Dean has always disliked funerals, though it was for different reasons back before he got his powers. Back then, on the few occasions his parents took him, it was either an arduous, or an emotionally crushing experience – seeing someone he hardly knew, or knew since forever, being put to rest.
Now? Now it's just draining, exhausting, to literally see just how honest people are in their grieving.
They aren't, a lot of the time. People push bad thoughts away and mute their feelings to a point they can ignore them. Even when a loved one dies, they will keep it all under a lid, only failing to suppress those emotions when confronted by something they can't deny. Like a body. Like a coffin. Normal cemetery visitors rarely feel much when coming to visit a grave.
It's only natural.
It's also sad.
Most of the people now gathering where the funeral is to take place - classmates and family friends if he's not mistaken - will stop consciously thinking about the murdered girl in the space of a month. Others will forget in a year. Only a select few, even within the family, will always remember, all of their days vacant of something they once took for granted. The parents, for certain. The woman that might be the girl's grandmother, as well.
He sweeps the entire cemetery for any potential dangers, before putting his binoculars to use to locate his charge among the crowd. Ah, there she is. Normally, he wouldn't have any problem spotting Sophia with his power alone. Lately though? Her simmering anger had all but disappeared, replaced by... not much at all. For a time, anyway, to a point when seeing the rage slowly trickling back in was almost a relief to see. He noticed long ago that her ever-present ire only recedes after she gets some action on her patrols – something he did not neglect to mention to Armsmaster. Perhaps he should have. Violence might not be the best of coping mechanisms, but it'd still be better for Sophia to take her anger out on criminals, where it would at least be productive.
It would certainly better than having her bottle it up and blow it off in her civilian life.
What a mess, should that turn out to be true. Not quite as bad as the other option, but still. He didn't get to read the letter. It was for the director's and Armsmaster's eyes only, but the team got the gist of it. If what it says is true- well. It'd mean they've failed on so many fronts... first among those being helping Sophia. The whole goal of her probation was to make her into a better person. In theory, anyway. In reality, they were all quick to give up on their teammate, with an innocent girl paying the price for it.
It would be his personal failure, as well. He didn't pick up on anything unusual when he was asked to observe Sophia during her questioning regarding the girl she supposedly tormented, back when the police found something at said girl's house. Dean isn't sure what, but apparently it was enough to assign a tail to her for a few days. Nothing must have come of it, since that was the last he heard of that. It made Sophia laugh, too, in the sort of honestly amused fashion he never really sees on her. What was it she said? That loser? No way. No sign of emotions usually accompanying lies - like trepidation – whatsoever.
Is it wrong of him to hope that he, along with everyone else, was fooled? If the letter pans out, then it's partially their fault those girls died. He feels like shit for that, yes, but the alternative... oh, the alternative is so much worse.
If the Clements girl was mastered, like Sophia maintains she must have been, then it would mean there is a villain capable of brainwashing someone into, at the very least, committing murder. A villain that does not care for unwritten rules, and already went after Shadow Stalker in her civilian identity while she was at her now-dead friend's house. It's an honestly terrifying idea. If they know who Shadow Stalker is, then who's to say they don't know who Gallant and the rest of the team are?
The worst part? Armsmaster said they're already pursuing a lead, and not to worry about it any more. And while it's reassuring they're so quick, how the hell is he supposed not to worry? If they have a lead, it follows that there might indeed be a master behind all this.
So yes, he would prefer it if it were just Sophia who turned out to be a problem, even if admitting so makes him feel sick to his stomach. Whichever turns out to be true, Shadow Stalker remains benched and living at the Rig for the time being, while her family is being observed 24/7. it's supposedly to let her recover from the psychological trauma. Right.
She reacted about as well as one could expect, but unlike the Sophia Dean knows, who would fume and snap at everyone around her for days to come, she just... burned out, for the lack of better word.
At least, Piggot let her come to her friend's funeral. Dean is fairly sure she'd skip the base, if that weren't the case. Fight her way out, if need be. Dean might not have known the deceased girl, but it's clear that Sophia cared, even the others have noticed, though he suspects they don't quite understand how deeply. Concern, for others especially, is a rare color for Sophia. Rare that she feels it for herself, and rarer still for their teammates. There was a fair amount when Clements disappeared. Not much - it's still Sophia, after all - but by her standards? The girl was more important to her than all of the Wards combined.
And she still killed her. It might have been self-defense, but Dean likes to think he would control himself better than Stalker, if it had been him there. Especially if the perpetrator had been his friend. What if it had been Master influence?
Sophia doesn't seem to care. It's a good thing they're burying the girls at the opposite ends of the city. It'd be an incident just waiting to happen, otherwise. He hopes both the ceremonies will be peaceful. Victims or not, the girls' families still deserve to bury their daughters in peace.
A point to the police for keeping this under wraps until after the funerals. There's no doubt in Dean's mind the media would desecrate the proceedings if they caught wind of the case.
A light touch on his shoulder draws his eyes to the PRT officer with him and away from the still growing group of mourners.
"Check the parking lot."
The hero nods. To see the lot from his spot on the rooftop, he shifts to a crouch from lying on his stomach.. There. Three new cars: two with passengers already getting out, and the third just pulling up. Let's see: sadness, sadness, indifference, annoyance, sadness. Standard. Now, for the pair in the third car-
"The hell?"
The girl there – Dean had seen conflicted before. A lot of people experience conflicting emotions on daily basis, but this... is not it. Not this mass of colors battling for dominance in her body, as if someone splashed paints together and threw in a firework while stirring. Anger, joy, fear, hatred, and disgust are just the more prominent ones - as beautiful as they are disturbing, all there together at once, mixing into something he can't accurately name.
"What is it, Gallant?" The trooper by his side speaks up.
"Someone strange." To put it lightly. "This one, the girl with the man. Fourth row, fifth car." He points at the source of his discomfort.
"Danger?" the man asks, already observing the pair through the scope of his rifle, his hand hovering over the safety.
That's a damn good question. Is she a danger? The Barnes, too, are conflicted in their feelings, their anger and their helplessness. But it's muted, tamed by their grief. There is no grief to speak of in this one. That's fine, half of the people down there aren't. But the fact there's happiness in her, of all things? What the fuck? What sort of person feels happy coming to a funeral? What sort of person that would feel happy would come to a funeral?
Aside that, however, she seems... safe. Potential attackers are - have always been, different. Cautious and cold. Fearful or panicked. Determined, too. Although it's not an emotion, he can see it easily enough - as an absence of feelings. And this girl is anything but empty.
"I don't think so. But she looks... unstable." Caused by the other girl's death? No, she'd be grieving if that were the case. Some of it is understandable. But joy? And all together? Maybe she's got a condition? No, that doesn't fit, either. He'd seen psych ward in passing, and while he's by no means an expert, those people were mostly normal. Their emotions were, that is, just- more extreme. "Keep an eye on her. I'll say the moment something changes."
"Roger. I'll let the others know."
Gallant tunes the trooper out as he passes the warning to the other two teams around the cemetery, lying down on his stomach again to return to his observations as the pair makes their way to the ceremony.
At least the man by her side - the father, Dean assumes - looks about right. There's worry, anger too, but nothing so out of the ordinary, given the occasion. Either he's completely unaware of what's happening in his daughter's head, or simply used to it. The former. Definitely the former. Only a psychopath wouldn't care about something like this, and psychopath this man is not.
Here's to not having to interrupt the funeral. The girl might be unstable, but his orders were very clear: don't go in unless absolutely necessary. Having the PRT go in without a legitimate reason would reflect badly on the entire organization, not to mention the trauma such a thing could cause to the grieving family. And honestly, Gallant would also prefer to avoid getting his backside grilled for screwing up by Piggot and Armsmaster if at all possible. The second the girl starts showing signs he won't hesitate to swoop in, but not a moment sooner.
He tenses up when the pair reaches their destination, with the teen's emotions suddenly changing their color entirely to hate. A moment before he calls it in, she takes on the hue of fear, and then once more become a confusing vortex.
What was that? Wait. Sophia's different too, now. More like her usual, angry self, and she's- yeah, she's staring at the girl with a scowl on her face, and every now and then the other girl glances back, her colors flashing every time. That's... huh. They must know each other. Schoolmates? Most likely. Something to ask Sophia about later. It's not often that he sees this sort of overwhelmingly negative and instantaneous reaction, even from villains.
Perhaps it's something to pursue regarding Clement's letter. Getting a second opinion could prove useful. Supposedly, nobody came up with anything overtly negative about his teammate at her school, and... honestly, he finds that hard to believe, especially after seeing that strange girl react to her. Could it be that she's cowed the kids at her school to not speak ill of her? Much as it pains him to admit it, he can see that happening all too easily.
Come to think of it, it could prove beneficial for him to see more of other peoples' reactions to Sophia Hess. It could help in establishing just how much of Clements' letter holds true. See how people react to Sophia, perhaps speak with this supposed victim of hers... whatever her name was. They could pass it as one of the Wards PR visits. The students could certainly use it, the case aside. He'd proposed it before, after the murder, but nothing came of it as the school has been closed since. And if he finds nothing, then maybe some students, at least, will find comfort in knowing they've not been completely forgotten.
Dean makes a mental note to mention his idea to Piggot after his report.
For now, the young hero pushes the thought away, focusing on the task at hand.