IC 1

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.