Interlude 2

"Where are they?" Missy asked for what felt like the tenth time, tinted with impatient annoyance.

Dean really didn't fault her. They were called for a meeting with new Wards that had supposed to happen at 12 pm. It was close to 5 pm now.

"Shut up already, pipsqueak! This is the tenth time you've asked!"

Sofia, tired of waiting, decided to ditch the meeting and returned hours later, only to find that it still hadn't happened yet. She wasn't happy about it.

If Dean were any other guy, he might have done the same, but he was under strict orders.

Chris was moping, and Dennis was playing video games with Carlos. And since Vicky was too busy for phone calls, the only thing left for Dean was to ruminate.

Yesterday, it was suddenly announced that they were getting two new members, both of them out of town. Pretty big news, since all their previous recruitments were local.

Suffice to say, they were all pretty excited.

Missy was especially happy, since one of them was a girl younger that she, meaning Vista was no longer the team's baby.

In turn, Dean was happy that the other one was a boy her age.

Even Sofia was cautiously optimistic, which was the first time Dean saw her showing those colors.

And why not? Two kids triggered and immediately started raking in body count. Composed of Teeth. Two capes, no less.

This neatly explained his orders to monitor their emotional state and report afterwards.

"Well, where the fuck are they?! It's been hours!" Missy shot back.

"Missy," Carlos decided to intervene, seemingly because of her language, but really because he was getting annoyed himself.

Carlos had been investing a lot into this meeting. Everyone here joined when Rory was still leading the team. So, for Carlos it was a fresh start. Two new members who knew only him as their leader — no comparison to Triumph — an opportunity to establish himself from the get-go. Dean could see his determination to prove himself capable. To show the ability to take command of their new, potentially troubled, members and turn them into good, disciplined Wards. Some part of him was actually welcoming the challenge. Especially considering Rory's failure to do the same with Sofia. 

So, being left on edge for hours wasn't doing wonders for his mood, which in turn led to the realization that he wasn't on top of his game, which led to further annoyance. Every passing hour his hues were getting richer and richer.

Dean would have intervened, but his attention was occupied with pulling Chris out of his self-deprecation spiral, waiting until his colors stabilized enough for them to start at least reacting to Dean's attempts.

He learned his lesson with Amy. Sometimes people react negatively to your attempts to help them, even if they have… positive disposition towards you.

But he had to try. Again, and again. When you had Gallant's powers, it was difficult to stay away since you were literally equipped with tools for addressing their issues.

When your powers come from a bottle.

Sometimes Dean wondered if his father was disappointed that he got Master powers, or if that was simply because they were so obvious. He certainly wasn't thrilled when his son joined the Wards. Dean didn't care to connect those dots.

He should just be glad his powers came easy, but oftentimes he wished he really was a Tinker. That way, he wouldn't have to be constantly aware of Missy's and Amy's feeling for him, of Sofia's contempt, of Dennis' fear, of Chris' self-loathing.

And considering Dean's background, budget cuts wouldn't be a problem. 

At long last, they heard "masks on" alarm.

"Finally!" Missy and Sofia exclaimed at once, tones and hues different. At least until they glared at each other.

The doors of Wards quarters opened, and Miss Militia entered with two kids in tow.

Dean could already tell this won't be an easy ride.

Aegis was immediately there, cutting off Miss Militia who had just opened her mouth to greet them.

"Welcome to the team! I am Aegis, leader of the Brockton Bay Wards! We have a lot of work ahead, and I expect nothing but the best from both of you!" He boomed in his 'commanding voice', confident PR presence undermined by eagerness. Plain to see even for those who did not perceive the world in the same colors as Gallant.

Swirling, anxious self-consciousness the girl entered with instantly switched into disciplined determination, as her back straightened, stance widened, hands clasped behind her.

"Tanya Danvers, reporting for duty! Sir!" She announced firmly, posture rigid, eyes looking straight forward.

For a moment, her whole aura was one solid unmoving block of someone in a state of deep trance. Next moment, it flickered with kaleidoscopic spin of familiarity, nostalgia, pain, loss, regret, guilt and longing. All in a span of second, until it was violently crushed into tight ball floating at the edges of her aura which settled into… creeping annoyance with a tint of desperation and fear. Increasing with each silent moment.

Her eyes moved a fraction towards the boy.

"Hiiiiii! So cute!" Missy cried. Dean did a spit take at an unexpected reaction from Vista of all people.

She run forward and hugged the girl whose colors exploded into shock, defensiveness and fight response, limbs flying with killer intent.

Gallant almost rushed forward, but the swirling of girl's aura already settled into confused bewilderment.

He looked around and everyone's reaction was only surprise and amusement. Vindicated scorn in case of Sofia. Hope and relief for Miss Militia.

What?

Dean looked back to Missy. The child in her arms looked so small and frail. Missy wasn't especially tall, but compared to Tanya she looked… not massive but she definitely compared favorably, in all sizes. Put the two on a poster and Vista would finally have her recognition of an older and more mature party. Like an older sister.

Looking at her now, Missy definitely understood and was deeply pleased by that fact.

She almost killed you.

Meanwhile, Tanya looked at Carlos for help.

"Vista, put her down," he said, miffed that she ruined his moment, but also grateful that she covered for how unsure he felt at Tanya's unexpected response. Missy complied with wide smile and pulled her visor down.

"Call me, Missy. Glad to have you, Tanya."

Tanya coughed, "Thank you, Missy. I hope to have good relationships with you all," she then turned to her companion, "It's your turn to introduce yourself, Shirou."

"I think you did that well enough for me, sister," the boy replied, awash with simmering irritation, deep anger, scorn, self-loathing and… pity?

"That is not how you introduce yourself, Shirou."

"They know the name now, aren't they?"

The girl's frustration spiked.

Clockblocker decided to smooth things over, "Aw come on, little man, don't be like that" he took off his helmet, "Look, I'm Dennis. Let's get along, shall we?" he cheerfully offered his hand.

It was often jarring for Dean to see Dennis in action. Most times, he didn't portray himself as he truly felt. Used humor to lift the mood, played the clown to release tension. Joked to distract, others almost as often as himself.

Dean saw right through him. Sometimes Missy did too, though perhaps not to his own extent. The divorce between actions and actual emotions. Dennis was a good actor too.

As someone who often managed emotions and moods of others, Dean understood why he did that. But to him, with how good Dennis was at it, it always seemed so calculated. So manipulative.

Clockblocker wasn't in a good mood. He didn't even want to be here, though Dean wasn't sure why. Most likely, he just didn't want someone ruining Missy's good time. Or perhaps he wanted to avoid another Shadow Stalker situation.

The boy, now introduced as Shirou, didn't like Dennis. He didn't like any of them. He found them… offensive. It didn't even seem personal to Dean – the redhead entered the room with those feelings.

But now he didn't like Dennis in particular.

"Shirou, don't be rude," Tanya prompted.

"No," he turned to Miss Militia, "Where are our rooms? I'm tired from all those tests."

"Aegis, Vista, could you show them?" asked Miss Militia.

"Sure. Let's go Tanya." Vista dragged the other girl with her. Aegis just nodded and motioned for the boy to follow him.

As they left, the older heroine took Dean for a private word.

"How are they?" She asked.

This morning, Gallant received orders to pay close attention to their new member's emotional responses in regards to each other. Dean wasn't sure what that was about, since he would have paid close attention regardless. But it was the first time he was explicitly ordered to monitor Wards emotional state. He never received similar orders regarding Shadow Stalker.

"I haven't noticed any indication of obsessive behavior or animosity between them," Dean answered. "Can you tell me what exactly am I looking at here?"

"There are some concerns regarding the circumstances of their trigger event," Her colors shifted.

When trigger events entered the conversation, it was always the same. People usually experienced a flash of negativity, they immediately shoved to edges of their auras. Rage, panic, despair and other strong emotions. Those who dealt with it better just became nervous and unsure. Some felt shame. Shadow Stalker and Triumph, Assault and Battery, Velocity and Dauntless. All dealt with their worst days in their own way. Some better than others.

Dean just felt like a fraud.

Today however, it would seem Miss Militia reacted strongly than usual. Hues richer.

"Some multi-triggers tend to experience weird emotional responses in regards to other people who had also triggered in the vicinity," Miss Militia continued.

"But how would I know if anything's wrong? I don't have their baseline. Today is the first time I've ever met them."

"Just continue to monitor them and report the reactions we've discussed earlier."

"Are they dangerous?" Dean had to know, "The girl is on hair trigger and the boy doesn't want to be here."

"No. No, they've been through a lot, and their introduction to PRT wasn't the best. They are still adjusting," Miss Militia was fast to reassure him.

They said the same about Sofia. While Dean didn't think she would outright attack them, her presence created friction in the team. She drove Aegis up the wall with her complete refusal to follow orders and general disregard for his authority. Her constant harassment of Vista and Chris… The only reason it never came to blows was because Dennis was keenly aware when to draw attention to himself, and Dean's own interference. And now two unstable variables were introduced to this delicate equilibrium.

"They are Armsmaster's children," Miss Militia continued.

That, more than anything, blew Gallant out of the water. The idea of Armsmaster feeling strongly enough for someone to have a family with them. Unless Dean had to urgently recontextualize Armsmaster's interactions with Dauntless, he was pretty sure the man was aromantic, if not asexual. And for someone who could observe the levels of arousal in someone it spoke volumes. You couldn't hide those things from Dean, which created all kinds of uncomfortable situations for him. Given how Assault and Battery interacted, you would think the husband was the horndog in that relationship, but no.

But it wouldn't be the first time he was mistaken about such things. Despite being able to perceive emotions his powers didn't conveniently connect colors with feelings. He had to decipher it on his own, learning which hue meant what, oftentimes via looking at the color of his blasts. Considering that movements and positioning also had their own meanings, most of which he's yet to find out… Yeah, his Thinker power wasn't 100% reliable in figuring someone out.

Maybe standoffish man simply had tremendous self-discipline – something that wouldn't surprise Dean in the slightest. Or maybe he was that loyal to his wife.

Though somehow, Gallant was sure the woman wasn't in the picture.

Frankly, it would explain a lot about what he saw earlier, if Dean was looking at kids raised by Armsmaster.

Jesus Christ.

But how did they run across the Teeth, then? Were they on a trip?

"Give them time to get used to their new situation. They're a tough and responsible pair. I'm sure they'll be fine," Miss Militia finished.

Yeah, he'd bet the kids were tough and responsible. Disciplined too, no doubt.

But they also said to give Sofia time. They said she would be fine.

Will complains be more or less likely to be acted on if the targets of those complains were Protectorate leader's children?

Given who Dean's own father was…

"So what, give them space and wait?" He asked.

"Try to smooth things over between the team. Some frictions should be expected with any new members."

She… was already making excuses for them.

Of fucking course. New teammates, Gallant—make sure they fit right in. The unspoken implication? You should manage it easily. Without blasting them with calm every second, of course.

Gallant closed his eyes under the helmet. "Will do."

It was at time like these, Dean really wished he was a Tinker.

A/N

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