IC 1

In the basement of the University's Student Union Building is a nice sized meeting room. Big enough to fit a couple of hundred people, it instead just holds 20. Each person is relatively young, most early 20's, and looking not too excited to be there.

They sit in fold out chairs in neat circle facing inward. At the top of the circle is Rebecca Temple.

There's a moment of hesitation as the people in the room look back and forward for a moment without starting. Then the person to Rebecca's left stands a talks, then the person after them and so on until we get to the 7th person. Most don't mention any specifics about their powers, but so far it's obvious that they all have them.

He stands up and says with a deep but jovial voice"Hi. I'm Cam. Some of you know me because I've been coming for a little while. I'm a student here, studying Hospitality. I have powers too, but I don't like to talk about them." He's a big and wide young man. Blonde haired and blue eyed. His nose is a little crooked, like it's been broken, but other than that his features are perfect. He sits back down.

More people talk. Some even less than Cam. Some seem to tell their whole life stories, before we get to another man. He stays seated. He's serious faced, with some kind of darker blonde hair and green eyes. When he speaks, it's slow and deliberate, his accent is a little different than everyone else's. "Hello everyone. I'm Mason Murray. I'm studying chemistry here... An interesting fact about me is that at one point I held the speed run record for the "Defenders of Phantom City" game. I'm just here to learn a little bit and... broaden my horizons and support my campus members."

Other people speak, only one or two totally refusing to introduce themselves before it gets back to Rebecca.

Everyone looks around for a moment, then begins to slowly get up. Some people have others gravitating to them quickly. Others make their way to the refreshments in an obvious attempt to not have to start a conversation.

---

A group immediately forms around Cam, he’s charismatic and jovial, so that makes sense.

---

Mason goes to the refreshments and slowly pours himself a cup of coffee and peruses the donuts. He keeps an eye the groups. Trying to decide which to go to.

---

A few other groups form up, making small circles and triangles of people. One group has a young lady forming a small flame between here fingers. And another had what looks like a holographic globe with a few glowing dots on it.

---

A few people leave meeting, door swinging closed behind them.

Elise quickly manages to draw a small group around herself as well. She's beautiful, well-dressed and confident, and not above flirting lightly with anyone who seems responsive to it. She doesn't show off her powers as much as some of the others here, but she flexes a bit, showing to the people gathered around her that she is more flexible than a person should be. And she's clearly not above making innuendos about that fact either...

---

Rebecca meanwhile tries not to get too absorbed by any one group, moving between them, exchanging some easy words with people here and there, trying to just get familiar enough with everyone. The last thing she wants is for anyone who was here to run into her on campus later and for Rebecca not to recognize them and accidentally make them feel not valued.
After a while of that, she moves over to the small snacks table as well. She picks up a chocolate-glazed donut and takes a small bite out of it before turning to Mason. "Mason, right?" she asks him. "You're a bit nervous about joining any of the conversations or do you prefer to just lean back and observe?" She's trying not to make him feel embarrassed about his apparent shyness. "Want me to make any introductions? Is there anyone you'd like to talk to?"

Zoe's group seems pretty friendly and like they are having a good time. Except for one guy. He's older than a lot of people in the room, being in his mid twenties. Zoe's cavalier nature and easy charisma, along with her showing her powers, seems to be frustrating or upsetting him. He's a ok looking guy, with brown eyes and hair and wearing khakis. After a bit of Zoe winning everyone over, and after being quiet the whole time, he says "So how long have you had your powers, Ms. Showoff?" There doesn't really seem to be an ounce of irony or levity in his delivery. The other two guys and woman in the group all kind of give him the side eye.

---

Mason gives Rebecca a small grin, which fades quickly. "You got it the first time. I'm a watcher and listener... It's interesting being in the room with so many of us, you know? You would know, that's the whole point, right? Sorry, I babble sometimes. I wasn't really raised to talk, so being places where I need to talk and interact... I over-compensate. In classes, at parties... now here." He chuckles and he takes another sip of his coffee, letting his eyes slide around the room, taking it all in.

"Yeah, if it's ok with you, I'll just hang back and watch this time. It's a lot for me to take in. How long have you been having these meetings?" He fixes Rebecca with a look, his eyes are cool and calm, even though his hands and posture betray his nerves.

---

At the far side of the room, the group with the person who controls fire, the area seems to darken or become foggy? Someone must be using some sort of stealth or illusion power to show off.

Elise turns to the guy questioning her and raises an eyebrow. "Why?" she asks. She doesn't like his tone but she doesn't feel like getting dragged to his level, so she decides to answer. "Pretty much always. I've been told I was a very difficult toddler." She chuckles playfully, then asks, "How about you? I don't remember your name from the intro round. Or whether you shared anything about your powers. But now that you have our attention, I'm sure you'll want to show them off, don't you?" There is intensity in her tone as if she's daring him. If he backs down and refuses to show off, she's definitely going to perceive it as weakness - and portray it to the other bystanders as such.

---

"Don't worry about it," Rebecca tells Mason when he apologizes for rambling. "You may not believe it, but I'm actually pretty socially awkward as well. I prefer cuddling up under a blanket and watching Netflix to leading a big meeting like this. But I believe in what I'm doing so I force myself through it." She listens to the rest of his statement, then nods. "Sure, whatever you're comfortable with. Coming here just for the snacks is also allowed." At that point, the fog or darkness rises and she says, "I think I should check over there, make sure nobody is burning this place down or anything." She claps him on the shoulder, then quickly walks over to the source of this smoke, or whatever it is.

He seems a little taken aback by Elise's response. Flustered, he says "Well... my name is Harvey. And I didn't say what my power was, and I'm not going to in a room full of strangers". He shoves his hands deep in his pockets and begins to look down. Then, internally, he seems to rally and comes back with "After all, I wouldn't want to make people feel bad." The other three people in the circle are still just watching. One of them seems actively amused, the other two a little anxious.

---

Mason's aloof grin brightens a little as he says "That's very cool." In the time it takes for several thoughts to pass through his head, as he is maybe entirely too introspective, and is about to say something else, Rebecca excuses herself. She hears him mumble "I'll see you." as she goes to take care of business.

As she approaches, she notices that the haziness she sees could best be described as a kind of "cone of invisibility" reminder her of something from Get Smart. It's a kind of area of in which it's hard to decypher what's inside. A little dark, a little hazy (like the fake icebube walls that were big in the 80's and 90's), kind of makes you want to not look inside... Could be a good power if it was one or the other.

She hears a commotion coming from inside it, and feels a little heat, but can't really make out what's happening yet.

"Aww, don't worry honey," Elise condescends in a mocking tone. "We're all already feeling bad for you." She's definitely not going to back down until she's provoked him into showing his powers or made him cry and/or leave. Whichever happens first.

---

Rebecca feels somewhat relieved that it doesn't seem to be a fire or anything like that, just a strange optical power. She reaches out a hand and touches it to try and determine whether it's safe. Then, if it appears to be, she tries to step through to see what is going on inside it.

Harvey is again taken aback by the venom that Elise hits him with. His eyes fall again and his lips curl up into a snarl. "It figures. You feel like you can just come in here and say this and make people feel however ou want! No respect!" at that he turns and runs from the room, door swinging shut quietly behind him.

The others in the circle look back to her. A few looks of awe, respect and amusement cover thier faces.

---

As Rebecca pushes through the "cone" of illusion, she immediatly finds that just as she thought her hopes were answered, they were dashed. The wall also muffles sound, and once inside, she can hear the four people in the circle yelling and trying to stamp out a fire that has caught on the floor. It's not big, but any uncontrolled fire inside of a building seems unnaturally large.

*I thought you had fire control*
*I can make fires not control them*
*Damn this will be bad if...*

At that they, see Rebecca enter. Apparently, the cone works the same on the inside looking out.

"Well," Elise says with an amused chuckle. "Guess I was right that his powers aren't that impressive. No wonder he felt so bad." Further pushing her status as queen bee of at least this small sub-group that formed around her, she now lets her eyes wander over the people watching her. "I'm sure none of you are cowards like him, though, right?" It's clearly a challenge, and one that's now backed up by her previous victory over Hector. "Show me what you all got."

---

Rebecca feels a brief moment of panic at the flames, then relief when she sees the flames are still small. She realizes that her powers should be enough to extinguish them. But, and that's the problem, it would require her to use her powers. And despite her supportive words, her promises towards the other students that there is nothing wrong with them and that she can teach them to control their powers, that is definitely not something she is comfortable with. Instead, she joins them in just trying to stomp the flames out, hoping that since they're still small, they'll manage to get rid of the danger without her having to resort to letting out her power.
"Please be careful in here," she reminds them as they're working on the flames. "I only rent this room for our meetings. And if we burn it down, they won't let us use it again."

The three other members of the circle all look at her awestruck. One of the guys say "Wow, you really put him in his place...". Mark reaches out to shake Elise's hand and when she reaches out to take it, his hand passes through hers. Density control.

The woman, roots through her bag and brings out a notebook. She opens it to a blank, random, page, then closes her eyes. Lines of orange and black spread across the page, creeping up from her hand. After a moment, she looks at it and turns the page around to show off. Burned into the page is an characature of Hector crying and running from the room.

The third guy says "Wow. You all have some really neat stuff. I just have night vision."

---

The guy who was in control of the fire looks a little embarrassed. "Yeah... I'm sorry. My control isn't great yet. I've been working on it." The other two mumble sorrys too. Also looking embarassed. One of them waves a hand and the illusion breaks, everyone can easily see everyone else in the room now.

"All pretty impressive," Elise says with a smile. "Including the night vision." She glances around but can't spot that boring girl who leads the group anywhere, so she gestures for the others to step in closer. "How about we ditch this place? There's a great bar not too far from here. Let's have some drinks, on me. And we can all talk a bit more about our powers."

---

"Just be more careful next time," Rebecca says to the students with a smile. "No harm done. But I really don't want anyone to get hurt."

Before the meeting officially ends, we cut to four people walking on the street. Phantom University sits in the heart of Phantom City and is in a lot of ways the cultural center of the city. A huge quad is surrounded by a dozen large buildings and on the outskirts, a few minutes walk away, another dozen annexes. All of this is surrounded by the city itself. Over looked by skyscrapers and helicopters, the University is always beatified, especially at night. Street lights illuminate the walking paths and decorative lights hang from trees for the next weeks festival. And there's always a fesitval next week.

Crossing the street the group, if seen by onlookers would say a very attractive group of friends, walk in almost silence to the bar. They can see it as they cross the street, about to arrive after thier short walk. Elise keeps spirits up and everyone chit chats as they go, making better introductions. Angela, Jason and Brian are just happy to be around, out of that room, and maybe making some new friends that they have something in common with.

---

One the other side of town, a man is found hunched over a work table in a dark room. Music plays, but his single minded fixation on his chore is evident.

The bar Elise leads the others into is definitely not a typical student place. The sign above the door says The Willow and the inside is decorated with lots of wood and deep booths. It's a fancier place, out of the price class of the average student, but easily within Elise' means. The drink selection here consists mostly of cocktails, though there are also craft beers available, as well as some more common options. To someone who expected a more casual and regular type of bar, the first impression would probably be a big surprise, but Elise just wanders in as if she owns the place and drops into one of the booths, sliding through so she will be in the middle of the group, at the head of the small table.

As the others pick up the drink menus to look at the options, Elise leans conspiratorially over the table. Her voice lowered, she asks, "So, what's the craziest thing you guys all have used your powers for?"

---

Cole does not like being distracted when he's working so the music he listens to while at his work bench is always something that easily blends into the background - enough noise to drown out distracting noises but by itself not distracting as well. Right now, it's the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings movies.
As he's currently without a proper commission to work on, he's just flexing his creative muscles a bit, putting together a pair of gloves that will be able to produce Wolverine-like claws without losing too much flexibility in the hands. He doubts he's ever going to let anyone actually use them and he'll probably just disassemble them again once they're finished, but if he has nothing better to do, why not get inspired by comic books?

Brian, who was the one most amused by the confrontation earlier and with the night vision powers, puts down the cocktail menu. He says "Nothing too bad really. At summer camp, I used to sneak around at night. It's easy to do when no one can see you, but everything is bright as day for you. I didn't really do much past though. No stealing or anything." He looks at the menu one more time, grins and puts it back down. Seems like he's decided what he wants.

Angela leans in conspiratorialy. She only glanced at the menu to double check her suspicions, but it's obvious that she's a person who knows what she likes. "I hate to say it... it's really bad. So I'll save that for when we're not strangers. But my third wors thing is that I sell... would sell test answers. With my powers, if I can imagine it, I can put it on paper. Or really anything else that's easy to mark. How about you?" She gives Elise a little wink. Anyone with a modicum of people skills could tell that the selling fo answers was very recent if not current. But Angela gets the feeling that Elise has no problem walking on the wild side. And likes that about her.

Jason is the last to speak. He seems hopelessly confused by the menu. He flips it over, flips it again, flips a third time... puts it down and stares at the bar. "Oh, for me. I stole some stuff. Candy. A couple of text books. Nothing anyone would really miss." He's very nonchalant about it acting as if it isn't a big deal. He stares at the menu again. "Elise, you know this place? Do they have Rolling Rock?"

---

There's a knock on the door to Cole's Workshop, before he has an opportunity to get up, the door opens. A tall handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes walks in. He's got a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder, and is dressed mostly in dark blues. It's John Myers, one of the very few to have a key to the lab.

"What's up, Cole, man? I haven't seen or heard from you in a while. You good? " John walks over to Cole is about to put a friendly hand on his shoulder, then thinks twice about that, almost does a jovial punch to the shoulder, thinks about that again, then ends up giving a very quick hammer blow with his fist to the top of the shoulder. He's still not sure what kind of friends or comfort level the two of them have. John is generally very friendly, but these geniuses... you just never know.

"What are you working on, pal?" he leans over Cole's other shoulder, peering down at the blades and the gauntlet.

"And no sneaking a peek in the girls' shower?" Elise asks Brian after he finishes his account. "Or the boys', if that's more to your liking." She lets out a disappointed sigh. "You have a great power, but you should find proper usage for it instead of wasting it."

She turns to Angela, clearly intrigued by her evasive answer. "Well, I do hope you and I will move past the strangers stage quickly then, because I am a very curious woman and you have caught my interest."

She then listens to Jason and nods, but doesn't respond to his answer. However, when he asks about the drink options, she snaps, "I don't fucking know. Ask a waiter." She's not actually angry or even annoyed at his question, but she wants to keep them on their toes, make them worry that there's always a wrong thing to say. Make them want to prove themselves to her, rather than just relax in the understanding that they're friends.

She then turns her eyes back to Angela to refer to her question. She leans over the table conspiratorially. "I killed someone." As she looks at the other three for their reactions, a grin spreads on her lips. And keeps spreading, wider than a human grin is supposed to get. Then she lets out a chuckle. "No, I'm kidding. I haven't killed anyone." Her expression turning serious again, she adds, "Yet. I've just done some theft. A few hundred bucks here, a baby's lollipop there. Just whatever seemed fun to take in the moment."

---

Cole seems uncomfortable with any of the greetings John is considering but doesn't say anything or complain in regards to the one that the cop chooses in the end. "Uhm, ah, nothing," he replies to the man's question. "Got no commissions at the moment. Or decent ideas. So, ah, I'm just tinkering for the sake of it." He leans over his workbench to hide the gloves from view a bit. "Why, uhm, what are you doing here?"

The trio nods. There’s a little small talk as a server comes up to them. The server is in blacks and wearing a waistcoat. She introduces herself and takes the orders. Angela orders a Pinot noir. Brian gets a Stella Artois. Jason resigns himself to a Corpse Reviver.

After the server leaves they get back to it. Brian: "No… no LADIES showers haha. As intriguing as that is, that feels a little too far to me. " He covers his face a little, thinking of it. "As for using it… I don’t know… I guess I’d be just like the Green Ghost, right. I don’t really see how intangibility works for hero work. " He keeps mulling it over.

Angela: "Yeah, I think your interesting too. " She tips her glass forward for a small toast "I’m glad we met tonight. It’ll be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. I’ve been working on a couple of things that you may find intriguing too. " She smiles a mischievous and almost flirty smile at Elise. "I think it could be fun."

Jason, still taken a bit aback but not necessarily put out, by Elise’s comment mostly stays quiet. Wondering if a Corpse Reviver a cool enough drink. He thinks it’s pretty cool.

Everyone takes a moment to think of the next thing to say, then Jason chimes in "So what’s the next fun thing your thinking of taking?"

---

John’s sits back onto a chair and fold his hands over his lap. Looking right at Cole. Right into him. "I’m just worried about, pal. We’d talked about this before. Taking more time out in the world and outside of HERE." With that he waves around the around, indicating the lab.

"Or at the very least not dabbling in mad science just for the sake of it, hahaha". John is obviously saying this stuff from a place of worry and mentorship. He knows idle hands are the devils playground. And the devil would love for Cole to play in his sandbox.

Elise' cold eyes are on Brian, clearly judging him. Taking a peek at the showers is too far for him. And after they all were talking about stealing and forging, why is he suddenly talking of hero work? Maybe he's not cut from the right cloth for this. She decides to keep an eye on him, though her thoughts are interrupted by his words. "Intangibility?" she asks. "Don't tell me you got that as well and have been holding out on us."

She turns her eyes to Angela, meeting her eyes and returning her smile with an identical one. "I think you and I are going to have a lot of fun together," she says.

When Jason asks about her plans, she leans back. "I'm planning to step up my game a bit. I want the whole city to talk about me. And I may have an idea or two." She once again turns her eyes on Brian and stays silent long enough for him to notice. Only when he meets her eyes does she add, "I could probably use some help, though."

---

"Well, I like this tinkering work," Cole says, not meeting John's eyes. "And what would I do out there? You should know me well enough to know I don't do parties or anything like that." He looks down at the gloves on his workbench. This isn't mad science. Or is it? "And it's not like I don't spend time among other people. I have my university lectures and..." That's pretty much it, so he doesn't finish the sentence. "Why do you care, anyway?"

While Brian sits back a little in his seat, a look comes across his face that he tries to hide. He doesn't like to be judged, but even more so, he doesn't like for people to know what he thinks. He plays around with the menu.

Angela smiles at the comment of them being friends and is the first to respond. "What kind of help? What did you have in mind?" The other wo chime in with "Yeah." "Could be cool."

The men are obviously enamored and entranced by Elise's bad girl persona. Angela as well. And Elise can tell that the boys are now following Angela's lead.

Just then the drinks arrive with a clatter as the waitress quickly and smoothly sets them on the table and walks off.

---

"To be honest with you... I'm nots sure. Ever since we've met, I've known two things. 1. That you have an astounding amount of potential but no willingness for direction. 2. That we're connected. Really connected. So I just want to make sure you're flying straight." John walks around the room, carefully touching a few things before continuing.

"As for what to do 'out there', I don't know yet either. Make a difference. Take a walk. Try to go to a party. Join a support group. Talk to the Pantheon about gadgets. I don't know man. You just have so much going on and I hate that you're spending it all in... here." John walks back to grab his bag. Then firmly clasps his hand on Cole's shoulder and looks him in the eye. "I've got to run to work, but I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you. And to pick up your damn phone next time I call."

John breaks away and lets the earnestness fall. "Alright good buddy. Time for me to try to save the world one street corner at a time. I'll see ya". John starts heading towards the door. There's time for Cole to catch him if he has something to say.

Elise leans in conspiratorially and licks her lips. "What I'm proposing requires trust," she says. "And a certain amount of disregard for authority and laws." She rhythmically taps her fingers on the table before saying, "I think we need to prove to each other that we are dedicated to this group before we can take any major steps. How about... a round of challenges to be fulfilled before our next meeting. Just something small, to prove ourselves." A smile appears on her face at this idea and she leans back again, sipping from the glass of whiskey the waitress put down in front of her. Her eyes move over the group, then lock on Brian. "Let's see," she says. "I want you to steal someone's phone. Not a family member, that's too easy." She takes another sip as she thinks some more on this. "No, how about that stuck up girl who ran the group we escaped from earlier. The ice princess who didn't want to show us any ice. You can come up with an excuse to meet her, right?"
She smiled with satisfaction at this idea, then asked, "Now, would you like to give Jason a challenge to fulfill?" She's speaking casually, but every word is designed to make sure she pulls Brian in deeper before he can get cold feet. Even if the peer pressure to fulfill his own task fails and he chickens out on it, if he challenges Jason to do something illegal, then he's at least an accessory to a crime. It'll be harder for him to leave the group then.

And, following the line of tasks this way, Jason will challenge Angela and Angela will challenge Elise. The budding supervillainess' eyes move to the other girl in the group. She is very curious what kind of challenge Angela would come up with.

---

As Cole listens to John's two reasons, he suddenly feels awkward in his seat. He looks up into the policeman's eyes, trying to read his intentions. A weird thought flashes through his head. Is he flirting with me? He clears his throat and uses the time during which John lists possible ways for Cole to get out of his garage to straighten out his thoughts again. "I don't know," he admits. "I guess I'll think about it. And my phone is on mute when I'm working. Sorry."

As John begins to walk out, Cole originally plans to just let him go, but then he says, "Wait!" He hesitates for a moment, mulling over what to say. "You're putting yourself in danger." He turns, looking up from his workbench and at his... friend? Are they friends? They are, right? "Why do you not want me to build you something? I... I think you would be safer if you brought one or two of my tools along on your job."

Brian thinks for a second. Many thoughts pass his mind but they essentially boil down to this.... Is he in or out. He looks to Elise and Angela. To him both ladies have some sort of inner fire or darkness or something. At the very least, it seems they like to live life on the edge. Can he join them out there... Yes. He can.

"Ok. I accept. Sure. Sounds fun." He nods, mostly to himself. Committed. "Jason. Jason. Jason. What can I get you with. No tresspassing or theft I guess. Too similar to mine and too easy for your powers." It's Brian's turn to think. He makes it almost halfway through his drink before he comes up with something. "I want you to drive. I want you to go from Widow's Peak to the Edge in 25 minutes."

A smile comes over Jason's face. If it's one thing he loves, it's to drive. He thinks on the route. Widow's Peak is on the West of the City and the Edge is where the City hits the ocean. Usually, you'd think a trip like that would take an hour and a half. To make it in less than a... "Yeah. I'm in. Fun." He's already ready with Angela's.

"Ange, I want you to get us some drugs and party favors to celebrate at the Edge when I do this." The City isn't really known to be a drug haven, but that's part of the fun.

She beams at him. She thinks this will be interesting and probably easy. "First off, Jace. Don't call me Ange" she says mockingly. Not really meaning it, just reminding him of his too soon casual ness. "Second. I'll do it." She finishes her drink. "Ok, Fearless Leader. It's your turn. What should it be..." She claps her hands, having gotten it. "I want you to tag a building. You know, graffiti. Something we can see from the Edge. while we're out that night." She turns the beaming grin away from Jason and towards Elise. Angela is pretty excited by her new friend group and the possibilities. "What do you say?"

---

Upon hearing wait, John spins around. Hearing the concern that Cole has, he can't help but smile. "Putting myself in danger is part of how we met, remember. Shoot, it's the reason I'm in the city. I'll be alright." He walks back over to Cole. "I'm not really allowed to take something not issued as my standard uniform yet... but I am curious about what you have here that may help."

He looks around the room, trying to see if he can spot a device. "You know, I personally don't ant to be a Superhero, but if something helps me make it home at the end of the day, I won't complain. Show me the goodies. If it's small enough, I'll try to bring it."

Elise smiles at the suggestion, taking another sip from her drink. "Interesting," she says. "And not something I've ever done before. Alright, I'm in." She takes out her phone and opens the calendar on it. "About a week should be enough time for all of us to do our parts. Well, I guess Jason won't need to do anything before then, except maybe practice his driving a bit more." Opening her contacts, she then hands the phone to Brian. "Put your numbers in so I can contact you all if anything changes. Otherwise, we'll meet at the Edge, let's make it six days from now. At sunset. We should have a nice view then." Turning her eyes to Jason, she adds, "Except you. I'll meet you at Widow's Peak and I'll be in the car with you. It sounds like fun." Winking playfully at him, she adds, "And with our respective powers, I think we'll be safe even if you fuck it up completely."

She slams back the rest of the expensive whiskey that is definitely meant for sipping slowly, then says, "Now, with the business side taken care of, unless any of you still have questions, it's time to just get a bit wasted." She waves the waitress over again and says, "Don't be shy. Order whatever you feel like. I'm paying after all."

---

Cole's cheeks redden at this and he says, "I, uh, I don't have anything ready for you right now. Nothing appropriate at least." He glances around the place. "But I'll build you something. Maybe a sonic weapon, like a portable LRAD? To safely subdue someone?" He tries to meet John's eyes but nervously averts his eyes again as he feels judged for his idea. "It... It's nothing, uhm, fancy. But maybe it'd be useful. But if you have a better idea, then you can tell me. Would you prefer something defensive? A collapsible shield you could wear in a bracer and deploy when needed?" He lets out a sigh. "I bet there are plenty of better ideas. I'm not usually the idea person. I just build things."

Everyone puts their numbers into Elise's phone, smiling. The anxiety of coming up with assignments for everyone is wearing off and they can finally settle in a little bit. When Elise says she wants to ride with Jason on the night of, he gives her a wink and says "Your chariot awaits your highness." Then immediately winces. Then immediately after that tries to cover it up. He sighs then takes another sip.

Then everyone settles in for a fun evening of fun and bonding.

---

John smirks and nods at the sonic weapon comment. "As cool as that is... I can't be taking around... unvetted weaponry. I'm a cop afterall. On or off duty." He looks up at the cieling. Hand on his hips and thinks. Hard. And Cole can tell he's thinking hard because he can almost feel the energy coming off of him from 10 feet away..

Then he snaps his fingers. "Here's something..." He looks Cole in the eyes smiling. "How about some glasses that can help me see if someone's telling the truth or lying. Or I guess ideally if they are about to do something... reckless? I'm not sure. But I can wear whatever glasses or sunglasses I want. And since it's not a weapon, it shouldn't be an issue." A look then passes over John's face face. Shame or guilt maybe... "I'm sure that's nothing for a master engineer like you... but I think it would be very helpful if you can swing that. What do you say? And obviously that's a first idea so if you have any other ideas to improve it, that would be nifty."

Elise takes back her phone and checks over everyone's entries, then slides it back into her purse. At Jason's comment, she gives a half-hearted eyeroll and a smile that's equal parts exasperated and amused. "You're such a fucking dork," she tells him, but the maliciousness she showed towards comments she disapproved of earlier is not there this time. She has also moved on from 'business mode' by this point and is just looking to have a good time for a bit.

---

Cole watches John stand in the middle of his little workshop, thinking. There's something interesting about how hard the man can think. And then he pops out with an idea. Cole frowns as he slowly mulls it over in his brain. "I'll have to do some research," he admits. "I build machines, not magic, so I can't build you something that can see lies. But maybe... there are common signs people display when they lie, right? I'll have to look into what exactly they are. But if it's something like temperature shifts, eye movements, muscle twitches... Maybe I could build you glasses that could help recognize that kind of stuff. You would still have to analyze the behavior." He looks down at the hands in his lap. "I'm really not good at reading people's behavior, so you shouldn't rely on me for that. But that kind of thing could help, right? Maybe similarly, it could help with figuring out if people are about to do something rash." A smile appears on his lips and surprisingly, he's not sure if it's more about having a new challenge to solve or about having a way to help out his potentially only friend. "Yeah, I can make something like that for you."

---

A broad smile appears over John's face. "Wow... you really think you can do that! That would be fantastic!" John kind of sits for a moment, as if Cole were going to start and finish right now. He then looks at his watch again and stands straight up.

"Thanks a lot Cole. And if you can't crack it, that's ok. It's a big ask. Look, I've got to go, but I'll check in with you later, ok?" He gives Cole another tap on the shoulder, then grabs his duffle bag, and leaves.