The Wrong Genre

Serious Business

"What happened back there?!" Interdit demanded when they returned to their meeting room a while later. He was obviously angry at the outcome of the fight, but it was mostly because he had failed since he didn't see it as a group effort. That didn't mean he wasn't going to blame them though.

"I'm not sure," Vertigo said in her quiet tone after a moment of silence. "I think I got sick, maybe? Everything was blurry, and things just seemed to pop up in front of me with no warning."

"Me too," Flashmob agreed, "everything was hard to focus on; I couldn't aim."

"I was knocked out from behind. That never happens," Stravarius stated seriously.

"Everyone's taken by surprise sometimes," Flashmob replied, quirking an eyebrow. Stravarius hadn't struck her as the type to think he was above physical injury. He shook his head.

"No, not me." Seeing Flashmob's brow furrow, and realizing that what he had just said could be mistaken for arrogance, Stravarius quickly continued. "No, I mean, I get hit from behind like everyone else, but my power makes it literally impossible for me to have been knocked out without me seeing what was coming. Objects I don't see, occurrences I don't understand, they just don't affect me."

"So what you're saying is that it's literally impossible for you to be taken by surprise." Stravarius nodded in the face of Interdit's sceptical question. "Then how were you?"

"I suppose I might've seen it a moment before it hit, or subconsciously registered the noise of something coming towards me. It's never happened before, but it's a possibility," the blond frowned, not comfortable with the answer but not seeing any alternative explanation.

"Well, my sheaths got stuck. All of them," Kyle frowned, moving the discussion along. He had been slipping said coverings on and off since he had the presence of mind to get up, making sure they could still come off. "But it can't have anything to do with Rabastian, this didn't happen last time."

"And you, Interdit?" Vertigo prompted, everyone looking at the arrogant man.

"He could predict my every move." They waited for more, but Interdit was not forthcoming. He had never told them his power; something about secrets actually being kept secret and no one being trustworthy. This obviously had something to do with his power; he wouldn't have been so surprised if it were merely someone good at heading him off.

There was a long silence as they waited for Interdit to expound, but the tenacious man seemed quite unwilling to say any more on the subject of him being bested.

Stravarius decided that enough was enough, and so moved onto what he deemed the next topic of importance: Maestro.

"So, who is in favor of letting Maestro, Romulus, and Zakum help us?"

"Stravarius, you aren't actually considering accepting his help, right?" Flashmob demanded. When they had returned, the other four silently assumed that they wouldn't even discuss the offer.

"Well, we need help and he offered," said man blinked uncomprehendingly. He didn't understand what the big deal was; why were they so against letting a potential ally, a potential hero, join them in defending their city?

"He's a diagnosed sociopath; everything he does is for his own gain. If he's offering his help it's only because it will benefit him in some way," Vertigo said, voice almost pleading him to understand that their reluctance was justified.

"He's also a mad scientist, and not even a good one," Interdit scoffed, taking the more derisive route. "I found his lair about a month ago," he started when the others began to ask what he meant, "once he'd run away," every one of them contained scoffs at that; Maestro wasn't the type to run away. Perhaps a tactical retreat, but those really were two different things. 'Run away' implied panic and terror, while 'tactical retreat' connoted a swift but calm exit after a practical evaluation concluded that winning was impossible. "I had a look around. I found hordes of stolen medical equipment and what seemed to be several failed experiments, but nothing that proved success."