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the scientific method

Optical had flinched as the tension in the room rose, and remained tense as it fell. The guns had all too easily rippled from ‘nonthreatening’ to ‘why hello, yes I am able to shoot you in the face.’

Thankfully nobody began to shoot one another, so Optical reframed from cocooning herself in shields. No sense pushing the situation further on edge. As the other woman spoke, and then the man with a cigarette, Optical went back to taking her notes.

Hypothesis one is inoperable. As is five, while six is exceedingly unlikely given the agent’s reaction to the fellow with the sword, and they are the ones who gave the contract so it wouldn’t even matter -- though it would be an unsatisfying conclusion. I do hope that the display here hasn’t lowered our eventual payment. Two, three, and four are all still within the realm of possibility, though it may come to pass that it is a seventh or eighth possibility that I haven’t considered... hold on.

Optical leaned forward to catch everyone’s attention again. Her brow was creased in an uncertain frown.

“I would like some clarification. You stated that all you know of Mr Knox’s abilities is that he gains super speed and strength. You outright stated that his abilities are… not ranged, I believe were your words. So then… are explosions part of Mr Knox’s abilities? I would have thought those would count as ‘ranged.’ I truly am sorry, I believe I misunderstood something, and that we cannot have.” Optical gave the agent a cheerful smile. “A mirror desires accurate reflections, after all!”

Agent McGrath sighed. "Look, there's a lot of unknowns with this kid. There was an explosion at the hospital, but he didn't use any explosive power when he freaked out during the Diner Incident. Therefore, we don't think he can make explosions. Again, we simply don't know everything about Andrew here. So I would advise caution. Now, are there any other questions?"

"Yeah, one more," a slightly intoxicated Dan said from the back, surrounded by cigarette butts and empty beer cans.
"Will we be pardoned for any crimes we may or MAY NOT have committed previous to this little outing?"

"Yeah, one more," a slightly intoxicated Dan said from the back, surrounded by cigarette butts and empty beer cans.
"Will we be pardoned for any crimes we may or MAY NOT have committed previous to this little outing?"

Agent McGrath shook his head. "Maybe, but probably not. It really depends on the crime and how well you do your job here. I certainly hope that you don't have anything to..."
Luckily for Daniel, at this point he noticed the beer cans and became distracted. "What the f- you seriously couldn't wait until after the presentation? How did you even get all those in here? I'm seriously this close to firing the security lead..."
He rubbed his temples and gave a long raspy sigh. "Okay, you know what? I say we wrap this up so I can get you, all of you, the hell out of my building. So, if anyone else has an important question and we'll respond ASAP, call or email us. We're done here. Good luck."

And the meeting ended like that, the superhumans were turned loose into the hot California sun.

Daniel stumbled out like a drunken prostitute into that godawful west coast weather phenomenon known as "The Sun". He honestly felt like puking, but that would be a waste of good beer so he held it in. After getting his bearings something finally dawned on him, something he had to share with the rest of the group.
"Wait...he didn't actually tell us where to even start, did he?"

Thurmond, having sat silently through the whole meeting, walked out into the heat. Looking around at the hustle and bustle he notices Daniel's half-drunk sounding statement and responds with the first full sentence he has said to the team since arriving,
"I now know one reason they might have chosen some of us for this, not only are we supers, but some has done this kind of work before....." he paused looking at those around him... "No? Just me? Well, the way we would do these kidnappings would be to lock them in a bunker, so most likely we will have to find the kidnapper before we can have any hope of finding this boy. I say we check the hospital for any mess-ups on behalf of the kidnapper, anyone with me, or shall I keep all the fun to myself?" He finished looking around at those gathered. Thurmond was very happy that he got this little assignment, and more importantly that they never specified the condition the kidnapper needed to be in. Bring boy alive, easy,. Kill the kidnapper? That's just for fun.


(Anyone paying attention would notice a lighting bolt flicker in Thurmond's eyes in excitement)

Arcadia walks out of the building thinking way to much about what just happened "I need a beer after that ahah" looking at Daniel, "you look like a man who knows his beer ahahah" stops looking at Daniel, "Mmm but yes they didn't told us much" Arcadia looks at the Thurmond, "so we find this kid by finding the kidnapper? are we even sure if the boy is alive?" waiting for the others to see what they think about whats next or to do next....

still unsure about some in this group, with a look in his eyes of being superior to some here, but feeling calm....

Arcadia walks out of the building thinking way to much about what just happened "I need a beer after that ahah" looking at Daniel, "you look like a man who knows his beer ahahah" stops looking at Daniel, "Mmm but yes they didn't told us much" Arcadia looks at the Thurmond, "so we find this kid by finding the kidnapper? are we even sure if the boy is alive?" waiting for the others to see what they think about whats next or to do next....

still unsure about some in this group, with a look in his eyes of being superior to some here, but feeling calm....

Thurmond looked and the scientist with a raised brow, as the mans eyes dart from one to the other, and bluntly says "If the boy is already dead then we try and find him and drag his corpse back here for them to autopsy and remove from their oh so important threat list. If he died before we even started looking then we might still get paid já?" Taking note of the Arcadia's visible superiority complex he added, not exactly threateningly (more as advice), "And do not think that just because you have a degree it makes you more a threat than some here, something tells me experience is key. Armor and a sword will only get you so far against things such as fire or, dare I say, rafmagn...erm....electricity."

Optical followed the rest out of the briefing room, gaze buried in her notebook. She glowered at it, as if she could set it on fire with her gaze. Needless to say, it remained perfectly intact. Those will be all sorts of unorganized, she thought. No matter, no matter. I can neaten them when travelling. I'll need to look at that hospital there was something I have to-- yes, the explosion! How did that happen? If Mr Knox does not have explosion powers, how then was there an explosion! Did machines malfunction? Note to self: look up if hospital machines explode. Or, did Mr Knox develop the ability to do so when kidnapped? Or, was this not intended as a kidnapping -- but an assassination, and Mr Knox is currently fleeing from--

Optical scowled and tapped the side of her head with her pen as she walked. There you go again. Stop constructing hypotheses without any information, she scolded herself. Besides, he was injured. Still, it is worth considering as Hypothesis Seven.

Abruptly she looked up, noticing that she'd walked past the group while she thought. Whoops. Optical quickly turned on her heel to return to them. She had turned back in time to hear the man with the ponytail say something about checking the hospital, and reached the group as the ponytailed-man spoke to the sword-man.

Arcadia walks out of the building thinking way to much about what just happened "I need a beer after that ahah" looking at Daniel, "you look like a man who knows his beer ahahah" stops looking at Daniel, "Mmm but yes they didn't told us much" Arcadia looks at the Thurmond, "so we find this kid by finding the kidnapper? are we even sure if the boy is alive?" waiting for the others to see what they think about whats next or to do next....

still unsure about some in this group, with a look in his eyes of being superior to some here, but feeling calm....

Thurmond looked and the scientist with a raised brow, as the mans eyes dart from one to the other, and bluntly says "If the boy is already dead then we try and find him and drag his corpse back here for them to autopsy and remove from their oh so important threat list. If he died before we even started looking then we might still get paid já?" Taking note of the Arcadia's visible superiority complex he added, not exactly threateningly (more as advice), "And do not think that just because you have a degree it makes you more a threat than some here, something tells me experience is key. Armor and a sword will only get you so far against things such as fire or, dare I say, rafmagn...erm....electricity."

Daniel was about the respond to Arcadia's little attitude, but Thurmond did it for him. He was starting to like this viking guy, and they seemed to possess the same 'do the job, get the money, kill any motherfucker that gets in our way' approach.
"The Viking's right, we should go to the hospital. The cops know jack shit about supers, so we might do a better job knowing what to look for."

Arcadia walks out of the building thinking way to much about what just happened "I need a beer after that ahah" looking at Daniel, "you look like a man who knows his beer ahahah" stops looking at Daniel, "Mmm but yes they didn't told us much" Arcadia looks at the Thurmond, "so we find this kid by finding the kidnapper? are we even sure if the boy is alive?" waiting for the others to see what they think about whats next or to do next....

still unsure about some in this group, with a look in his eyes of being superior to some here, but feeling calm....

Thurmond looked and the scientist with a raised brow, as the mans eyes dart from one to the other, and bluntly says "If the boy is already dead then we try and find him and drag his corpse back here for them to autopsy and remove from their oh so important threat list. If he died before we even started looking then we might still get paid já?" Taking note of the Arcadia's visible superiority complex he added, not exactly threateningly (more as advice), "And do not think that just because you have a degree it makes you more a threat than some here, something tells me experience is key. Armor and a sword will only get you so far against things such as fire or, dare I say, rafmagn...erm....electricity."

Arcadia turns to Thurmond "Mmm so its just about the money?" thinking hard about these supers "you don't care if the boy is alive or not? ahahah its all about the money right?" hoping for a good reply but Arcadia knows what it will be..

Arcadia turns away from the group with little hope that the hospital will help find the kid alive...

Arcadia turns to Thurmond "Mmm so its just about the money?" thinking hard about these supers "you don't care if the boy is alive or not? ahahah its all about the money right?" hoping for a good reply but Arcadia knows what it will be..

Arcadia turns away from the group with little hope that the hospital will help find the kid alive...

 
Thurmond looked at the scientist with a straight and serious face. "When you have been through what I have been through, then ja its about the fucking money. Unfortunately only those with serious pasts seem to realize the realistic version of life we live in." He said, motioning towards Daniel, whom had agreed with him. "I know what happens because I've done this myself a few times, and know the risks involved and the realities of these situations, perhaps your super intelligent brain is lacking in wisdom?" He asked sarcastically as he turned towards Optical and asked much more politely, "Well miss? what do you and your paper think? Are you coming with me and Daniel to the hospital?"

Thurmond looked at the scientist with a straight and serious face. "When you have been through what I have been through, then ja its about the fucking money. Unfortunately only those with serious pasts seem to realize the realistic version of life we live in." He said, motioning towards Daniel, whom had agreed with him. "I know what happens because I've done this myself a few times, and know the risks involved and the realities of these situations, perhaps your super intelligent brain is lacking in wisdom?" He asked sarcastically as he turned towards Optical and asked much more politely, "Well miss? what do you and your paper think? Are you coming with me and Daniel to the hospital?"

"If you would not mind me tagging along," Optical said, inclining her head to Thurmond and Daniel. " 'My paper' and I were interested in heading there as soon as possible. Unless, on reflection, there are nearer leads to look into first?"

Optical then looked over to Arcadia. "Finding Mr Knox alive would be the optimal result. Our pay increases if our employers were pleased with our efforts, does it not? Mr Knox living equals them being happy." She bit her lip. "Plus, I'm fairly curious about him. A brand new cape, who discovered his powers in the worst of circumstances... you have to admit, that is fascinating. It would be a shame if he was already dead."

Thurmond looked at the scientist with a straight and serious face. "When you have been through what I have been through, then ja its about the fucking money. Unfortunately only those with serious pasts seem to realize the realistic version of life we live in." He said, motioning towards Daniel, whom had agreed with him. "I know what happens because I've done this myself a few times, and know the risks involved and the realities of these situations, perhaps your super intelligent brain is lacking in wisdom?" He asked sarcastically as he turned towards Optical and asked much more politely, "Well miss? what do you and your paper think? Are you coming with me and Daniel to the hospital?"

Arcadia Turns back to Thurmond with a smile "Wisdom you get through life, Intelligence you are born with ahahah" Arcadia still calm "you may have wisdom but you lack intelligence"

"If you would not mind me tagging along," Optical said, inclining her head to Thurmond and Daniel. " 'My paper' and I were interested in heading there as soon as possible. Unless, on reflection, there are nearer leads to look into first?"

Optical then looked over to Arcadia. "Finding Mr Knox alive would be the optimal result. Our pay increases if our employers were pleased with our efforts, does it not? Mr Knox living equals them being happy." She bit her lip. "Plus, I'm fairly curious about him. A brand new cape, who discovered his powers in the worst of circumstances... you have to admit, that is fascinating. It would be a shame if he was already dead."

Arcadia looking tired "yes the pay goes up god knows I need it" looking around see the others "yes I would like to find the boy alive if only to see what powers he has...."

After Arcadia's statement of a lacking intelligence, Thurmond could feel his blood pressure rising, and he reached for his tomahawk, before re-diverting his hand to his drinking horn and having a drink, letting the alcohol calm him down. Turning to Optical, who seemed to be much more down to earth he stated, "There is no need for review, the boy was last seen in hospital, I say we go there now and get this investigation underway. Can anyone here arrange transportation or should we head out ourselves and meet at the location?"

Arcadia looks at the others "well I don't mind going with you guys but if you think for 1 minute I'm happy with this you are wrong" Arcadia turns away with disappointment "I just want to find this kid and fast" under his breath he says I just want to finish my work