, like his...personality changed. Heather and Olympia seem...volatile? No idea about Union. Linda seems to be more focused on SGG."

"They didn't vote on you. Seriously, it was a general question...and they were mostly thinking of Riptide," Phantom chuckles. "And they were worried about the sort of shick that happened here. This whole thing about corporate sponsors just ain't us. We want a bit more freedom to not be under the eyes of the nups." He studies Bran a moment with a friendly smile. "I'm not worried about having you with us. Not everyone in Code Dark are perfect. We butt heads, but we're still friends." He thinks on Bran's assessment. "Man, Riptide seems to have mellowed. He said me telling him off made him think about his past actions and wanting to do better. Heather and Olympia? Yeah, they don't seem like team players to me. They aren't forgiving enough? I thought Union was a narc. She kept trying to push to know our deals. It made us uncomfy. Linda's gotten real rigid real fast, but I thought she was okay before all this."

He pauses a moment in thought, then smiles a bit to himself. "As for you, bud? I like you. And I trust you. You know you're the only one outside my team that knows I'm a mentalist?"

Bran nods. "But I'm guessing you wouldn't have told me if I hadn't noticed, right? I mean...why would you?"

Phantom keeps his smile. "Would you have told me if you hadn't noticed what I did?"

Bran thinks about it. "No. Probably not." He shakes his head, "I felt pretty badly about what happened back at my old school. I'm still not entirely sure I should be..like...trying to be a hero. I'm not exactly good at it. Maybe I should just...live my life, and work on getting better at it before trying again."

Phantom nods as Bran comes to the same conclusion. "You didn't have to tell me about your powers. I didn't have to open up, and I certainly didn't have to tell you my hero identity. But I did because I trust you. Maybe you would've never spoken to me because I'm a jock after what the ones at your school did to you, but by accident, we had a chance to see past that. I consider you a friend, even if you don't consider me one."

He glances back to the room in thought, then goes back to looking at Bran. "You couldn't help what happened at your school. I got hit pretty hard by that backlash when those rats knocked you out. But I don't blame you for that. If you wanna live your life, that's fine. If you want to help people in trouble but this ain't your thing? We don't need all this to be heroes or good people or help. I think we all need to maybe give it some time. Give everyone a breather to cool down. Do things outside of trying to push for a team."

Bran smiles slightly, "I consider you a friend."

Bran sighs, "I should probably talk to my sister about this. She might have some ideas about what to do."

Phantom's smile brightens up considerably at that. "Thanks, man. I appreciate that. So then as a friend...is there anything you want to tell me how you felt on the island after the mansion meeting? We didn't get a chance to talk privately before Rhiannon showed up, but I knew you were bothered by something."

Phantom nods. "Sure, man. Do what you need to. Let me know, I'll respect whatever you choose. But I will say...you saved the frickin' day against those superpowered rats. I wouldn't hesitate to fight alongside you again."

Bran nods. "Well, we just kind of covered it. I...find it hard to trust people. And I felt like...well, it was clear that Code Dark didn't trust me. And well...your friend Felix is a . I was just feeling like I was...like, shoved aside? And I felt like I was on my own. But there's this weird thing where various adults want to give...support, like a base...or gear or whatever, and it feels like a trap, you know?" He shakes his head again, "< Bleep > doesn't come free. Nothing is free. There's always a cost."

Phantom laughs. "Felix is hard to love. But sometimes people like that are worth the effort," he smiles a bit. The smile fades when he hears Bran's feelings. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. You're not on your own. I'll have your back if and when you need me to." He nods along though at Bran's suspicion. "That's why my group's hesitant. They're worried there's strings attached to all this stuff. We actually fell for that trap before and got burned. Hard. That's why we're so cautious and uncomfortable about this. Why we prefer to rely on our own abilities than handouts."

Bran nods. "Yeah, I get it. And thanks, I appreciate it."

Bran heads out.

Union steps in.

Union says, "Hey"

Phantom waves to Bran as he heads home, then looks to Union and nods. "Hey."

Union says, "I heard part of that. Is that why you don't want to take advantage of my Link power?"

"Then you didn't hear all of it. We were talking about all the handouts from the corporations and rich metas," Phantom replies as he lowers his hand from waving.

Union says, "Well I guess a goodbye gift from Crimson counts since she's Quinn daughter. But my offer to share them only came with the expectation that they be used. If there's any other strings attached, they're attached to me, not you."

"We already got Quinn comms through Amelia, though," Phantom says as he pulls his from his pocket and examines it. He can't really see it well. More notably, he's not been wearing it since he took it off at the meeting at the mansion. "They're all from the same source," he closes his hand and pockets again.

Union says, "Who is, as Phantom says, a rich meta. Crimson is too, but she was one of us."

"Was it from her, or her dad? I don't know Crimson," Phantom replies. "The comms aren't even as much an issue. It's everything else. The mansion. The training on other realms. The other offers. It's weird. You missed the drill lessons with Jennifer Markham, but someone said it best...it felt like she wanted us to be soldiers rather than heroes. Put catching a vil before protecting civilians and hostages."

Union says, "I've had other lessons from her. Were you there when I said that she's ex-military? Was Victory there? What did he say?"

Phantom shakes his head. "Victory and that Paragon person couldn't make it this time. Yeah, she announced she was with the SAS. And there was another person who showed who's the warleader of Undermoon."

Union says, "Really, who was that?"

Phantom cracks a smile. "That rabbit with the vest."

Union says, "That ghost girl that talks to you? I don't think you've told me her name."

Phantom chuckles. "Yeah, her name is Ghost. Fits."

Union says, "I suppose it does."

Phantom says, "But those were the only nups that showed."

Union nods. "Back to what I said about my power...Can I trust you?"

Phantom smirks a bit. "Can I trust -you-? Kid Tengu told me a bit about it. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of like...having people in my head."

Union says, "It's no more than having them in your ear with the comms - I can't hear anything you don't deliberately say."

Union says, "And of course he told you - I linked to him because I wanted to ask you a question."

Phantom says, "He told all of us. What was the question?"

Union says, "You had said you could hide us from detection by sight and sound. I asked if you could hide us from prying minds as well."

Phantom rubs his chin and thinks. "Well, from what Jennifer said in today's lesson, if there was someone who could get into your head, they have to see you. So I guess yeah, I can kind of keep us safe by making sure they can't see us. As long as people stay close."

Union says, "Most of the time, yes. But my first time fighting alongside Riptide - he was still calling himself Thunder - I got attacked *before* the vil...Brainbox, I think his name was...could possible have seen me."

Phantom's brow furrows. "Are you sure they couldn't see you? How was it impossible?"

Union says, "There was a solid wall between us. No windows on that side."

Phantom rubs the back of his head as he ponders that. Though he has an idea. "I guess not all mentalists need to see you the way Jennifer said," he guesses. After all, he uses his mind's eye and clairvoyance to focus on people. But he can't sense past walls.

Union says, "Hopefully it's not common. But that's why I asked."

Union says, "Now with my Link, you're just as much in my mind as the other way around. So again, can I trust you?"

Union relaxes internally, dropping the mental walls she's so painstakingly built since that encounter with Brainbox.

Union says, "*I* think I can."

Phantom takes a deep breath and holds in a few moments. "I don't know," he exhales. "If they can target you without seeing you, I bet they can tell when your mind's in touch with someone else's."

Union says, "You don't know if I can trust you? Or if you can hide minds from others?"

Phantom says, "Both? I've never had someone mess with my head before. I don't even know if I can control my thoughts."

Union says, "What about the Incubus? He was messing with everyone's head."

Phantom cringes a bit at the reminder. "That's the creepy part. I wasn't even aware of it."

Union says, "Will you at least try? I know you have at least some self-control. You hardly even look at me, and you've never laid a hand on me - even by "accident"."

Phantom smiles a bit at the looking comment even as he tries to appear as if he's looking at her now. "I...guess I can try."

Union reaches out with her mind to Phantom.

There's some resistance, almost tension at first. Phantom rolls his neck once and relaxes his defenses.

 Union says, "Hi!"

Phantom startles a little at that, eyes widening.

 Phantom says, "H...hi"

 Union says, "See? It's just like talking. Except that, in addition to talking, we'd both be more aware of how others are moving around us -if there were any - so we can avoid getting shot in the back or double-teamed, or work together to double-team someone else."

Phantom already deals with so much sensory input from others. This addition is a little overwhelming and takes a moment for him to adjust. To be safe, he already dropped his link with the others with little warning, which may worry them a bit.

 Phantom says, "How does this make us more aware of stuff like that?"

 Union says, "I don't really know. Just like I don't know what makes me a better fighter as Union than as...than otherwise."

 Union says, "Felix said that you're the best at coordinating your team. Do you think my power would be helpful to you for that?"

 Phantom says, "You don't even know how it works?"

Phantom shifts a little as he considers it.

 Phantom says, "I don't know. It might. But it may leave us vulnerable in other ways."

 Union says, "I don't really know how I become Union. I've been told there's some magic involved."

Phantom tilts his head and glances off to the side as he thinks a moment in private.

 Phantom says, "I don't know too much about magic, but as Felix explained, I'm a bit of a spirit whisperer. I didn't want to say anything because I was worried it'd make you uncomfortable, but...the spirits did tell me about your connection to Kid Tengu. And Riptide."

 Union says, "Remember the other day when I told you about my first time here?"

Phantom rubs at his temple idly and nods slowly.

 Union says, "I said I tripped over a cat?"

 Phantom says, "Yeah, when you saw Victory. And the cat talked. He had a talking cat?"

 Union says, "She's not his cat. And you've met her. As a lion?"

<LINK> Phantom says, "Heeeeeer?"

Phantom's eyes widen.

Union nods

<LINK> Union says, "The Kid's not the only shapeshifter in town."

<LINK> Phantom says, "Yeah, I've noticed there're a few."

<LINK> Union says, "In this town there's probably a few of just about everything."

Phantom nods slowly and grins.

<LINK> Phantom says, "I bet. I didn't expect two star spangled heroes in one town. Or anywhere. I thought they were from ages ago."

<LINK> Union says, "The ideals behind these colors are just as valid now as they were when m...when Betsy Ross sewed the first American Flag."