Mine 41

Before he thought that the boring redundant tests were a testament to silent rooms, something that had no other opponents but he was wrong. This room could give that silence a run for its money. 

Everyone here just sat awkwardly around the table trying to remain as silent as they could be. Armsmaster because he was leaving Tammi and Cole space to adjust to the PRT. Tammi because she was basking in Cole’s presence and did not want to deal with the rest of the people here. Cole because he was comforting Tammi and the plot he was running in the background was drawing his attention. Vista because...well he had no idea why she was silently sitting at the table with a small almost unnoticeable pout on her face.

Maybe it was because she was being forced to socialize with strange teens to get them to view the PRT and the Ward program in a good light. Being told to make friends with specific people from the adult figures in your life was usually not appreciated.

He would put weight on that theory but that did not fit with her earlier actions. Before she was a chatterbox who seemed to spill whatever was on her mind and even when he entered this room she was talking to Tammi. Sure, she was having a hard time about it but she was clearly in a better mood than the one she was currently sporting.

So she should not mind talking to the two of them for the most part. The only dividing point from their previous interactions and this one was Tammi’s need for comfort and attention. Was that it?

She was pouting and being sullen because of the affection on display? He wanted to deny it but it made a certain amount of sense. She was already hopelessly trapped in a one sided crush that was doomed to not go anywhere. The guy she was crushing on had a girlfriend and she was too young for him.

So public displays of affection must have hit a sore spot for her.

He opened his mouth to say something to her but shut it and dismissed the thought. It was not like he was going to stop comforting Tammi, so Vista was going to have to see the PDA for now. He could apologize for it later.

“So…how was Amy?” Vista asked, finally breaking the silence in the room. She may have been pouting but clearly the silence was getting to her.

Made sense that the chatterbox was going to be the one to break first.

Tammi looked over at the younger girl for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Cole. Cole looked over at Vista for a moment confused about the question. The small smile when she said Amy’s name seemed odd to him but then it clicked.

Vista and Amy were sort of friends. If only for one reason. The both of them hated the fact that Vickie was dating Dean. Even if their positions were based on completely different perspectives. He felt his lips twitch as he pieced that together but shrugged it off for now. 

He was not going to leave Vista floundering awkwardly, not after she broke the silence in the room.

“She probably needs a good nap but she should be fine for today. I did not expect her to be so snarky but it certainly fit her.” Cole spoke after a moment of collecting his thoughts. 

Vista let out a small giggle at that and she wore a small grin on her face as she faced her fellow blondes.

“Yeah, Amy can be abrasive at the best of times. But she grows on you quickly, I would say she is snarky to keep vultures away from her but she is prickly all by herself. Maybe it’s all that coffee she consumes, I swear one of these days she is going to figure out how to replace all of her blood with pure coffee. Heck, she might have already made a dent in that. She had probably consumed her body weight in coffee by now. So is she more coffee than girl by this point? Kind of like the ship of Theseus paradox.” 

The words seemed to slip out of her mouth like a machine gun now that she was getting into it. Even Tammi stopped her bids for attention as she looked over at the young girl with her mouth hanging slightly open.

Cole gave a glance over at Armsmaster to see how he was taking the bombardment but the guy was just looking over at everyone with the same blank expression.

Hard to tell with that guy. Since the bearded wonder had the social skills of a goldfish he might view Vista’s approach as something reasonable. On the other hand he might be irritated from the nonstop nonsensical connective dialog. He seemed like the kind of guy who appreciated when people got straight to the point when they talked to him.

Blunt and never really caring about others feelings in conversation but he was refreshing in his own way. 

He turned to Vista to get the girl to stop the verbal assault but someone else beat him to it.

“You always this peppy squirt?” Tammi asked with a intrigued look on her face but with a certain bite he was more than familiar with. Vista stopped her words at that, as if a mirror of the previous situation she was the one looking at Tammi with a mouth slightly agape.

That was not going to last very long. He could already see that Vista’s expression was morphing into outrage and irritation. Tammi managed to step on one of her landmines after all.

Cole gave his sort of girlfriend a bland look. She had been soft and clingy like a baby bear lately, soft enough that he almost forgot how abrasive she was in her own rights. He should have figured this was not completely gone, her conversation with Lisa was certainly not soft.

If Amy was snarky, Tammi crossed the line to deliberately insulting. Not the best way to make friends but she was never really out for that.

She used to give Cole the same sort of bite in their conversation when they started being friends. Her bossing him around and trying to shape him into an image she appreciated. That fell away quickly when she really got to know him and the genuine soft side she had was available from then on. Only to him but it was there.

“Cool it Tammi, Vista is great.” Cole muttered softly to Tammi but the rest of the table heard it as well. It was not like he was trying to keep it from them. He was only speaking softly because he knew Tammi would respond the best if he did.

As if to prove his point she took in his words and held back the comment she was going to throw at Vista. Instead, she let out a small huff and huddled back into his side. Throwing most of her body on him as they sat side by side.

“She was just so peppy.” Tammi muttered out into his side but this time he was the only one hearing it. At least he thought so considering the looks around the table.

Vista seemed grateful that Cole was backing her up for a moment but then she reverted to that stiff polite smile. He did not really blame her for that, Tammi had walked onto the one topic Vista hated dealing with after all.

“So how are the rest of the Wards? I already met Gallant and while we did not get off on a good start he seems okay. I met you Vista and obviously you are great but how are the rest? Any taboos I need to know about before joining up?” Cole asked, trying to shift the mood into something more productive. 

“Rest assured, there is nothing you need to look out for in the Wards Program. The kids get along and they have each other’s back.” Armsmaster spoke out from the side, clearly seeing the need to reassure Cole’s worries before they got too much.

Vista smiled in an even more stiff way but she was nodding along like the words Armsmaster was saying was gospel. Figures she would follow his lead on this even if she clearly had ideas about what is true.

Cole let out a snicker that drew a frown from Armsmaster but the man in question did not ask what was so funny.

“I figured the Wards were professional enough to not let their feelings get in the way of having each other’s back. When you step into combat you have to know you can trust the boy or girl standing next to you with your life. That is to be expected and Vista certainly shows that professional side in everything she does but that was not what I was asking.”

“Egos clash even with the most calm and stable individuals, when you mix traumatized and moody teens together there is bound to be issues that need to be walked around or not talked about. Hell, some people simply like their privacy and safe space, that is something I need to know beforehand and I figure Vista would know more about the ins and outs of the team. Teens tend to hide things like that from the people in charge of them.”

Cole explained his piece and while Armsmaster was frowning it was clear he at least understood where Cole was coming from. Tammi snorted as if agreeing with everything Cole said but she would have agreed if he said the sky was green by this point.

Vista on the other hand was a mix. When he said Vista was a true professional she seemed to brighten seven degrees but that was muffled quickly. Instead she seemed to hesitate and looked at Armsmaster for a moment before not saying anything.

Armsmaster seemed baffled about her hesitation and he was about to question the girl about it but Cole beat him to it.

“See? Vista clearly has some details she wants to share but she did not want to contradict you. Do you mind leaving the room for a bit so she can share the details?” Cole asked with a small smile on his face.

Vista looked over at Cole seemingly stunned. Even Tammi was giving him an odd look as she did not expect him to come right out and say what was going on.

Armsmaster seemed baffled by all of this but one look at Vista told him that Cole was right about some of this. The senior hero gave a quiet, almost solemn look at Cole for a moment before letting out a sigh and heading out of the room to give them some privacy.

Cole had no doubt that this room was still monitored and Armsmaster was probably patched in on his helmet. The hero was not going to leave one of his Wards with two Capes that had questionable loyalty. Sure, they were pretty sure the motives Cole was selling them were right but there was always a risk they were wrong.

So monitoring of Cole and Tammi were probably a long way from being dropped. But this was not about being free from surveillance. Asking Armsmaster to leave the room was to subtly tell him that while he can listen in on the conversation all he wanted the guy should probably not act on what was being said. Since he technically was not supposed to know about it.

Vista was blindsided when Armsmaster left, all she could do was look at the door that BeardMaster used to leave with a dazed look on her face. Cole coughed to get her attention.

That cough broke her out of her stunned state as she faced the duo of blondes with an odd look on her face.

“So, you going to answer the question, Miss yappy?” Tammi pipped in again, the biting tone still there but that seemed like it was going to be common here so he ignored it. Vista was also catching on how to deal with his moody girl as she too ignored it but he could tell Vista was gritting her teeth at the not so subtle mockery.

Cole gave her an encouraging look to dispel the irritation she was going through and to get the girl to tell him the details. Vista looked back at him before looking between him and Tammi with a frown.

“Everyone is great.” Vista started to say but was cut off when Tammi spoke out.

“Bullshit, The Bay is filled with trash and while it might be better in the Ward’s program since y’all are supposed to be ‘heroes’” Tammi spoke out with air quotes when she spoke about heroes before she continued “I refuse to believe that some trash is not floating around here.” Tammi spoke out with a sharp smile and a roll of her eyes.

Vista seemed irritated at the interruption and the rather bleak outlook Tammi was displaying.

“Tammi is being a bit blunt about this but she is used to seeing the worst the Bay has to offer. Let’s just say me and Tammi grew up far too close to the Gangs and neither of us liked how things were going. So we know how bad things get here. Although, knowing how long you have worked as a hero you probably are aware of that. Even if you seem to be from the nicer parts of town.” He spoke out quickly to again shift Tammi’s bite.

As he was doing that he shot Tammi a look that screamed she should cool it. He knew this was basically how she really was with strangers but she seemed particularly combative today. Tammi let out a huff and a roll of her eyes but she mimed zipping her lips, so he had that going for him at least.

Vista looked away from Cole, trying to bore a hole in the wall near his head as he talked but a snort from Tammi had the girl looking at Tammi with gritted teeth and a determined glint in her eyes. Which earned her another snort and a snooty look.

Cole was completely baffled about the byplay going on there. What the fuck was going on. Tammi was pushing over and over again and while Vista was irritated she was not questioning where this hostility was coming from. Before he could think about it further Vista tore her glare away from Tammi and she was back to looking at Cole.

“Really everyone in the Wards program is great. Kid Win can be a bit nervous and Clockblocker can be annoying at times but they really try. Aegis is too protective but he is nice as well.” Vista explained her perspective on her fellow wards with two notable absences.

Gallant not being there made sense as their meeting had already happened but Shadow Stalker getting the same treatment was telling.

“Right, so Shadow Stalker either has a stick up her ass so high she might as well be a shish kebab or she doesn't mesh with the peppy attitude you got going on. So which is it? Massive cunt or a block of wood?” Tammi spoke out saying what was laying between the lines without a second of hesitation.

Vista did not even flinch at the words being thrown back at her, she did not even let out another sigh over a subject that was clearly touchy.

“Can you please tell us about Shadow, Vista? I really don’t want to bash your teammate behind their back but knowing what bombs to not touch is productive.” Cole spoke out trying to piece together something reasonable.

Vista looked at Cole and looked like she was hesitating over this again before she bit the bullet.

“Shadow Stalker is very independent and she is not one for talks not pertaining to the mission at hand.” Vista spoke out diplomatically, Cole raised an eyebrow at her choice of words but it kind of came out like PR talks so maybe the PRT ran her through proper diction. 

“So she’s a cunt, good to know short stuff.” Tammi spoke out her findings without even a speck of hesitation. Vista again glared at his blonde friend but even ten minutes later she did not say Tammi was wrong with her assumption. 

Now having a good reason to avoid Shadow Stalker he let go of his questions. Sophia is really going to need a fantastic lawyer at the end of all of this. Which sucks as she was going to rely on the tool that is Emma’s father to get her out of dumbshit she herself did.

Again he went to shift the conversation but the clone he had working on a certain project was in position. He needed one final piece to forge the lie he was spinning for the rest of the world. It just so happens that this plan fed into Kaito’s need for attention and Cole’s own need for an increase of strength.

It seemed that the PRT’s own information network was pretty good as Vista had her phone buzzing likely warnings about the chaotic situation his clone had found himself in.

Vista paused as she read the article before she looked over at Cole and her phone with a flash of confusion before she shrugged it off. He just smiled back at her trying to get her to relax.

“Stagehand is currently robbing a bank of all things.” Vista explained what had her phone buzzing even as she shot an truly strange look at Cole. He just smiled blandly back at her as if not getting the context.

That smile lasted a moment before new information was thrown at him and he had to stop for a moment to double check what he was getting. Even with that double check he was baffled.

How did a routine robbery wind up with Oni-lee crashing the party and fucking Cricket and Storm-Tiger trying to give Stagehand an offer he can’t refuse.

Seriously what the fuck!?