Fanfic #246 Kaleidoscope by Viev(worm)

This fanfic is an au where Taylor has the sharingan. I really like this fic because of how manipulative the mc is and how the sharingan changes the way the story develops.

Synopsis: ???

Rated: M

words: 210k

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/kaleidoscope.717019/reader/

Here's the first chapter:

I walked into the PRT HQ at a leisurely pace, my power flipping between a small blade and a butterfly knife. It was the least obtrusive of my fiddling, to the point of most people not even noticing the small green glow that occurred when they switched. I'd learned very early on, when I was a Ward, that being visibly armed put other people on edge. Normally I would have a bowie knife in a sheath or a pistol by my side and leave it at that, but I was feeling a slight amount of anticipation. A young parahuman had come in with an interest in joining the Wards.

It was rare for new capes to pop up, even in Brockton Bay. A teenager walking into the PRT HQ of their own accord was rarer still. The decision to join the Wards, assuming they were a recent trigger, already implied they might have a good head on their shoulders. If all went well, another hero would be that much safer than they would've been had they chosen to go elsewhere.

I'd been called instead of Armsmaster, likely because I was more affable than my superior. Making the prospective Ward comfortable was a high priority, both with members of the Protectorate and the other Wards.

I already knew where I was going, so it took me no time at all to get there. I entered a small conference room that had a long table with a couple chairs on both sides. I was met with a teenage girl in front of me. She was wearing a light blue zip up sweatshirt and had a small, gray beanie covering her head. She also wore a modest venetian mask that surrounded her brown eyes and hid the shape of her nose. I wondered if her hair was short or if it was in a bun under her hat. It was prudent of her to hide her identity, though she'd have to reveal it to be part of the Wards. Another point in the sensible column.

She didn't get up to shake my hand or anything when she met my eyes, so I sat down. I put a folder off to the side as I did so. It held processing, NDA forms, as well as the papers to join the Wards themselves. One of her parents would have to sign the last one if she decided she wanted to join here and now. Her parent was not present, another way to make sure her identity stayed hidden. That suggested an amount of confidence that most people her age weren't likely to have. Or it could be a sort of rebellion against her guardians. Maybe her parents didn't know she was a parahuman.

"Hello," I began in a pleasant tone, "I am Miss Militia."

She nodded shakily, her partially covered expression conveying a mixture of anxiety and awe. "Yeah, I-" she paused, as her voice had cracked quietly. She swallowed, then continued. "You're one of my favorites." I raised my eyebrows. A cape geek? That was a good sign. "Although I gotta say, Armsmaster has you beat if I'm picking." she said with a nervous smile.

I gave back a genuine smile myself, the top half of my head expressive after years and years of making faces with my mouth covered. "Not to worry, I'm not at all offended. He is quite amazing." I gave back as I regarded her. She breathed out in almost unnoticeable relief. "Do you have a name you'd like to use throughout the course of this meeting?"

Her hands, they'd been on her lap, came up as she wrung them on the table. "Yeah, um. Phantasm." There was a pause. "It's just for now." she got out in a small rush. "I'm not married to it or anything."

I nodded, understanding. Maybe she didn't particularly like the name, or maybe she knew the PR department might not let her keep it. It hardly mattered. "So, Phantasm." I said as I eyed her with interest. This was my favorite part. "What's your power?"

She cleared her throat. "I can make illusions." she managed, still apprehensive.

My eyebrows shot up once again. "Really?" I asked, contemplating just what she meant. There were many different ways that power could manifest. She nodded, a bit more stable. "Would you mind giving me a demonstration?"

She made a small smile. "Of course."

She immediately vanished.

Her chair was empty. I blinked, then realized her chair was pushed in, as if no one had been sitting there. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and jumped after I turned my head, startled. There was Phantasm, leaning with her back on the wall, hands behind her. She looked as if she'd been patiently waiting for something.

I looked at the chair, then back at her. "How did you-" I stopped, then thought it out. "How long have you been standing there?"

She made a half-smile, similar to the one she'd made before she'd disappeared. "I've been standing here the entire time." she responded without a hint of satisfaction, shuffling slowly.

I put my hand on my forehead briefly as I tried to wrap my head around the implications of her admission. Her power was... and more importantly, she was… I shook my head, trying to put the thoughts away for the moment. Couldn't get ahead of myself. "Could you sit down?" I requested, careful not to sound testy.

She went to the chair I'd thought she'd been sitting in, picked it up as she brought it out so it wouldn't scrape on the floor, then put it down and sat. She didn't say anything while looking worried, and I realized she was waiting on me to give my verdict.

It was just as well. I had something else to say. "Did you get your powers not too long ago?" I asked. She nodded once. "You may not know this, but most people would be uncomfortable with a power being used on them without permission." She began to look mortified as I raised a placating hand, continuing. "It's all right. In my case, you just surprised me, is all." Which was the truth. I was only concerned because it was a lesson she had to learn early, especially if she was going to be a Ward.

She was stricken. "I'm sorry, I just-" She struggled to get the words out. "I knew there'd be some sort of test, and I wanted to make sure I passed." she mumbled with deep remorse.

I couldn't help but smile. She came off as insecure in more ways than one, but it was hard to fault her intention. "If it makes you feel any better, you passed." She looked up at me, hope beginning to show itself in her eyes. "With flying colors." I added, trying to be encouraging.

She smiled wide and bright. "Yes." she told herself, moving her arms a bit in celebration and closing her eyes. Then she seemed to realize I was still there as she opened them. "Oh, sorry, I mean-" She laughed awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Thank you." she said, grateful. I felt good about it, myself. Her hesitant enthusiasm was infectious, in a way.

Time to get down to business. I put the folder in front of me as I spoke. "Are you aware of the benefits and responsibilities of being a Ward?"

"Yeah," she replied, "I did some reading online. I wouldn't mind if you wanted to run me through it, though." She was a bit more casual now, more comfortable. I wondered how much of that tension from before was because she hadn't been sure she would get in.

I clasped my hands together on the folder, not bothered by having to do the pitch. I didn't have to do it often, after all. "The Wards sub-division is primarily a way for young heroes such as yourself to gain experience without incurring the risks of being independent. Wards have the backup of the Protectorate and the PRT as an organization, so villains are very careful to not do lasting harm. The chances of being abducted or killed as a Ward are near zero." I gave out, piecing together the important points as she listened attentively. That last bit wasn't exactly correct, but it was generally understood that any villain that did something horrible to a Ward would have the Protectorate come down on them like a ton of bricks.

As she hadn't interrupted with any questions, I kept going. "Wards are granted a trust of $50,000 a year," I informed her as her eyes boggled from behind her mask, "as well as a base minimum wage salary, the latter of which is doubled upon full membership. The trial period lasts about a month, after which you will be a full member."

She moved her arm as if she was going to raise a hand, then faltered with embarrassment. "Is there any financial support in regards to a Ward's family?"

I blinked. That was a rare question, but I knew the answer. "Financial support exists, but it's roundabout in multiple ways." She tilted her head as I explained. "Low-income households can get lunch and dinner vouchers for the Ward. The PRT would be willing to pay a modest sum in order to ensure room and board for the Ward at home. There are a lot of things that count as 'work' within the framework of a Ward's pay, so you could rack up a lot of hours without a large amount of strain."

She took that in as I flipped to a certain section in the folder and gave it to her, turning it around. She started to read as I spoke, her eyes moving quite quickly. "There are a few more options shown there." I paused, waiting for her to look up again. "Is it a concern of yours?"

She smiled, trying to seem at ease, but it was tight. "Yes. But I see here that there are various things we likely qualify for. It looks great, to be honest." She gave me back the folder. "Is it alright if we move on?" she asked lightly.

I tried to make my gaze comforting as I got back on track. "As a Ward, you'll be expected to attend school during regular hours and maintain a certain grade level. Failure to do so will reduce your pay." She blinked as I pressed on. "You can be called on and removed from school or woken up during the night, but we refrain from doing so unless it is a necessity."

I stopped as she nodded in understanding. "That sounds good. Better than my life so far, that's for sure." she noted. I couldn't tell if there was bitterness there or not. It was delivered easily enough.

So far, this seemed open and shut. I probed to make sure there weren't going to be any surprises. "You're aware that your parent or guardian will have to sign off on this?"

She smiled. "My dad knows I'm a parahuman. He's really hoping I join. Wants me to be safe." she said with a kind of fondness.

Well. "Are you ready to sign on, then? Call him in here?"

She looked like she was about to say yes, then stopped. She sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and putting a hand to her face in a thinker pose. After several seconds, she answered. "Um," she started, as if she wasn't sure which words to pick, "I think I'd like to meet the Wards first?" I observed as that nervousness came back. "I… have a hard time making friends at school. I'm not sure that…" she trailed off.

Her lack of confidence was showing itself in spades. Luckily, the Wards were amiable and inclusive. Almost all of them. "That could be arranged." I replied. I was responsible for the way this was handled. I didn't want to let her leave the building and give her a chance to have second thoughts. "As a matter of fact…" I checked my phone for the time, but I didn't have to. It was early Friday evening, I knew they were there. "We could go see them right now."

She perked up, looking both excited and a bit anxious. "R-really? Right now?" I nodded with certainty. She thought about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, okay." she decided with weight to her tone, as if she'd had to muster up some courage.

I smiled and gave her the various forms she'd have to sign to meet them. It took awhile because there were a lot of pages, but she also seemed to be reading them front to back.

I sent a mass text to the Wards as she went so they would know just what they were getting into. Meeting a possible Ward was a big deal because they might end up spending a lot of time together. What people said about first impressions tended to be true.

After she was done she signed everything and handed the papers over. I smiled and stood as she did. I took the folder with me and led her out the door.

It was a bit of a trip to the Wards living quarters. I might've taken the long way to give them some extra time to compose themselves and prepare to meet someone. I could only imagine the wild speculation they'd come up with while they'd been waiting.

I looked over at Phantasm as we got a couple minutes away. "You going to be okay on your own?"

She looked shaky, but also like she was trying to find some determination. "Y-yeah. I'll be fine."

I wasn't sure I believed her, but it was her decision. I respected it. She was making it despite her nervousness.

We approached the doors and I let it scan my eyeball as I heard Phantasm unzip her sweater behind me. There was a red light that glowed at the top. We stood there for about 15 seconds while Phantasm did a big inhale, then exhale.

The doors finally opened, and we stepped through.

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The red light above the door turned on. I checked on my friends before the doors opened. Everyone was wearing modest venetian masks that only covered our eyes in an effort to look friendly. Going from my right to left, it was Kid Win, me, Aegis, Clockblocker, and Vista. Most of us were standing while Vista and Clockblocker were half sitting half leaning on the wrong side of the couch. We were all here sans Shadow Stalker, who'd gone to her room the moment we'd gotten the text.

Everyone was showing a vibrant green and cyan for positive excitement. Kid Win in particular had a twinge of anxious yellow and Aegis had a bit of curious calm that came with an aqua blue. We were comfortable, which made me feel good about the doors opening to reveal someone new.

Miss Militia walked in, her typical green ease around her, and the new girl was slightly behind her to her right. She was wearing blue jeans, a light blue sort of jacket, a gray t-shirt, and a gray beanie. Before anything, I felt her pulse deeply with green elation. I thought it was when she'd laid eyes on Aegis and I, although I couldn't be sure. Were we her favorites? Even if that were true, that reaction would be completely disproportionate. She'd looked at all of us with open curiosity and a light smile from the beginning, which left me utterly befuddled.

Then she started radiating a deep yellow. I didn't remember the last time I'd seen someone with this much anxiety, and I couldn't think of a time I'd seen someone's emotions shift so quickly. I associated this yellow with someone being on the verge of a panic attack, something I'd only seen a few times. But her expression… she looked like someone interested in the people in front of her. If I were to put colors to her expression, it'd be a light cyan.

None of this was making any sense.

"This is the prospective Ward." Miss Militia began, her tone as smooth as usual. "I promised her she could do her own introduction. Treat her nicely." she said before promptly turning around and walking out. She hadn't sounded like she was ordering us to be careful, which meant she was confident this would go well. That was encouraging, but my power was still telling me otherwise.

I told myself to wait. If she showed signs of panicking, then I'd try to help. Right now, she just seemed like a normal girl. I'd treat her as such.

She stepped forward a bit, getting closer to us, before she took the initiative and spoke. "Hello, Brockton Bay Wards." she got out clearly without a single waver in her voice. "I am…" She raised her hands up, then separated them slowly as a shimmering rainbow appeared between her hands above her head. It was forming letters as it slowly changed colors, and she finally said it as she completed her name in the air. "Phantasm." she got out in a near dramatic tone, emphasizing both syllables.

I would've laughed, it was pretty silly, but she was still showing yellow. I didn't know how she could smile widely at her own joke while feeling like that.

My teammates didn't have emotion sight, so they did laugh. Aegis chuckled and Clockblocker snickered. Vista was amazed. "Wow! That was really pretty! How did you do that?" she asked as the shifting lights went away.

Kid Win made an exhale of a laugh as well. "At the risk of sounding girly, I have to agree. What's your power?" he asked what we were all thinking.

She grinned, confident and pleased that her light show had gone over well. Still yellow. "I have the ability to create illusions. Like…" she took a moment to figure out how to explain it, "a trick of the light."

Most of us tried to process that as Clockblocker immediately reacted. "Holy hell." He thought for a half-second and went where he would inevitably go. "Imagine the pranks you could pull off with that."

Phantasm almost smirked. "Oh, I don't have to imagine." she responded, a bit smug. Clockblocker got a glint in his eye, and she didn't back down from the silent challenge by looking away. Her color was nervous, but she acted natural, like she was enjoying herself.

Aegis' words took me away from puzzling over the contradiction more. "Well, that's fun and all, but what about combat?" he inquired, managing to be polite about it while not implying he doubted her abilities. Leave it to our leader to think about practicality.

Phantasm tilted her head and looked at the ceiling, cocking her hips as she pretended to think. "Hmm. A demonstration, perhaps?" She searched Aegis' eyes for permission rather than another challenge.

Aegis waved a hand. "If you don't mind." He was the team leader, so if any of us got in trouble for using our powers, it'd probably be on his head. This being a new hero, though, I imagined we'd get some leeway even if someone did find out.

Phantasm looked behind her, then stepped to her left deliberately. After she did so, the red light above the door came on, and Lung stepped into the room.

Every Ward in the room immediately tensed, Kid Win going so far as to say, "oh, shit."

Phantasm gestured both of her arms to Lung, as if she was presenting something, and he began to ramp up. He started to get bigger, grow scales, flame slightly. There wasn't any sound, but it was so real that if I'd seen this illusion on the battlefield? I'd turn around and run for my life.

The large Lung illusion stepped forward aggressively for a moment, and more than a couple of us flinched. Vista breathed out, trying to defuse her tension. "Jesus."

Phantasm ramped him down again and went to stand beside him, patting his shoulder. It looked like she was really patting it, even though there wasn't any sound. "Scary enough?" she asked, with no small amount of contentment. We all nodded, Kid Win looking a bit pale.

"Good." she said, turning to Lung. "Thanks, big guy. Who's a good Lung?" she cooed as if talking to a baby or a dog. Lung leaned down so Phantasm could rub under his chin as she continued making doting noises. "Who's a good little dragon? Yes you are." By this point Clockblocker was doubled over laughing and the rest of us weren't far behind. "Yes you are." she said again, patting him on the head. She made a banishing movement with an arm and he slowly dissipated into mist. Now her yellow was subsiding and slowly becoming an interestingly pale green. It didn't quite match up, but she was feeling better, at least.

Her joke had made the air feel easy and relaxed again. She was alright, so it was time to speak out. "I notice that Phantasm has introduced herself, quite well I might add." She did a small curtsy, amused. A bit of it leaked into her colors, a light purple. At least, I thought that was what amusement was. "But, we haven't introduced ourselves."

Vista did a mock groan. "C'mon, do we gotta? As if we don't do it enough at the meet and greets." she complained, playing. The rest of us didn't seem to care either way as Clockblocker shrugged, so she left it up to the new girl. "What do you think, Phantasm?"

Her smile was conspiratorial. "Oh, I know all of you. And your powers. Actually," she began as she shuffled her feet a bit, yellow pulsing once again, "I've got like, a million questions, if you don't mind answering them?" she almost squeaked. The yellow was there again, but she was shy on the outside, not anxious. It was a charming sort of shuffling, not at all showing the fear that I felt from her. None of it showed on her face or her body language.

The others looked at Aegis while I kept looking at her, unable to turn away from something so perpetually jarring. Was she messing with my power? I tore my eyes away to glance at my team. No, their colors were ordinary. Well, Kid Win had a tiny bit of pink in there, but they felt good as a whole. Even more than they had before she'd walked in.

Aegis made a hint of a shrug. "Sure. You know the rules?"

Phantasm nodded a few times. "The NDA. I am sworn to secrecy." She zipped her lips with her hand, earning a small laugh from Clock and Vista. Vista motioned to Phantasm as she and Clockblocker sat down on the right side of the couch, Clockblocker on the left. Phantasm went to sit on the loveseat adjacent and Kid Win nervously sat next to her, on her right. Aegis sat on the edge of a couch next to Clockblocker despite there being a seat open. I sat on a singular chair next to Aegis, across from the love seat.

Aegis crossed his arms, but not because he was uncomfortable. More as if he was assessing. "Alright, shoot."

She grinned through her yellow. "Aegis. Redundant biology, flight. My question is: do you actually have super strength?"

His eyebrows raised above his mask momentarily, as if he hadn't expected that one. "No, actually." A couple of us were looking at him as if we hadn't known, either. "I just push my body harder and let it destroy itself momentarily to simulate super strength."

Vista visibly winced as Phantasm's arm went up a bit, like she'd stopped herself from covering her mouth with her hand. "Doesn't that hurt?" Phantasm's voice was low with concern.

Clockblocker laughed a bit before he responded. "Not as much as you might think." he answered, still chuckling. Apparently he'd known. He punched Aegis on the shoulder, quite hard by the speed of his arm, but Aegis didn't flinch or rub it. "This big lump has crazy pain tolerance."

Aegis' expression was forthright. "Getting messed up doesn't bother me too bad, and I heal alright. Panacea definitely helps, though."

Given what it was like to be a hero in this town, I couldn't agree more. "Thank God for her." I said aloud.

Clockblocker got a look on his face, as if he was remembering something unpleasant. "Yeah, no kidding."

Phantasm's grin was back. "Clockblocker. Freeze something or someone by touch, and it's locked in place for a… time?" She managed to make the statement turn into a question.

Clock sighed as his color flashed a dark purple, uncomfortable. "Yeah, it's random. 30 seconds to ten minutes."

Vista, ignorant of his feelings, whined a bit. "It's so weird to work around that. We never know if an enemy is gonna randomly unfreeze in the middle of a fight." It was interesting that her grievance was based on tactical inconvenience more than anything else.

He got defensive. "Hey, I try my best, okay?" he got out, trying to contain a harsher tone and mostly succeeding.

I was about to say something when Phantasm got there first. "And your best is more than enough." she nodded sagely with her eyes closed. Clockblocker blinked for a different reason than I did. He'd likely blinked because the line was given out with warmth, depth. Just enough feeling to reach him without it being unusually intense or overbearing. It was perfectly genuine. He blushed, then Phantasm opened only one eye in his direction, a small smile becoming a wider one. He blushed harder and couldn't help but look away.

I was staring at her because I'd blinked due to her voice not matching her feelings. After Vista had said what she'd said, Phantasm had pulsed a sharp red of anger. It was still there despite her teasing Clock good-naturedly.

She moved on after only a couple seconds, as if what'd just happened was normal and should be treated as such. "Besides, don't you have the best capture rate on the team?" She had red surrounding her while being earnestly reassuring. Wait, how could she possibly know that?

Clockblocker smiled wide, recovered. "Yeah! Well…" he reconsidered his statement.

Aegis got there first. "Except for Shadow Stalker." he corrected, his tone casual.

"Oh," Phantasm began as if it was a surprise, "where is she, anyway?" The question was innocent, but there was a sharp spike of orange from her, overpowering the red and shifting. Annoyance? That made for a lot of irritation. Was she upset that Shadow Stalker wasn't here?

Kid Win responded. "Maybe in her room." he responded. It was polite of him to imply that she might not be here so she wouldn't look bad. "She can be like that, sometimes."

Phantasm made a contemplative expression for a moment, then continued forward as if she thought nothing of it. Her carrot orange told a different story. "Kid Win. You're a tinker, but no one knows your speciality." He had a pulse of deep purple yellow himself, but Phantasm wasn't done. "You still make cool stuff though."

He looked anywhere but at her, having no idea how to take the compliment as the anxieties from before warred with a big green and a much smaller pink. "Thanks. I don't know what it is, either."

Phantasm looked like she was thinking, again. "I wonder if we could brainstorm about that. Like, make a list of what it could be and go down each one?"

I smiled big. It seemed we had something in common. "I've been trying to get him to accept help for a while now." Kid Win looked so embarrassed I didn't have to check his color. "I don't know. Might be a tinker thing."

"Nah." Vista decided, as if she knew for certain. "It's rough feeling like you don't have a handle on things. I can totally get not wanting help."

Phantasm turned to Vista, looking bright. "Vista. Stretch space, reduce space, twist it around. No offense to anyone here, but you're probably my fave." She said it without hesitation and a winning smile, her annoyance only beginning to subside.

Vista turned pink, but her color could not be a better shade of green. "You might be mine, now." she murmured. Phantasm waved a hand at herself and made her mouth an O like she meant "really? Me?" as I made a large effort to not look surprised. A couple of the others didn't hide it so well. Vista continued, louder. "I bet you're able to make beautiful things."

Now Phantasm was blushing, and I saw a green flash in her color that was much smaller than that dwindling orange from before. The green was strange, though. Off-color in a way I couldn't place. "Yeah, maybe." she said quietly. She cleared her throat. "What's the hardest thing for you to change?"

Vista furrowed her brow. "Probably making something a circle. Bends and turns are tricky and take time. Might get better with practice, though." she added as an afterthought, as if it'd just occurred to her.

I couldn't help but make a half-smile. "I wish my power was like that. I've had it for a while, but I'm still not always sure what I'm looking at or which emotion I should blast people with." I admitted. It didn't bother me overly much. It was a learning experience with a sharp curve at times, but I knew I'd get it down eventually.

I expected one of my teammates to tease me, but Phantasm spoke. "And last, but not least, Gallant." I blinked twice and looked at her. Her expression was… sincere. If I didn't know any better, heartfelt. I tried not to let my brain jumble up as I focused on her colors, again. It was a discordant mixture. That strange green from before, something that was simultaneously a heavy but small orange, to a larger light red, shifting to-

Wait.

I blinked, and it was gone. Was that…?

Only a couple seconds had passed. She looked to Vista, her colors cleanly straightening to a deep orange of frustration again. "Hey, Vista, what do you think?" Vista looked bemused, not understanding. "Does he live up to his name?"

I almost covered my entire face with my hand. I fell into an old habit of not looking directly at Vista because I knew her pink would surge into existence. I could hear the heavy blush in her voice. "Yep!" she reported, pitch high. "100%"

Phantasm laughed, and that made it a bit easier for the others to laugh as well, although it wasn't all there from them. I wondered how much Phantasm had noticed, because she didn't comment or make any indication of such as she turned back to me. "Emotion shooting, bit of a kick to it. And you can sense the emotions of others." Her orange flared even larger all of the sudden, but died down to something manageable as she went on. "I have two questions, and I promise not to tell anyone." She drew it out as I nodded, having some idea of what she was going to ask. "Are you actually a tinker?"

Kid Win laughed a bit, finally getting comfortable. "Nah. Armsmaster and I maintain his armor." He turned to me and I nodded, urging him to keep going. "We just wanted him to have some protection, y'know?"

Phantasm looked understanding as I spoke up. "It doesn't bother me. Everyone else has one option or another, but I can be pretty vulnerable on my own." I tapped my temple a bit. "Thinker and all."

Phantasm turned a bit to punch Kid Win on the shoulder, not hard. His colors scrambled while Phantasm spoke. "See? You make good stuff."

He was getting mixed up from the contact but he said something. "It's much more Armsmaster than me…" he managed without a waver. It was another deflection, but still. Nice.

Phantasm rolled her eyes before she regarded me once more. "Second question: How do you see emotions?"

Ah. Well, I didn't talk about this often, but everyone else had been pretty candid. "I see colors." She looked intrigued as I pressed on. "Dark red means angry, deep blue is sad, green happy, yellow anxious, pink romantic, violet… well, like I said, I haven't gotten it all down just yet." As I finished her orange rose sharply, bigger than last time. It was almost red, dark. Had I said something wrong?

Aegis moved to comfort me before I could ask her anything. "That's alright. You have all the time in the world. You, too, Kid Win." He gave us his best smile. I was partly amused by his support. His power was straightforward, after all.

Phantasm relaxed, the winding "introductions" over. "I bet making stuff with Vista and pranking Clockblocker will get me better, too."

Clockblocker was aghast, then attempted to look serious. "That sounds like a declaration of war." he said as gravely as he could.

That playful smirk of hers was back despite her sustained orange. "Might as well." she rose to the occasion easily. "I'll have Vista helping me think of things, right?"

She couldn't be happier. "Yeah! I'm already coming up with ideas, even now." she laughed, sounding a bit devious.

Clockblocker pretended to be betrayed. "A 2 vs. 1! How will I survive?" He looked to Kid Win. "You'll help me, right?" He tried to seem like he was pleading.

Kid Win laughed with feeling. "Sorry, you're on your own." Clockblocker mimed as if he'd been stabbed in the heart to our enjoyment.

Okay, this was the right time. I could've waited for someone else to do it, but I was feeling impatient for more reason than one. I glanced at Phantasm and started without fanfare, "so, how do you feel about-"

A door slammed open.