"Come in." Blonde Blazer called out after hearing the knock on her office door. Saiyan came in, or rather Jin after his requested name change. There was something different about him that she picked up the moment he stepped in.
He held her gaze.
Usually, he would look down to the ground, afraid to make eye contact. Of course, she had known about his troublesome tendency. A bully, someone she certainly didn't tolerate, and after a stern reprimand, his actions had been limited to the verbal side. Not ideal, but she had wanted to give him a chance. After hearing about his accident and supposed memory loss, she had expected it was yet another attempt to avoid work where he couldn't bully the 'weak'.
He stepped closer right behind the seats, looking like he wouldn't sit down. There was a certain confidence in his step, his posture straight, his head straight, neither arrogantly turning up his nose nor cowering, and the way he looked at her was with a certain intensity. She couldn't help but think that this presence suited him better. It was almost a complete turnaround to the degree that for a moment she asked herself if this was the same person that had given her nothing but trouble the past two months. The same person that bled all over himself just two nights ago.
His hands crossed behind his back as if he were a soldier. His eyes flickered to the right for a moment as if contemplating something before focusing back on her. "I had my lawyer explain the details about my… employment. I understand the circumstances, but I would like to have a crash course on what is expected of me."
"That's exactly why I wanted you to come to my office first thing today… So, your memory hasn't come back to you?" There were some precedents where memories were permanently lost, despite the fact that those with enhanced healing would rarely have those issues. She wasn't a medical professional, so she couldn't explain the details, but it was generally acknowledged that most issues that could cripple a normal person wouldn't be as severe for superpowered individuals. It was one of the reasons why they could be rougher when fighting crime, regardless of whether their powers were specifically geared for healing.
"Unfortunately, no. I have not. Even after going through… my possessions, nothing came to mind." She nodded at his response. If there was an issue that the natural healing of an ability holder didn't fix, then it would be rather persistent. Still, he had about a week to confirm if things would stay the way they were or if something would come back to him. Afterward, the brain of an ability holder would have already adapted to the new state, making recovery almost impossible, or so she had heard from a medical professional once.
He continued, "There was a question that came to mind though." His eyes seemed to intensify as he gazed at her like he wanted to see right through her. "Since you're my employer, you must know a lot more about me, more than is revealed in the 'classified' document that I got to read on the day of my… accident, right?" It wasn't a question. The way he said it made it seem like he was just stating facts.
And he was correct. For all the 'reformed villains' she had recruited for the Phoenix Program, she had detailed information. Most information that the government had was forcefully 'volunteered' by the villains to lessen their sentences.
However, "There isn't much I know beyond the file you've read." Her response was the truth, for the man known as Saiyan wasn't of a complicated background, nor were his powers a mystery. It was rather straightforward. Were-people weren't common, but they weren't rare among ability holders either. "The incident where you lost control during a full moon and then your 'successful' career as a thief until the moment you were caught because you went into a food coma after having broken into a candy shop."
His eyebrows rose in surprise before smoothing again. "That's certainly news, but not entirely what I meant. Am I human?"
The question almost gave her whiplash. It wasn't something she expected. "You're… a Wereape, nothing more was mentioned. You expect something else?" He didn't immediately respond to her question, instead opting to study her.
"There are other aliens, no?"
She nodded slowly. Was he suggesting that he was an alien instead? "You were born in Princeton. Usually, the government is rather thorough with any information they can find about ability holders. If they didn't find anything then…"
She didn't have to spell out what that meant. The government was particularly interested in what could cause someone to possess an ability. If they thought your birth was legitimate, then it might as well be a fact. Of course, Were-people were given the same scrutiny as it could either be contagious or just genetic.
"Good to know." He simply said, his lips thinning slightly, clearly not enjoying the answer. "So, what do I have to watch out for as a hero?" Blonde Blazer couldn't help but take in the way he said 'hero'. After having spoken to the other members of the Phoenix Program, and to Saiyan himself, they didn't see themselves as heroes, not really. They certainly wouldn't describe themselves as such, not without a sarcastic undertone. Seeing Saiya-Jin being so serious, it felt more like those kids that always wanted to be heroes and finally got a chance to become one. Those types really wanted to make sure they wouldn't mess up.
Despite his circumstances, she couldn't help but smile. Perhaps, although tragic for Saiyan, the accident might not be the worst thing that could happen. She certainly preferred the current look of him. Of course, seeing him out there perform would truly show what kind of cloth he was made of.
"Good to hear you taking this seriously." Her voice lighter than at the start of their conversation. "Here is a small manual detailing communication with our clients and law enforcement authorities." Even regular heroes wouldn't open it, not to mention read it. She would be lucky if they skimmed through it. Fortunately, or unfortunately in some cases, corporate heroes had some leeway and no one would say too much about their questionable actions if they still succeeded in their missions.
Jin nodded as he picked up the manual, briefly looking at the table of contents as she continued, "Since you'll probably be sent out today as well, here's the rundown. Be nice to the clients and in case of a crime, inform the authorities after you handled it. You come back after every mission to give a Mission Completion Report. The bullet points are pretty straightforward. It's just about what happened, actions taken, and if there were any injuries or collateral damage. There are more points, but those are the most important. The client confirmation is usually done through our app or through authorities if the client is… unavailable. And lastly, you get a 30 minutes period of rest between missions."
This was the standard procedure, but if Saiyan followed just these things correctly, it would already be a major improvement. Something she obviously wouldn't want to say out loud when seeing him adorn a more serious attitude.
"Sounds good. Do I get some time to at least go through the manual?" He held up the small notebook that was barely 30 pages long.
"I will tell your new dispatcher to give you a grace period before your first mission."
"New dispatcher, who is that, and are they the ones that assign me to a mission? Do I not get to choose?"
"No… your team's dispatcher ideally will have your strengths and weaknesses in mind when assigning you missions-" Jin frowned at her words, and she could only mentally sigh. It had been a pain point for the reformed criminals and even some heroes, their reluctance to be told what to do by a 'nobody'. "I'll introduce him to the team once he arrives. Try not to make his job harder than it already is."
"Sure, boss. I'll try my best." Jin nodded with surprisingly quick acceptance, but his frown remained, and he didn't make any motion to leave either.
"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" she probed.
"Were there any benefits, like, say, specialized training or gadgets to help in our missions or support our abilities?"
Her eyebrows rose slightly before she facepalmed, realizing that someone with lost memories would obviously want something to assist him in a comparatively dangerous job. "Yeah, can't believe that I forgot to mention it. Of course, you can request gadgets from our tech department. Roy is also part of the Z-Team. You can ask him if your idea is feasible, and he will report and file your equipment in our database-" She was interrupted by Jin raising his hand.
"The Z-Team?"
"Yes, the team that is brought together through the Phoenix Program is called the Z-Team." She wasn't sure why the name was significant, but from Jin's pale expression and restless eyes, it seemed to be devastating news. "Did some memories come back?" she asked, concerned. Previously, she had thought that he had been playing up his condition, but he wouldn't gain anything from it. He would still have to work to stay out of prison. Besides, the way he acted since the accident felt genuine to her.
"Not of this Z-Team… Please continue. Roy was our contact person. What about specialized training?"
"Right. We currently don't have any specialized training in place, but I'll keep it in mind and might introduce something. As for regular training, you are already familiar with the gym, which is open until we lock up the building." As she spoke, she made a note to think about some additional training methods. Immediately, a few special hero forces in the military or some acquaintances from a private militia came to her mind who could give her some advice.
"What about breakfast or lunch?"
"We do offer meals at discounted prices, but usually people bring their own meals or go to the nearby mall to get something. I can register you on the list. The cost will be directly deducted from your pay."
"What about portion sizing? I would need about 30 to 40 thousand calories per sitting." Her note scribbling abruptly stopped as she heard that number. She slowly raised her head to regard him, trying to figure out if he was messing with her, but his expression remained serious.
"Are you serious?" she asked, despite it being obvious through his demeanor that, yes, he was serious.
"Yes," he reaffirmed. "After my accident, I realized that I was constantly hungry, so I ate. 30 thousand seemed to be the bare minimum to feel satiated." She opened her mouth to question him, but thought better of it.
Mutation of abilities did happen, but everything about abilities was a deeply personal topic that even the government wouldn't brazenly violate, in fear of the ability holder lobbyists breathing down their necks. Even criminals didn't have to hand out every detail about their powers if they didn't want to, not that it could be effectively enforced. Of course, the state had its own methods to 'guess' the abilities of a person. Coercion was the most common way, giving some information about powers that could be fairly accurately guessed in exchange for a few years off their sentence was a deal a lot of criminals would take, and if they lied… not much could be done about that but common sense.
"I… I think we can get a bulk purchase discount for your meals, but… even then, it won't save you much."
"It would already be great to not have to cook everything myself or get screwed by another 'all-you-can-eat buffet'." Jin nodded, and she could understand. Anyone who wasn't a chef by passion wouldn't want to spend so much time in the kitchen. "I also need a lot of meat as well." She stared in his general direction, but she wasn't seeing him. Internally, she was already calculating the costs.
"…Anything else?" Since it would be deducted from his pay anyway, she didn't bother to calculate it thoroughly. She only needed to know that his pay was enough to cover the costs…
"That would be all, thank you." he said as he nodded and left her office. He did seem to have gained a bit of weight, she thought as her eyes followed his figure. Previously, she had focused more on his demeanor since reading people's intentions was more important to a hero than whatever visual appearance could reveal about a person's threat assessment.
Blazer had encountered more people who looked otherwise harmless when they weren't using their powers. Looks were deceiving.
"Yo, did you just stare at his ass?" Invisigal appeared, leaning against the desk. Blazer's eyes widened upon seeing her appear before she rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't-"
"Nah, you're totally staring at his cake. Pretty sure that's harassment or abuse of authority or whatever." Visi smirked as she glanced at the blonde.
"I thought he looked different. It wasn't specifically his butt I was staring at." Now it was Visi's turn to look surprised.
"Oh, shit. You were staring-"
"As I was saying, he looked different. I was just making sure-" "By staring at his ass-" "-just making sure I wasn't imagining things. Now, what are you doing here? I'm not surprised that you would sneak into my office, but I have to reaffirm that-"
"Yeah, yeah, no spying on coworkers."
"No spying on people in general."
Visi waved her off before checking her nails. "Seriously, who uses nail polish with glitter?"
Blazer frowned before opening her drawer. With a huff, she closed it. "Many people. Actually."
"So, you wanted to talk?" Visi asked while flopping into the chair in front of Blazer's desk. She threw her legs on the desk and rested her neck on the backrest while closing her eyes.
"Yes, as I mentioned, it's about Saiyan, or Jin as he would like to be called now. Since the incident… you're rather early today." Blazer suddenly changed the subject, her eyes narrowing at Visi.
"So, am I getting sued? You know, for almost killing him or whatever."
Blazer raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Obviously, you wouldn't be sued over a rumor. He already confirmed it as such."
Visi couldn't help but open an eye to look at Blazer, who was now looking through some of her papers as if searching for something. "Are you being serious?" Visi fully opened her eyes and corrected her posture to really look at Blazer. "You can't be that naïve. He was obviously lying."
Blazer glanced at her for a moment, raised the pen in her hand, and clicked it. "You want me to record that?"
"Fuck no!"
"Then I won't." She said while scribbling something on a paper, making Visi twitch nervously before the blonde hero spoke again. "I want you to watch him."
"… I thought no spying on people?"
Blazer snorted. "Obviously, I didn't mean you should sneak in on him getting changed. His memory issue seems to be real, so I want you to take care of him during the more difficult missions he is assigned."
"Urgh, you want me to babysit him?" Visi began to slouch in the chair as if all her energy had been drained, though her act didn't last long until her leg started bouncing.
"Just for a mission or two. See if he is handling himself fine. Show him how to be a hero." Blazer winked at her, making Visi roll her eyes before glancing away.
Visi muttered something before sighing. "…Ugggh, fine! I'll show him the ropes. However, I want extra pay!"
"Of course." Blazer simply nodded before tilting her head slightly. "Are you blushing?"
"W-what the fuck are you talking about? Stop being stupid! I've to do my job and stuff! See ya!" Visi turned invisible as she left her office, slamming the door on the way out.
Blazer grasped her chin, thinking of the way she reacted when being called a hero. "Was I imagining it?"
…
Sean couldn't help but frown as he closed the notebook. He had trouble concentrating, which was weird since his meditation sessions had been rather easy for him, but for something like this… He browsed through the thin book again. From the moment he exited the office to the point he sat down and started browsing through these guidelines, barely 15 minutes had passed.
After a good night's sleep and another feast, his power had increased, and with it, his mind was working… better. Something he had expected, since he knew the speeds the Z-Fighters were moving at. It was something he foresaw in his near future. Currently, it wasn't to some world-shaking degree, but it was noticeable. His reflexes were faster, and the slight sluggishness he hadn't noticed before was gone, or at least alleviated.
The guidelines weren't highly technical, and most of it was just common sense. He only needed to skim through it to get the gist of it. Reading it in more detail wouldn't be beneficial for his missions, but there were some details that he could abuse to get the most out of them.
For starters, he could flat out refuse missions, which deducted a point. There was some kind of leaderboard that was based on points he would get after completing a mission, but there wasn't really any detriment to being dead last, a place he had inherited from his predecessor.
Getting one point deducted wasn't that bad. Sean guessed that they didn't want to discourage refusing missions too harshly. Refusing a mission might be the best move if the hero thinks they are in over their head given the mission details. Of course, it was best to speak with the dispatcher first and have them replace you instead. This wouldn't deduct any points; it only happened if the dispatcher decided to assign you the mission despite your refusal. If you refused to go out then, it would cost one point and require some post-mortem analysis and defense for your refusal.
It was rather rare that it happened. Usually, the dispatcher would rather send someone else out than try to force someone who had made their refusal clear. The refusal was also rather easily defensible if it came to that conversation. Some injury from a previous mission or a bad mismatch with certain environmental hazards or villain powers that would easily threaten the hero's life were great excuses.
Sean imagined that any direct engagement with an armed individual would have been enough for his predecessor to refuse the mission. His strength, after all, had been stealth and break-ins, not combat. Something he obviously intended to change.
There were some other details about the system that made it rather obvious that the dispatcher would be screwed if their heroes were uncooperative.
"Didn't know you could read." Sean heard someone say before they took a sip from whatever was in their mug. He glanced up from the book, only to see what he could only describe as a black Einstein.
"…Do we know each other?" Sean asked, not recognizing the old man for obvious reasons.
"I've heard about your 'memory loss'. I call bullshit. You people are just lazy bums that use any excuse not to work, regardless of what your absence would mean for others." He spat out with more vitriol than Sean had expected this early in the morning. He couldn't help but frown. Although he was a tolerant person, getting confronted with sudden enmity set him off. It wasn't easy for him to get to the point where he just wanted to throw hands, but inside his new Saiyan body, this fuse of restraint was shorter than before.
A look up and down at the old man made him question what gave him the confidence to confront the local bully. Perhaps it was the might of old, dumb people who had luckily cruised through life with rare repercussions for their obnoxiousness and entitlement, or it was because he was a hero with a powerful ability.
Given that they were at a company that offered heroes for hire, Sean expected that this was some retired hero with an equally short fuse of annoyance tolerance. "You're a doctor?" he simply asked as he placed the book on the coffee table before leaning into his chair, watching black Einstein narrow his eyes at him.
"Don't need to be a fucking doc to know you're full of shit." He snorted, taking another sip. "If it were up to me, you'd all be fired."
"Good, it's not." Sean responded as he noticed some other individuals in dispatcher uniforms observing their interaction. Seems like the old man had some backup if necessary, Sean thought instinctively, even though he wasn't about to put hands on what was supposedly a frail old man. "Look, this is my first day. I can't have you distract me when I'm trying to prepare." He tapped on the notebook to underline his point, glancing at the title.
"Yeah, you might keep up the façade for a day or two, but we both know you criminals will be back to your old ways."
Although it was said with bad intent, Sean couldn't help but chuckle. He had already run a half marathon with 25 kg on his torso, had trained and fought some battle maniac at his Muay Thai lesson who, despite having lost, was a good sport about it, and now he was at his hero company, getting some introduction from his boss before being judged before he had even started his first mission.
Of course, it was due to how people perceived him. Something like a first impression, not to mention two months of interactions, weren't easily reversible. For most, he would still be a bully who probably lied as easily as he breathed.
"Alright, grumpy old man-" "Grumpy? The fuck is that supposed to mean-" "I'm sure there is a reason why you're an insufferable piece of work, but how about you get off my back and let me try to prepare so I don't fuck up my first mission."
His response seemed to confuse the old man as he frowned in a way that made Sean interpret it as him being less sure than before.
"Now, if you would excuse me, I want to finish this before the meeting with the new dispatcher." Sean picked up the book again, while the man stood there for a moment longer before leaving, but not before leaving behind a few words.
"We will see. The name's Chase. Describe me as a grumpy old man again, and I will kick your ass." Chase muttered some curses under his breath as he walked away.
Sean just rolled his eyes, wondering whether a superhero world was full of eccentric people before focusing back on his book. An attempt that was unfortunately short-lived, as another person seemed eager to interject themselves into his quick study session.
"What up, nerd. You seriously reading that?"
"Hey, Visi." He responded as he turned to a page detailing authorization for destruction of government property when 'responding heroes reasonably determine those hostile actors are in possession of firearms or metahuman abilities judged as Class II or higher under the Destructive Output Rating System.'
There were a total of four classes, with Class I being equivalent to regular thugs who carried knives or blunt objects, while Class IV would be city-threatening powers or bombs.
"You haven't read it?" Sean asked. All things considered, it was rather interesting how they categorized certain powers and how far one could go when fighting crimes. There were even clauses to prevent any repercussions if the hero killed a particularly dangerous villain.
"Please, the job is not difficult. Beat bad guy and don't cuss out the client too harshly."
"I don't think you should cuss out the clients at all."
"Meh." She wobbled her hand. "Some people make it their personality, and people love them for it."
"I guess." Sean could see the appeal. If the usual heroes were more proper, it would make them stand out as 'relatable'. "So, you're going to be my babysitter?" At his question, her eyebrow rose before she nodded.
"That's right. I'll show you the ropes."
It was then that Sean noticed someone. His ki sense was still new and therefore stood out compared to his other senses, so when sensing a rather powerful ki signature, his attention couldn't help but be drawn to the source. It was the same with Blonde Blazer—living up to her name, her life force was almost like a blazing sun compared to the rest of the people in the building.
This ki was large. He would say that it was even bigger than his, if only barely, and there was another one clearly larger than a normal person's just beside them. He glanced toward the corner where the energy signature had been just moments before two individuals appeared. One was dressed in black and metal, while the other was… small.