Such lovely walls they all had! And windows! Such lovely frame painted windows! So this must be what it's like to be rich… I should really redecorate my home…
She turned her head back to Armsmaster facing the big tinker thingy tv screen. He pointed across the projector like he knew what he was talking about. Mouse Protector liked to pretend his helmet was showing a romantic comedy shows at the side, and he was enjoying dramatic soap operas while he debriefed the Protectorate of what was to be expected for their next perilous missions.
"He was last seen leaving Clarendon high school and heading onto the bus," Armsmaster said with his laser pointer thingy. (Mouse Protector wondered if the laser pointer was tinker made.)
"Question!" Mouse Protector mused, "is that laser pointer tinker made?"
Duantless, Triumph, Miss Militia, Velocity, Battery, and Assault, all sat around her in the debriefing all stared at her. Armsmaster replied, "Save questions for after the debriefing is done." The man knew how to satisfy her, because she'd probably drop the question altogether once the debriefing was done.
"Theo Anders did not reportedly return home that day, and his father immediately filed a police report that very night. Typically this would be considered a paranoid father worried about his son, but considering that his father is a reputable business man in this city, we considered the possibility that he was kidnapped for ransom.
After conversing with our thinkers, it was determined that this was indeed a kidnapping. The following day, a note was left at his home, demanding one million dollars for the safe return of his son. They specified the kind of torture he would go through if the money wasn't provided at a specific time at a specific location.
Our thinkers have determined that this was the work of the ABB, and our choices are either to give in to the ransom, or to find and rescue Theo before the ABB can carry out their threats. Max Anders has made it very clear that he has no intention of negotiating with criminals. He will not pay the ABB ransom for his son, making all responsibility for Theo's safety drop onto us."
"That's cold," Triumph said aloud. "He's putting his son at risk for a PR stunt. And here I thought fathers were supposed to do anything for their kids."
"That won't always be the case," Armsmaster said in a casual tone. "You'll see situations like this often the longer you're with the Protectorate."
Triumph nodded, willing to accept what the veteran member said. Armsmaster continued, "we have no leads so far. All we have are the locations of a few ABB businesses. Our mission is to thoroughly patrol these locations and collect any information of Theo's whereabouts in whatever ways we can. Mouse Protector."
Mouse Protector perked up, (she was literally playing with a toy mouse, seemingly not listening). He said, "since you're visiting the city as a rogue hero, you have the option to either work alone or to patrol with the rest of us."
Mouse Protector covered her chin with her forearm. She put on a low, raspy voice, "Mouse Protector works alone… For the Mouse Protector is the protector of the lonely nights!"
Dauntless and Miss Militia couldn't help but chuckle. Triumph couldn't help but groan in agony. "No offense, but I really don't see Mouse Protector helping us improve our PR."
"You'll find that Glenn has a twisted sense of humor," Battery commented.
"The man knows how to pull a leg when he wants to," Velocity added.
"He was very sweet on the phone," Mouse Protector said with a blush. "We're meeting up for coffee later today."
Miss Militia tilted her head. Triumph continued, "I get that we have a PR issue, but wouldn't Mouse Protector going up against the Losers… Damage our reputation?"
"But the pun wars will be glorious," Assault blurted out. Battery kicked her husband's foot from underneath the table.
Armsmaster answered, "I stopped questioning how Glenn works a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, Mouse Protector should be treated as any other new member should be."
"Thank you, my glorious soap opera loving friend!" Mouse Protector placed her hands over her face, spreading out her fingers like they were whiskers.
"Soap opera?" Armsmaster questioned.
"Er, nevermind. It's an inside joke… With myself."
Ignoring her comment, Armsmaster wrapped up the presentation. "Before we start petrolling, are there anymore questions?"
Dauntless asked, "I can cover more ground on my own. Can I patrol alone tonight while the rest of you pair up in groups?"
Armsmaster frowned. "I'd rather we all stick together in some way. Lung is not someone I'd like for any of us to face alone. The same goes with Oni Lee. I'd like for you to pair up with Triumph tonight, just as you have been doing."
Dauntless nodded, but he was slightly disappointed. Armsmaster was someone he'd looked up to since before he was a Ward. He watched him rise up to fame, and hoped that he could prove his strengths once he became a Protectorate member. But no matter how hard he tried, all his successes never seemed enough to satisfy Armsmaster.
Dauntless wanted a chance to prove his strengths, but Armsmaster never seemed to give him that chance. I'll just have to try harder, he thought to himself.
The debriefing room's lights came back on, and the projector turned off. The whole team headed out the room. Mouse Protector put an arm over Miss Militia, "hello my youth melicious warrior of justice."
Miss Militia smiled, "I'm glad to have you back. We don't have enough puns in the break room."
"I noticed she doesn't do a lot of puns though," Assault pointed out walking behind them. "It's actually a play on words. Puns are supposed to rhyme, not matching maliciously musingly on the musical first notes of a non whimsical sentence."
Mouse Protector clapped her hands, "See? This guy gets it!"
"Please don't encourage him," Battery said to their distaste. "It's bad enough he says nazi puns to the E88. I don't need him using wordplay during all of our missions."
"Aha!" Mouse Protector deduced, "so he watches the Loser's videos too!"
Battery glared at Assualt, Assualt lifted his hands up in defense. "To be fair, I only watch them for... Entertainment purposes."
Battery thoroughly squinted at him under her mask. Miss Militia grinned, "I never realized how much I've missed you, Katherine."
Even though Katherine and Hannah hadn't seen each other for years, they still considered each other best friends. Katherine was the one who made Hannah feel most comfortable when she began high school in America. Katherine had no barriers to herself, which made Hannah open up to her the most when she could only speak broken english.
"Call me Kat, just like everyone in school used to."
"You're kidding?" Velocity said in disbelief.
"Kat never kids!" Kat proclaimed. "So, even though my side quest will involve looking for Theo Anders. Before we move out, what can you all tell me about these infamous self-proclaimed Losers that have wreaked havoc across Brockton Bay?"
Assault opened his mouth with a smile, but/ before he could say anything, Battery answered, "the Losers, are delinquents. They have no endgame or goals. They're just living parodies of capes in general."
"A parody yous say," Mouse Protector rubbed her chin, "what wicked afoul disrespect such villainy beholds. But no matter! Justice will prevail, for light, always finds a way."
"Light would love if you used that line on him," Assault said.
Battery hissed at her husband, warning him to stop undermining the situation. "Crap, you're right," Mouse Protector tapped her forehead. "Half my lines use the word light in them, I can't lose the war on words because they have a guy named Light."
Assault couldn't help himself, "when you face them, I pray to God they'll record it."