Event - Quarter

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Quarter

➥ Quarter Dollar

There are many different departments at ADI, all of which seem to be vying for new potential arrivals to join their ranks. As the Quarterly Meeting begins, everyone is shown into the large gym below ADI where each of the departments has set up a booth. Some are more impressive than others with activities and native and off-worlders alike there to enthuse about joining up with them. Everyone is allowed to join up to two departments at ADI. Choose wisely!

Administration and Public Relations
These two departments appear to have joined forces and, as such, have gone all out for their booth. There are colors and informational signs all over the place, snacks, grinning people willing to tell you that it's great to be able to do your part away from some of the serious danger posed by fieldwork. They have set up a competitive game of Two Truths and a Lie. Everyone is given a card out with the names of people they play with. There's a place for them to sign off if a person successfully guesses their lie on the first go. There's a $100 gift card for the Castaways Vintage Cafe up for grabs to the person who can gather the most lies! Get to know each other and get some delicious (local) coffee and pastries!

Canteen and Facilities
The people in the Canteen know what will bring likely new arrivals into their fold: food. Food combined with… cleaning? Mostly, this means that they have some tasty snacks cooking on a few hot plates, or available in coolers set up in front of their booth, as well as a coffee dispenser. Their activity to get people interested is a 'consume the evil avatar' challenge. There are fruits, veggies, and other foods available to design a consumable creature. Those who participate are told that they will be given three free desserts at the Canteen. You might win a few extra if you can convince your fellow participants that your edible avatar is the best. Or… worst, as the case may be. Please remember to clean up when you're finished!

Equipment and Research
The R&D team, as it were. Although Research is a much broader department, they've teamed up with the Equipment folks to showcase their departments together as a place for nerds of all stripes. There are some interesting-looking gadgets for anyone who comes over that basically amount to very fancy fidget cubes and fidget spinners. The Research team also has a challenge for those who think they might be cut out for this department: Collect at least three pieces of information from or about people around the gym and report back. The cooler the info, the more (arbitrary) points you'll score. Everyone who participates and reaches a certain points threshold will be given one of the fidget cubes or spinners to take home with them.

Security and Investigations
The Security and Investigations departments have taken over nearly a quarter of the gym with their combined booth displays. It's a mini-obstacle course with nerf guns and targets set up. It's designed so that people have to work in teams to overcome some obstacles, the better to show that this is a team, whether you're working close to home for security or out in the field, relying on other people to have your back. Those who participate in the obstacle course will be timed. The team with the best time will be given bragging rights plus a $100 gift card (each) to the General's Store. Teams are allowed to run the course more than once or break apart to find more agreeable partners for runs.

Medical and Counseling
The combined Medical and Counseling departments have set up a very cozy looking booth area. They've got colorful standing screens that give the appearance and sense of a more intimate setting in front of their booths. The comfy bean bag seats they've scattered strategically with tables nearby to set down food or drinks only add to the ambiance. There's a gentle suggestion for a game where you find as many things in common with another person as possible, but everyone who can find even one thing in common with another person will win a prize. Said prizes are things like candy, stress balls, and handheld massage tools.

Information Technology
This particular department doesn't seem to think it needs to work to get people to join. There are some TVs set up with video game consoles that feature 2-player games exclusively. If anyone asks, they'll indicate a lot of their job is sitting around, waiting for things to break. The hacking only happens sometimes and it's really cool when it does, but they can't be breaking into things like the FBI constantly. That would be a bad look.

Staff Development
The booth here is one sad, long-suffering-looking person who's sat behind a folding table. They're handing out pamphlets. Just… so many pamphlets about potential skills you could learn. There's no game here, just pamphlets. A disturbing volume and variety of pamphlets. It's like this person seems to have become a living Craigslist, advertising every bizarre thing someone at ADI could potentially teach them, from alien languages to how to play the hurdy-gurdy.

➥ Fiscal Quarter

(cw: references to character deaths/disappearances, reference to animal attacks, mention of insects/centipedes)

Once 3 PM rolls around, everyone is herded into an exceptionally large conference room on the lower levels of ADI. People are allowed to bring their drinks and snacks, but are asked to be respectful with their volume. There's a raised stage at one end of the room, and it's onto this that Nia Lehrer steps. She is a short, dark-skinned woman with her hair styled into a tight and professional braided bun atop her head. She's in a striking scarlet pants suit and carrying a small remote that she uses to turn on a projector for a PowerPoint slide presentation titled: Third Quarter 2021. She is accompanied by another woman with a shock of bubblegum pink hair who stays to one side and proceeds to sign as Nia speaks.

"Thank you for coming, everyone." Nia directs a tight smile at the camera aimed at the stage. "And tuning in if you can't be with us today. It's been a hard year. We have new faces, but… a lot fewer old ones. I'd like to take a moment, please, a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us, whether their fates are known or not."

The slides shift and there is one titled 'In Memoriam.' It includes what may be many familiar names, but also the names of people native to this world or others from different worlds who arrived from earlier in time.

"Thank you. Now, I'd like to turn everyone's attention to our accomplishments..." Nia is a skilled public speaker, and it shows as she walks the room through two separate, major threats that ADI and its personnel have managed to contain: a ritual attempt by the Endless Sky Cult out in Montana, and an infestation of dog-sized centipedes that turned up in North Carolina. She also gives praise to those who fought against the kelpies and eradicated them closer to home. "We've identified the likely origin point for the kelpies as Bar Harbor in Maine. It seems strange animal sightings and 'shark' attacks dropped off when the population was relocated to Essex Bay. We're still looking into how they were transported and who brought them down. If anyone has any additional information, we welcome it.

"That brings me to the question of how we're obtaining our information, though." There's a pause as her gaze sweeps over the room. "Many of you are from worlds where you have magic, where you have extraordinary, superhuman abilities and there is no cost. It's just a natural part of who you are. That's no longer the case. While we appreciate efforts to gather information on our behalf, we do things the right way here. We don't feed off of other people and do exactly what's been done to so many of us. There are limited circumstances that ADI can authorize the use of the kinds of abilities some people have been discussing around here. Saving your life when you get here and keeping all of this a secret." She motions to the room at large. "I know many of you probably have an opinion on this, but I'll be blunt with you. If you have the ability to use whatever powers you possess, you are hurting or have hurt someone. You have made the conscious choice that someone else is going to suffer because you wanted or felt you needed that power. Justify it to yourself that 'they deserved it,' but that doesn't change what you are doing."

She takes a deep breath. "This is a difficult transition. We've allowed some things to slide because of that. Know that the longer you're here, the less leeway we're willing to grant you.

"Now, there are a few other threats we're tracking at the moment. Fenix Down is one of them. We have field operatives monitoring his performances and keeping track of his movements. As he seems to be in the early stages of accumulating power, he's not our highest priority. We're more concerned with reports coming out of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're still gathering intel, but there may be a ritual in the works somewhere in that area. Until we have more information, we'd like to keep most of the people here, particularly our new arrivals, busy closer to home. The source of the singing around the city is a concern. We'd like to start sending out patrol teams for the graveyards to try to find the source. Similarly, the situation in Dogtown is becoming a problem. We've never seen anything quite as vicious as what's been happening there lately. Again, we'd like volunteers to assist in routing out whatever's hiding in there and putting an end to it before it hurts anyone else.

"If you're interested in that, Reyes will be organizing the patrols. And I'll be available for 10-minute discussion blocks after the next presentation. Please check in with Reyes to reserve some time."

And with that, she heads off the stage, leaving it to the CFO, a nervous-looking man who goes over the company finances at a high level for the next 20 minutes.

➥ Quarter Pounder

(cw: animal attack, consumption of human flesh, violence, gore, body horror, potential for severe injury, including puncture wounds and broken bones, potential for choking, potential for animal death)

Once you really start looking in Dogtown, it's almost… obvious. That's not water splashed across the path through the dirt, there's a rich iron scent to it. Blood. Blood is everywhere around Dogtown. It lingers in the air, but so many ordinary people seem to just… ignore it. They can't see it. Or maybe they don't want to. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

You are not ignorant. Make of that what you will. It's the reason why you'll be able to find your way, eventually, to a clearing where the scent of blood is the thickest. Or… almost make it there. There are no paths to this part of Dogtown and wandering, you could believe you're deep in the woods, well away from any civilization. It will take a keen eye to spot the traps set out all around the clearing. Snares hung on branches and hidden amongst leaves, bear trap-like devices made of sticks and pieces of twine, spike pits, small trenches you could break your ankle in. All manner of simple traps designed not to kill, but to wound.

If you do find yourself caught, you may be waiting a long time before anything comes to check on you. But perhaps you'll get lucky and someone else will be making an ill-advised trip out into the woods! When you do finally make it out and manage to get to the clearing, it may seem to be a deceptively uninteresting place. It's just a meadow with some wild boar turning over chunks of mud near some sort of drop off. A large hole?

The wind changes and you get a whiff of what's coming from that hole. Rotting, putrid meat, blood that's curdled and a body that's just gone off. Take an actual step into that field and the boars turn as one to look at you. And then the creatures actually stand up, revealing a collection of human arms and legs writhing along their bellies. The only sound is a squeal as they charge. Ready to gore, grab, and make you another piece of their collection.

➥ Quartermaster

(cw: flooding; damage to homes and possessions; drug paraphernalia; potential for memory loss or reference thereto)

It's two in the morning when disaster strikes at Bonnie's Flophouse. A few thunderstorms have rolled in over the past week, but they were nothing in comparison to the tempest that pelts the building tonight. While residents of the ADI apartment complex are warm and safe in their beds, residents of the Flophouse are liable to learn at the worst time that their windows are less than watertight. Thankfully, all it should take is a bit of elbow grease and/or improvised dam materials to stop up those minor leaks, so while it's not a particularly restful night, no one's out of a home.

No one, that is, apart from Bonnie and the Visionary. Their shared room in the basement of the Flophouse fares much worse, water from a stopped drain pouring down the inside of the unfinished foundation. In the hours directly after the storm hits, Bonnie can be found frantically ferrying their things upstairs (there are many potted plants and sodden wall tapestries--and yep, that's a bong) while the Visionary perches uneasily in a lumpy common room chair. Show up downstairs during the crisis and Bonnie will absolutely put you to work removing things from the flooded basement or trying to figure out how to stop more water from coming in. Show up the next morning and you'll find the two of them asleep on couches in the ground floor common area.

It takes days to dry out the mess in the basement. Bonnie is kept busy with that work, directing anyone who will help and doing what she can to correct the issue so it doesn't flood again the next time a storm rolls in. She's constantly on the move; conversations with her during this period will tend to be limited to Bonnie handing out instructions for repairs or for drying things out before rushing off to the next thing she has to get done. In the meantime, the Visionary spends most of his time in the common room, seeming overwhelmed by it all. She's a thin, sickly figure with a white walking cane and a blindfold they never remove, and up until now has only been a sporadic visitor to the building's shared spaces. Despite the blindfold, he always seems to know when someone has entered the room, head turned and tilted as she listens, a hungry twist to their mouth.

"Don't tell me where you come from," he'll warn you before you've even had a chance to say hello.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. For this event, the only NPCs that should not be controlled by players for threading are: Nia Lehrer and the Visionary. These NPCs will be played by mods and available for interaction.
  
  
• QUARTER DOLLAR (25 September) - For anyone who participates in the Administration and Public Relations or Security and Investigations booth events, there is a sign-up below. The ultimate winners for those booths will be RNG'd and announced on 9/30. Characters who are already part of a department are more than welcome to say that their character is manning the department booth for a portion of the meeting. Selecting a department is something that can be handwaved. There is no official sign-up sheet. Please just remember characters can only join two departments at a time. ADI is mindful of people trying to overwork themselves as a trauma-response and will actively prevent your character from trying to do so by keeping tabs on where they're working and what hours. They'll have to leave the building, at least to continue working after a max of 50 hours each week between their assigned departments.
  
  
• FISCAL QUARTER (25 September) - Nia will be available for conversations with characters after the presentation. You can handwave that Reyes set you up with a time to meet. Please simply tag into the NPC Top Level below with your character entering into an office where Nia will be seated and waiting for them. Characters may meet with Nia individually or in pairs. Characters who attempt to use supernatural abilities on Nia may experience extremely negative IC consequences, as a warning!
  
  
• QUARTER POUNDER (25-30 September) - Characters will be able to use mundane or supernatural senses to track the blood and bits of flesh they might find along the way to the meadow. The traps have no particular pattern to them. They're simply numerous and clearly hand-made from whatever could be scavenged in the forest. There is nothing supernatural about them, but they will hurt characters who aren't careful. They seem to be fairly well hidden. Even someone experienced might not notice them. The boars will attack and attempt to rip pieces out of characters if they see or smell them. They do not speak, but will squeal and attempt to rip people apart if they get ahold of them. The hands and legs on their torsos will assist with this. Once killed, the boars will simply separate from the human pieces that are attached to them leaving them looking like they were just ordinary boars. There are multiple groups of boars that may be found at different times in the meadows. Various groups will need to eradicate them over the course of the week to finish them all off. The hole filled with meat isn't actually that deep, but there's a good handful of body parts and just chunks of meat in there. No full bodies, though.
  
  
• QUARTERMASTER (26-30 September) - As far as anyone can tell, the flooding is just that: normal flooding and water damage. Bonnie will not be available for threads; it can be assumed that anyone trying to strike up a conversation with her will be given something helpful to do and not a lot else. The Visionary will not stray much from the common room until their shared room is habitable again, and will generally be available for conversation. The Visionary is nonbinary and uses he/she/they pronouns interchangeably. Mod narration will reflect this.

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Comments

[apocalypsehownpcs]

I'm obviously aware of gray space, or I wouldn't be using someone who can heal people arriving here from the brink of death or someone who can hide people who aren't human. Greater good. But it's compromising my morals. What we're doing to maintain those things is wrong. I make sure I'm the one making those decisions so my people don't have to. Once this is all done, once we've seen you all home, I'll be stepping down from this position. The person who takes over after me can start with a clean slate. I'll accept whatever punishment they deem appropriate.

[She says all of this matter-of-factly, and there's a conviction in her expression that says she made this decision a long time ago.]

ADI's spent 200 years stopping apocalypses without resorting to becoming monsters, ourselves. I appreciate what everyone new here has to offer, but magic's not the only way, even if it's the one that all of you know.

[sorser]

I’m a sorcerer; magic is integral to me. I understand where you’re coming from, but you need to understand the feeling of being de-fanged for those of us who relied on supernatural abilities before coming here, especially given the circumstances. Instead? We’re thrown head-first into investigations with little more than a briefing and a pat on the back for good luck.

[He plants an elbow onto the armrest and leans forward a little.]

And sometimes, not even the whole picture. You said that ADI wants to resort to stopping apocalypses without becoming monsters. Are you aware of the accusations one Mr. Fenix Down has made about this organization?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Let me be clear, Doctor. If you've been under the impression that you are required to go on any field missions, then that is a failing on the part of my staff to explain and I will be talking to them. No one is expected to take on field work who feels unprepared. We don't want people dying or going missing. We give the information we have available at the time that's relevant to the mission. The same as we do for all of our missions. Sometimes, there just isn't a lot to go on, which is why the intent is to have you and others mainly running reconnaissance. Something that anyone can do, no special powers required.

As for Mr. Down, I've heard he told you a lot of things. Why don't you tell me what you're wondering about specifically?

[sorser]

[There is an argument to be made against her clarification, too; that perhaps they should better understand what sort of people have been brought under ADI’s wing, the kind that cannot simply sit back and do nothing while an apocalypse hangs over them. The very assumption that reconnaissance isn’t dangerous in its own right, or doesn’t have the potential to always go pear-shaped, no matter how much a person wants to distance themselves from the action.

But even then, he has a feeling that kind of rebuttal will only go in circles — waste the shortening ten minutes of his time. This, anyway, is one issue that’s been on his mind since he spoke to Down.]

To be blunt? He blamed the previous derailment in 1921 on the work of “Apex Detectives”, whose members had been seen around the railyard before the accident. Even stranger, how such a tragedy was barely more than a mention in the local papers. I believe his words were “glossed over” and “snuffed out”.

It’s a nasty implication. Not much of a moral high ground to stand on, if it’s true — but is it?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[Nia sighs and leans back in her chair, clearly considering Stephen for a long moment.]

From what I'm aware of, it's true. To avert a train crash that would have plowed into Boston on one of the busiest nights of the year, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, and setting an apocalypse for the Desolation in motion, ADI operatives derailed it here, in Gloucester, where they could stop the Desolation and clean up the mess afterward.

Considering the people killed on the train were cultists and most of the damage was to property that ADI would have an easy and clear excuse to get involved in the repair of, I don't consider that a particular immoral act. I wasn't there at the time, obviously, but I expect the people who were would have exhausted all other options. ADI stopped an apocalypse and we took care of the families that were affected by what happened. It's unfortunate when unconnected people die, but sometimes they do. We make every effort to limit those sorts of casualties.

[sorser]

[Well, respect given for her honesty. But there are still issues to poke holes at — he’s sure he’s not the only one who’ll point this out.]

All right. So, you know what I’m going to say next, right? And I won’t be the first to point it out.

[He isn’t even here to challenge so much as to clarify. Those who have far less faith in this organization? He wonders if they’ll be so charitable.]

That it sounds hypocritical for ADI to pick and choose when and how it’s okay to sacrifice the safety of the unconnected, while the rest of us? We aren’t trusted to make that choice. And maybe that’s the issue — trust. Why wasn’t any of this mentioned before?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Frankly, because it wasn't relevant to the assignment you were issued, Doctor. I'm sure you're familiar with the principle of Need-to-Know. We don't expect everyone here to provide strategy for us. That wasn't the mission brief. We needed to know what Mr. Down was doing in the now, not what his connection might be to what happened a century ago, if he was connected at all.

And trust is a thing we've learned not to give so readily. We've had people dropping in from other worlds for over a year now. You're not the first sorcerer we've had, and the ones that we trusted early on burned us, they burned my city. I'm sorry you're bearing the brunt of someone else's misbehavior, but that's how it is. The last time we trusted without verifying over a significant length of time, it wound up in multiple deaths and the city's sewer system in a shambles.

[sorser]

[Okay— hold on a second. Point duly made, sure, but this is the first he’s heard of that.]

Wait, so you’re saying thet you’ve had sorcerers burn the city—literally or figuratively— and another instance of someone clogging up its sewers?

[Plus the bit about multiple deaths.

Stephen has to take a moment to pinch at the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. Way to make this harder for him, previous magic-users!]

Then I’m going to assume that doling out my list of magical good deeds won’t exactly change your mind on the matter — when it comes to sorcerers.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Literally and figuratively. Arson's one of the easiest ways to feed the Desolation and people with a lot of fire power seem to tend that way. [Her gaze on him is mild, but pointed.] We've put too much faith in people dropped into our building and ended up chasing them when the good magic they did stopped being so good.

I'm willing to accept you've probably done some amazing, wonderful, and good things with your abilities in your world. Here, there's a cost you aren't going to be familiar with, though. I've seen people with even the best of intentions fall to monstrous instincts because that's what these Entities do. They don't ask just one little scare in return for your powers. You have to keep feeding them. More and more and more. The longer it goes on, the harder it is to resist, the more you have have to fuel things.

I assume, given your title, you're familiar with addiction? Think of any super human power like an addiction here. One that pushes instincts and impulses on you that you never experienced before. You can't be a good person and an avatar. That's just not possible in this world.

[sorser]

[He’s very familiar with the concept, a well-studied subject in the field of neurology, even if those were never the patients he oversaw in his reputation-bolstering days.]

Of course. [Stephen gives her a level look, considering.] If we’re running with that analogy, then it’s treatable. Recovery is difficult, dependent on the circumstances, but not impossible with time and effort.

[Wistful thinking, probably. But he has to ask.]

Has anyone ever come back from the brink? Or are they written off as lost causes?

[apocalypsehownpcs]

Manageable, more than treatable. There's... one former employee we're aware of who's living with Bonnie. They've claimed they're making efforts not to feed their patron. Given the specific nature of their abilities, we've been keeping an ear out to make sure that's the case. Seems to be so far. They're a native to this world, though. She knows what the cost of power is and was a victim, herself. Expect that's the only thing keeping them in check. His history with us is the one reason we've let him try.

He'll be like that for the rest of his life if he chooses not to sever his connection. Severing can work to remove the Entity, but the cost is something most people aren't prepared to choose. It's life-altering, and not typically in a way that's going to make your life easier. As far as we can tell, it's equivalent to cutting out a piece of yourself, something vital.

[sorser]

[Living with Bonnie? A not-so-little nugget of information to stow away for later, but regardless, this doesn’t seem to change the overall point.]

So ‘don’t use your powers’ is both the prevention and the remedy. [Though Stephen thinks “remedy” is a liberal use of the word.] Which leaves us right where we started.

[Likely the point. He doesn’t see her acceding it even a little, her mind very much made up on the matter.]

Since we’re spinning precautionary tales, can you tell me more about the sorcerers who turned against you? If I can understand what happened, I can know what to avoid — plus, it’d be nice to know if they’re still a threat to look out for.

cw: mention of murder, arson, extreme weather events, being buried alive

[apocalypsehownpcs]

They didn't all call themselves that, but the ones we've dealt with included a young man named Alan who could manipulate fire. He used it to help with fighting fires in his own world, but that's not really how it works with the Desolation here. And the only way he could get the power he felt like he needed to help was starting fires. He used them to pretend at being a hero, eventually went after part of the apartment complex all of you are living in now. We have a our rules about coming and going at night now because of him. He was doing most of his setting fires at night, sneaking back into his rooms for an alibi before morning. We had to take him out after about four months.

There was an older woman who called herself a sorcerer named Alina. She commanded the weather in her world. Found herself tied up with the Vast here, and had to be taken out when she tried to call down a twister up north in an area that should not have had a tornado anywhere near it for that time of the year. She was also causing power outages around town with lightning strikes, leaving people scared and in the dark at times. She's the reason we tend to keep folks closer to home when they first arrived. She pulled that just two months in. And we're not equipped to be able to handle that kind of problem outside the city where we have a lot of resources immediately available.

And then there's Deepthi. She's an architect who can manipulate earth and other building materials. She got away, but we're still trying to track her down. She's the one responsible for the sewers. She was sinking people down into sections of pipe and closing them off, leaving them to die down there, terrified and alone.

[sorser]

[He listens, something uncomfortable stirring in his chest the whole while. These sound like worst-case scenarios, and yet she’s rattled off three examples like it’s nothing — most of which had become issues in a matter of months.

What would happen if his own magic twisted in that direction, the destruction it could cause in his own worst-case scenario? Is there really not a balance that can be struck beyond the ever-present watchfulness of ADI?

What about those from his world? Wanda? Loki? Ugh, imagine trying to tell a Trickster God that he can’t use his magic recklessly—or at all—for fear of the trouble it might cause.

Stephen sighs; he sounds tired.]

A matter of months, and they lost themselves completely. [Note to self: have a little chat with his fellow magic users.]

How does ADI ‘take out’ magical loose cannons when you can’t fight fire with fire? [Mundane solutions to magical problems sounds… intractable.].

[apocalypsehownpcs]

With a new source of power, there seems to be a new source of frailty for people who arrive here. We take them out the same way we'd take out other avatars. Explosives tend to work if bullets aren't enough. Poison. Traps relevant to the Entity they serve. It varies.

[sorser]

[Taking advantage of newfound impulses, likely, to incapacitate a threat. If feeding an Entity is like fueling an addiction, Stephen realize maybe they aren’t so difficult to manipulate once they’re far gone.

Harsh, but clever.]

In my world, it was my job to be vigilant against any magical threats against the planet. To protect against them.

[He gestures at Nia.]

I understand that for you and this organization, trust is hard-earned. But I’d like to keep that role, to some extent — even if it’s purely for consultation. Even without my magic, my experience could be useful to ADI.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[Nia inclines her head.]

We welcome the counsel, Doctor. We know none of you asked to be here and we are sympathetic to the idea that the supernatural is different in other worlds. I can't imagine being cut off from something that was like another sense to me just due to chance. It's not fair. But it is.

I appreciate that you're willing to handle it as best you can. If your advice can help people and let us get you home sooner, we'll take it.

[sorser]

[Her sympathy is appreciated—even though he agrees, no, she can’t imagine what it’s like—and her willingness to accept his input makes him feel a little better. That gnawing sense of uselessness abated, if marginally.]

It’ll be beneficial to us both. If the goal is to solve issues without using powers, then brainstorming with powered individuals will make them feel like they’re contributing. Less likely to take matters into their own hands.

[That’s universal advice, not applied to only himself.]

If you ever need me, I’m usually around medical. I’m not hard to find. [Deadpan and wry, despite it all.] I’ve been told I dress funny on some days.

[apocalypsehownpcs]

[Her lips quirk slightly at the mention of dressing funny.]

I've already had a discussion with a young woman named Aelwyn who seems to be in the same situation. She's working on a means to deal with Mr. Down. You might see if she needs help with her plans. I have a feeling she's a little hot-headed based on what my staff have told me.

I'll be leaving for a mission soon, but Reyes can always communicate messages to me. I can't promise I'll be able to respond to you immediately while I'm on a job, but I'll make the time when it's needed.

[She rises and offers the man her hand to shake. The ten minutes have ticked by and she's a punctual woman.]

I'm sorry about the circumstances of your arrival, but I think we can help each other, Doctor. Thank you for coming to speak with me.

[sorser]

[Aelwyn. The mention of being hot-headed isn’t exactly a great sell, but Stephen’s worked with… difficult personalities before. It isn’t enough to deter him from wanting to see things through to the end.

The name’s added to the shortlist of people he needs to speak with. For now, it’s clear his ten minutes are up, but Stephen’s wrung out a fair amount of information, given what he had to work with. He stands and completes the handshake; professional enough to make up for a weaker grip.]

Likewise. I’ll keep everything you said in mind. You’ll hear from me sooner or later, but good luck with the mission in the meanwhile.

[With that, and plenty to think about, Stephen won’t linger. He’s out the door to undoubtedly make room for her next appointment.]