2/24/11 - Evening
Assault waved good-bye to Ren as he left Leblanc, picking up orders of coffee and made his way to PHQ. The café wasn't a big thing by all means; it was a small, quaint place. Still, it was always nice to see someone, especially a child, to be in a better situation than they first met.
-.-
12/24/10
It was nearly past midnight when Assault first met Ren. Battery, married to her job as she was, didn't celebrate Christmas, so he didn't either. He was on patrol when he heard a cry for help when a woman ran out of an alleyway. Apparently, she was getting accosted by a couple of Empire members when a teenager stepped up and fought them. By the time Assault arrived on the scene, the gang members had already run away, and Ren was on the floor, bruised and bloody. He could see a knife wound on his left flank.
It would take a couple days before Ren would wake up, a day after Panacea healed him. The doctor's report said that Ren didn't know a lot of things, and he blamed it on the trauma he received. It's a wonder he didn't trigger, but Panacea mentioned he didn't have a Corona Pollentia to begin with. It seemed like it was just bad luck on his part: some Empire gangbangers retaliated and left him for dead since he was clearly Asian.
-.-
12/28/10
"So, you'll be taking some assessment exams when you're feeling better. Better than you are now, at least," Assault said. "It'll check what grade you'll best go to, what you know, how much you know. Your English is pretty great, so you should be fine in any of the high schools here." Ren raised his hand. "What's up?"
"Um, can I open a cafe instead?"
Assault blinked in response, stumped by the question. "You sure? You're still young; you've got your life in front of you."
Ren softly smiled. "It just feels right. You know what I mean?"
In a way, Assault knew exactly what he meant.
-.-
1/3/11
Colin dropped a piece of paper in front of Ethan. When he examined the paper, all it really mentioned was that Ren Amamiya didn't exist.
"This all it?" Ethan asked, flipping the paper to the other side.
"Ran the name in every database in the world; he doesn't exist," Colin replied as he began preparing coffee in the PHQ kitchen.
"What is he, then? A Case 53? He looks normal though, and Panacea said he doesn't have the Corona Pollentia."
"He's not. If anything, he might just be a 52."
"Is he from Aleph?"
"Some of the information he gave didn't match with Aleph's history. As of right now, he really is just a teenager that ended up here. I've already begun creating his identity here while he gets his bearing. I'll give you another dossier, and it will contain everything about him. It would be best to give it to him to memorize. You are responsible for what school documentation he needs to enroll."
Ethan let out a laugh, and Colin looked at him.
"He's actually not planning to go to school," Ethan said after he calmed down. "I'll look into getting him a cafe."
Colin stayed quiet for a second. "But why? He should at least graduate high school, or even get a GED."
Ethan had no answer as he merely presented him with a thermos of coffee. He couldn't help but laugh when Colin finished drinking it, so focused on the caffeinated drink that he might have been under a fugue.
-.-
2/24/11 - Evening
He dropped off the drinks at the cafeteria for the others and took a seat with a sigh. The others trickled in slowly, but he was on the lookout for a specific person.
He laughed again when he saw Armsmaster enter a near-fugue state again when he drank his coffee. Not even Battery's elbow to his side stopped him.
That said, Assault would grumble later that night when it turned out Joker sent Lung a calling card.
-.-
Author's Notes:
Added more details to be more clear about the timeline.