Defining Factors

Chapter 5: On the Table? Really?

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Warnings: None

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The checkpoint in Kansas City ended up being basically, 'Yo, we're dropping so don't fucking attack us, we're not invading,' which made Kinloch feel both better and worse about the situation. In one hand, they'd be safe from any possible attackers. No one was getting in without a massive battle. On the other hand, it could also be true for getting out. Just depended on the perspective. At least he was here as a part of the team and not one of the people they apparently hunted down only because they didn't conform into the Society's ranks. It was starting to sound like an army of some sort.

Hamilton was right about one thing at least. The mansion was huge. Imagine all the coolest things you could possibly think of to stuff inside one. It had it. Elevators. Passages. Below ground. Garages. Gadget rooms. It's like a base out of a fucking spy movie. Escalators man. Escalators. Swimming pools, training rooms. And when he said training rooms he meant training rooms. Equipped with almost everything imaginable, tailored for any power. There were your basic workouts. And then and the extras. Underwater breathing courses, super strength, flying, invisibility backgrounds, stalking grounds. Basically, think of a power, and then think of a way to practice and master it. It was here. No wonder Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, and Laurens trusted themselves enough to fool around a bit, they've probably trained for years in this very facility. In fact, there was even a leaderboard. Several, actually.

Why? Because you couldn't judge people with different powers and skill sets the same way. That'd be ridiculous. Imagine pitting a speedster and a healer in a race. Obviously, the speedster would win. There were tactical skills, support skills, and actual firepower skills. Each of them important. It was rare to find someone who could do all three.

Kinloch was one of those people.

His plant growing powers could easily be used in battle. His healing was support. And his mind reading was definitely a tactical advantage, not that he could let anyone know that. But it would help him in the ring that he saw on his way through the mansion.

And then there was everything that didn't involve training. Countless bedrooms. The showers. The lavish decor. The full proof security systems, and don't get Kinloch started on the dining hall. The fact that anyone could afford a place like this blew his mind, and then put it together that Laurens said half their group could afford it..where did these people come from? Kinloch was just a guy from the forests of South Carolina. He could barely afford living in a tree when he decided to run off into the human world. How all these people managed it was beyond him.

When the eight of them first entered, they immediately split off, the girls to find their father, Laurens, Jefferson, and Hamilton all left to find a guy name Laffer-something, and Burr led Kinloch down a series of passageways and sent him through a whole bunch of processes and tests that Kinloch could barely remember to get him registered. Whatever that meant. By the time he was through with that, it was time to meet up in the dinner hall, where there was a feast laid out, making Kinloch suddenly realize just how hungry he was. Burr led him over to their little group, which had been joined by a few other people.

"Francis!" Laurens greeted joyfully, waiting for them to sit down before continuing. "This is the Marquis de Lafayette. A transfer from the French Branch." There were branches? "Laf, this is our newest member, Francis Kinloch, aka, flower boy."

Kinloch scowled and stomped on Laurens' foot, making him swear colorfully. Lafayette laughed, "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, his accent thick. "Allow me to introduce George Washington."

"A pleasure," the very tall man nodded toward Kinloch.

"The pleasure is all mine," Kinloch smiled, unable to shake hands while at the table. "So what are your powers?"