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Owner Pose
Kukuru For today only, a job fair is being held smack dab in the middle of a shopping center in the heart of the Cyber Core. Rows of tables and booths decorate the area that would normally have some kind of flavor of the month food stands, and they're (almost) all bearing the colors and insignia of the Concord. All manner of staff, both Elite and civilian alike, stand by at each of these displays, handling questions for the hopeful job seekers and passing out brochures that might lead them to new careers and lives moving forward. Some advertise the many different agencies and departmens a hopeful new employee could work for, others show off the various amenities available at Grand Dorado even at the most basic level, and there's even fliers for the more adventurous minded showing off the kinds of exotic locales a promising new Elite might be able to see within their first few weeks.

Most of these workers, naturally, are career professionals in public outreach, dressed well and trained to communicate in multiple languages rather than just expecting everyone to rely on any kinds of translations to do the heavy lifting for them. Sticking out like a sore thumb, then, is a relatively short woman with messy green hair in a white blouse and ruffled skirt that look like they're meant for someone considerably taller and larger than she is. She's helping out with explaining things and passing out papers as well to those who stop by, too, somehow managing to look extremely chipper and utterly exhausted at the same time. Those who stop by her table also get a little bag of delectable mini cookies wrapped up in greasy napkins.

Kukuru can't very well let hopeful applicants leave hungry, after all.
Aidan Proudpick Aidan is STILL CRUNGLED, as he has not ingested Kukuru's nanites yet. A stabilizing boot, a wheeze. Still, Aidan is not going to saunter out without an attempt to look good. Khaki pants, a sturdy hemp and cotton tunic that is cut just about the chest, just a bit too large. The base of his tail has a tail bag. A little more stylish than useful, made of plain undyed canvas.

"Miss Kukuru!" He waves eagerly, reaching over most people at his height. He waves his arms back and forth as he gets closer. The sight of the entire Concord line made his eyebrows raise. "Oh, when you said I could ask you about... oh." He looks up and down the line. He's BEEN to Grand Dorado. He's bought exactly a single silk shirt, and decided that was all he could afford. It's a nice shirt. He is terrified of wearing it. Aidan steps closer through the lines, "You said the Concord could help me once. I'd like to learn about that."
Madeleine Cadrasteia     Madeleine is here, standing by the display for the Multiversal Cryptozoology Research Division, or as they call themselves on their trifold posterboard, the "Creeper Sweepers". She stands at one side of the display, visibly ignoring the seven-foot-tall cardboard Bigfoot cutout at the other end of the table. Did they have to make it so *tall*? She normally doesn't bore easily when talking about her favored prey, but cycling through so many conversation partners in such short time has her a little frazzled. So she leaves the talking for the white-coat-clad Lab Team representative (Madeleine herself standing in for the Field Team), and meanders over to Kukuru's booth. After taking a bag of cookies, she turns to the green-haired woman. "So what is it that you *do* for the Concord, anyway? I'd guess medical stuff what with the nanites and all, but you seem pretty capable in a fight too."
Solty Revant      Another green haired girl has wandered in carrying one if those brochures. She has been wanting to find out more about the Concord since she has some desire to join it. Her friend Angela is in the Concord, after all!

     So, Solty Revant is here in her unusual orange outfit, looking a bit dazzled at all there is to see! Cookies and someone else with green hair both attract her attention, do she heads toward Kukuru with a cheerful smile. "Hello! I am Solty Revant! I am interested in joining the Concord, but I guess I don't really know much about it. You guys try to make things better by being strong, right?"
Phantom Thieves A beat-up van (with the words CRIME TIME spraypainted on the side) enters the parking lot, backfiring as it hits a speed bump, and then it struggles to a halt in one of the handicapped spots.

After a minute, two people emerge - both wearing brightly colored spandex and masquerade-style masks, and go to pop open the hood and examine the van's engine.

"I thought you said it was fixed."
"I thought it *was* fixed!."
"I thought you were a mechanical genius."
"I'm an electronic genius. I can't fix cars!"

The two bicker for a bit more, and then eventually make their way inside. Stagehand, who is a dark-skinned, twiggy nerdy guy with a steel gray full body spandex outfit, utility belt, sci-fi shoes, and a POWER GAUNTLET, takes his time going stall by stall, intending to carefully read all of the information on offer.

Limelight, who's rocking a gymnast build, tighter spandex in lime green, and no visible weapons or gear, meanwhile makes a beeline straight for Kukuru.

"Hi! So important question, are Concord members allowed to steal from each other?"
Petra Soroka PHONE: Phoning Persephone Kore, Petra Soroka says, "I-I'm doing fine without you all." A sniffle. "But even if I wasn't, you know... I wouldn't, and couldn't, and shouldn't."
PHONE: Persephone Kore breathes, rhythmically enough it must be an exercise, and taps her shoe against a table-leg. Then the tapping stops. "Petra..."
PHONE: Persephone Kore says, "... Okay. I believe you."
PHONE: Persephone Kore laughs the smallest laugh Petra's ever heard from her. "You know you better than I do, after all. That's true of barely anyone."
PHONE: Persephone Kore says, "But, I believe we could be good for each other someday, too."
PHONE: Persephone Kore says, "And I'm not better with you gone. And I'm selfish, terribly."
PHONE: Persephone Kore says, "Okay?"
PHONE: Phoning Persephone Kore, Petra Soroka says, "You're not even--" She sniffles again, and there's a thump of a book being closed, then a second thump of it being tossed to the ground. "Not even someone I left behind."
PHONE: Phoning Persephone Kore, Petra Soroka sounds a little forlorn. "I barely even know you."
PHONE: Phoning Persephone Kore, Petra Soroka says, "Thanks for... helping, Ph-- Persephone. I'll..."
PHONE: Phoning Persephone Kore, Petra Soroka mutters something that vaguely conveys 'keep in touch', 'check in later', or 'figure out what's next', but somehow isn't any of those phrases, then hangs up.

    Whether Petra feels particularly comfortable interacting with the Concord today is immaterial next to the fact that she was signed up to work at the Lobotomy Corporation fair stand weeks ago, due to being the one multiversal hire. Whether she feels comfortable specifically *convincing* people to join the Concord is a much more pertinent obstacle, but, of course, not one she brings up to anyone. Explaining lore is only fun when it makes her look cool or world-wise, not pathetic.

    So she's here. Emphatically not Concord-affiliated, and still somehow meant to represent her Concord affiliation (but it's not *direct* so it doesn't count (and not that other one either! Or that third Concord affiliation she also has!)) while looking grumpy and a bit beat up. She's wearing her EGO gear-- it'd be silly not to, when representing what the company grants people-- with her face bandaged up and a cigarette lit in her mouth regardless of how many dirty looks she gets from the crowd.

    Wandering a bit away from the LobCorp stall after getting frustrated with too many people, and for a 'smoke break' as if she hasn't been doing it this whole time, Petra catches sight of a tiny green girl who's completely foreign to her for a full minute of trying to figure out why she seems familiar. Her squinting consternation is solved when Aidan, of all people, goes up and approaches her.

    "What the fuck. Kukuru? Why are you so small." While walking up to her, Petra casually pulls out Pence from her utility belt, holding the ratbot like a phone and hitting 'record' in Aidan's direction. It's not subtle, but it's not clear what she's doing either.

"Hi! So important question, are Concord members allowed to steal from each other?"

    She squints at Limelight too. *Surely* she knows this person. There's just so many green people here today, and it's hard to tell.... Still, it's a good question, and it's one she knows the answer to.

    "Totally. I mean, you need to be a bit careful about it, I guess, but I work with Doctor Eggman, and-- well, I'm *here* with Lobotomy Corporation, since I work with-- yeah." That's the end of her explanation. The train of thought derailed and she lost interest in answering.
Angela Thankfully, nothing terrible is going to happen at L Corp for a while, right? Offworlders are a prime resource for L Corp because they A) Are extremely capable relative to the average Agent and B) Don't care about the many many crimes L Corp is committing against The Head!

Cinder is with Petra to join her on smoke break--just instinctively at this point. She still has a burning cigarette in her hand as they come upon Kukuru.

"...Wait, is Kukuru being tiny not normal? I know she can make people big so I figured she just decided she wanted to be small."

She is about to say 'no of course Concord can't steal from each other' but then Petra says that they can and she'd know better than her. "Wow, even I didn't know that." She says.

The L Corp stand is presently being manned by Yuri and Angela. They didn't bring the Eggpack. Instead, the Angela pad was supposed to be carried by Yuri but Yuri got tired of carrying the pad around and so has strapped the Angela Pad to a mop and is leaning it against the stand. Angela has no idea this happened because she can't see the mop from her position and her expression is as serious and stern as ever.

The stand itself has helpful manuals (not Manuals) written by Hod. They're abbreviated from the L Corp official manuals but are pampletized versions that give a rough overview of what the company is up to and how the work functions. It naturally does not mention Angela or the Seed of Light.

"I can scarcely see from the wall you're hanging me off of." Angela complains.

"You look very dignified." Yuri assures her.

The stand has the L Corp logo on a banner, which is a big red L embeded in a circular brain and the full name of the company as well to the side of that logo: Lobotomy Corporation. Underneath the banner is the phrase 'Face the Fear, Build The Future'. there's a signup sheet that literally nobody has signed up for. The best Yuri has been able to do is hand off some pamphlets but for some reason it's tough to get people interested in the company.

Weird!
Timespace Riders      Woz and Sougo, flanked by a few of the public outreach professionals, man a kiosk touting the Concord's various models of 'enlightened governance'. Sougo wears a short-sleeve striped button-up, rolled grey pants with a matching plaid (!) inseam, and those trendy hiking boots he likes so much. The loose end of a mustard-colored web belt dangles from beneath the hem of his button-up, tying the whole thing together with a splash of color.

    Woz wears what he always does--his drab apocalyptic double-breasted greatcoat, the snap-button sleeves unbuttoned at the shoulder, with his distinctive gray scarf resting neatly in place.

    Sougo smiles and waves brightly at Aidan. Woz gives him an imperiously arched brow.

You said the Concord could help me once. I'd like to learn about that.

    "You are not alone in that desire, Aidan Proudpick," says the retainer, turning to look askance at Kukuru, in the way that one might do for a last-minute unannounced plus-one.

I don't really know much about it. You guys try to make things better by being strong, right?

    "Mmm..." Sougo smiles warmly. "I can take this one, Kukuru." Turning to face Solty, "It's about a little more than that, I think. Sure, we're strong. But we're not a bunch of superheroes, swooping in to save the day, even if sometimes that isn't strictly against our interests, even if some of us are... built that way."

    Sougo frowns thoughtfully, placing an index finger on his chin. "We have an ideal Multiverse, an idea of 'better,' sure. But what we care about the most is 'results.' Not 'keeping things stable,' so some other person who's 'allowed' to fix things can do it. And not trying to build anything from the ground up. 'Accountability' is something for the Commonwealth to worry about, and 'the little guy' is... well, kind of irrelevant?"

    "That probably sounds mean, but what we want is something 'the little guy' stands to benefit a lot from. They just don't tend to know it, because people with something to lose are... historically, very good at making good things out to be bad."

    "Here, 'better' might be different, from person to person. We all have our own dreams, and desires, and -that- tends to be what we select for. 'Ambition,' like Woz would say."

    Woz swells with subtle pride, his head held a little higher as a satisfied smile spreads.

    "Sometimes, people get in the way of that. Sometimes, those people are in the Paladins or the Watch, because they put other people's desires before theirs. Sometimes they're not! But, a lot of what we do is as much getting those people out of our way as it is chasing those desires."

    So important question, are Concord members allowed to steal from each other?

    Woz looks down his nose at Limelight. "A small-minded question, which tarnishes the esteem I otherwise hold for your audacity. Theoretically, perhaps, until you are caught. But your question betrays a lack of vision. Why steal from your fellows, when they could work alongside you for a heist of greater prestige and temerity?"
Kukuru After passing off another snack bag to a passing visitor and waving them off as they fly away somewhere, Kukuru turns and smiles lazily while waving at Aidan in his approach. "He-llo, Aidan dear. Oh yeah... That's right. The Concord's all about helping, mhm. Are you looking for a new place to work?" she asks with a friendly, if still tired smile, but she doesn't stop beaming at hearing more familiar voices coming by.

Madeleine, of course, gets one of the bigger bags when she arrives as befitting a fellow Concord member. "He-llo, Maddie~ Oh, I do all sorts of stuff. Cooking, healing, body recovery, fighting, construction... Umm." Her brain visibly short-circuits for a moment as she gestures all around slowly with her hands, struggling to remember the right word for a good five seconds before snapping her fingers. "Outreach! Because we've gotta be pro... Active about bringing new members into our family, you know? Then eeeeveryone can be happier once they're with us~"

She still sounds and looks elatedly sleepy as Solty comes by, keeping one hand/sleeve over her mouth to hide a yawn badly while waving with the other. "Oh, he-llo, Solty. My name's Kukuru." She pauses, and then adds (while several staff members nod their heads in sync like they've heard this before) "That's Ku-ku-ru. And that's right, dear. The Concord's involved in a whoooole lotta stuff around the Multiverse, and it's all for the good of... Um. Everyone!"

Before she gets to elaborate on how the Concord does any of that to Aidan and Solty, the occupants of the mysterious van arrive inside! Stagehand gets plenty of brochures and fliers from people trying to draw him into applying for all manner of jobs within the Concord, including stuff that actually goes into surprisingly dense detail about the Concord's history. Limelight, meanwhile, gets the same greeting Kukuru had given Solty earlier (including more of that idly synchronized nodding in the background) along with a raised eyebrow in curiosity.

"Stealing...? Oh, no, we're a family! There's no stealing between family members, silly." She giggles lightly and furrows her brow a moment later, slowly and visibly recalling every instance she's heard of that exact thing happening (especially with Petra reminding her of such things happening). She lets out a strained noise as this all starts fitting together, then claps her hands together once before stifling another yawn. "But a family as big as ours does have some... Disagreements every now and then. But that's fine, too, as long as everyone makes up in the end."
Kukuru She titters softly at Petra making a point of specifying her alignment with Eggman and Lobotomy Corporation specifically, too, then smiles even more brightly while holding up her arms up and away from her head to gesture at... Everything! Mostly the Concord signage, but also everyone. "He-llo, Petraaaa~ Oh, and Cinder! He-llo, he-llo.... Oh, this? I overworked a bit during that whole thing with the Queen, you knooow? All the healing stuff in me really takes a lot out, and..."

She waves her hand vaguely, and her sleeve just kinda passes right by her chest effortlessly with all the nothing in the way of the sleeve. "... I guess I took too much out. But I'll be okay. How about you, dear? Are you feeling any better after all that?" She eyes Petra with apparent concern at first, then directs that same look to Aidan, Madeleine, and Solty in turn.

That gets her to spot Yuri and Angela over by the L Corp stand, of course, and she jumps a few times to throw a double-armed wave right in their direction. She only manages it twice before getting tired again. Perfect timing, then, as she turns to Woz and Sougo with another set of matching bigger-snack bags. Her shoulders visibly relax, too, as Sougo offers to take the lead on actually explaining things to Aidan and Solty, hurrying over briefly to give him a light hug from the side as she pauses to catch her breath from all that waving. Woz's answer to Limelight, too, gets that look on Kukuru's face to brighten up, and she slides over to give him a similar hug before finally adding on some answers of her own.

"They're both super right about aaaall of that, mhm. We wanna make everything better for everyone, you know? So that means we need to become the strongest, the smartest, and the best we can be." Pause for a yawn and a sip of water(?). "Not everyone's gonna be the best at all that right away because.. You know. We're all built different, but... That's why we're like a family, too." She pats Sougo's and Woz's backs lightly, then slides on over to give Madeleine a similar pat. "We help each other to be better than we were yesterday. Everyone gets better as we go, more people join our family, and then we're all happier and better for it, too."
Phantom Thieves > "You said the Concord could help me once. I'd like to learn about that."

"Just to be sure," says Stagehand in passing. "Are you interested in the Concord itself, or can you simply not manage it where you are right now?"

"I recognized your voice from the radio. It seemed like you weren't doing too well on there," he adds.

As Stagehand goes from table to table, looking at the documentation... occasionally a tiny spider-ish drone, resembling a microchip with spindly legs, sneaks out from his utility belt and hides underneath the underside of each table.

> Petra

"Oh, good. That was my main hangup with this whole thing. I figure maybe some rules of engagement or something, but other Concorders being entirely off limits is no good. So something like..."

She pulls a card out - it's a simple design, two solid colors split diagonally on the card - one lime green and the other steel gray. Limelight spins it between her fingers for a bit, and then drops it neatly on the table in front of Kukuru.

"You get a card like this, means the game's afoot. If you fail to protect your stuff after that, it's your fault not ours. Right? Right."

> "Why steal from your fellows, when they could work alongside you for a heist of greater prestige and temerity?"

"Because we're doing just fine on our own. And all that prestige would be split a whole bunch of ways, instead of just one or two ways."

> "There's no stealing between family members, silly."

"Yeah right," both of the thieves say, more or less in unison, at that remark.
Aidan Proudpick "Madeleine! I didn't know you were working today!" He waves eagerly, always happy to see the Huntress, a wide smile growing on his face. "You are the official monster hunter? Blessed breeze that's amazing."

Aidan turns around as he hears the sound, bringing his buckler up. A van rips into a handicapped spot. Aidan knows enough to know these people are TRUE EVIL. Still, he does eye Limelight up and down once, making the universal 'yea, pretty good actually' face. He looks at Stagehand, frowning. "Well, the Concord itself! I'm doing o-" The code. Honesty. "I'm trying my best. Hey, I'm not very good with cars, but don't you need to move yours?" There isn't much heat in his voice, almost certainly because he looks like walking roadkill and a small child could take him in a fist fight at the moment.

A glance towards Petra as she approaches. A little tired smile that immediately turns into a puzzled frown, looking at the rat, then back up at Petra. "Can I help you with something, Petra?" He knows this isn't good for him but he doesn't know how. He looks at the rat. He looks up at Petra holding it towards him, hesistant. "Do you want me to take the rat robut? Is it going to kill me?" Aidan has a sinking feeling in his chest that this is going to go poorly for him. But, if he always worried about Petra, he wouldn't get anything done. Right?

As Sougo steps up, Aidan smiles in return, taking his time to take in Sougo's outfit, as if one might rotate an apple in their mind. "You look great, King Sougo!" Aidan can appreciate a snappy dresser, and has no problem showing it, beaming that appreciation in a brighter smile. Most of his worries dissolve at Kukuru's chipper nature. It's HARD not to appreciate her. "No. But, I think it's worth the pain. If we helped someone, that's always worth it."

The longer Sougo speaks, the more Aidan's smile fades. "Oh." Gears are taking time to rotate in his head, then. "I don't know if that'll work." His brows knit together, a thoughtful hum coming up in his voice. "I... do put other people first. But I know I'm not the best there is. Or the most beloved ally. See, I come from a small city, Quicknest. We used to be part of a bigger Empire, the Gale Empire. We've worked hard to make something of ourselves, but... one day maybe we won't be able to hold them back."

"If everything was on the line. My friends, my family, and no one came..." His mouth feels a little dry, but he has to know. He HAS to know it's an option, "Would I be able to pledge myself to the Concord?"
Solty Revant      Solty's ears twitch at the sight of the L Corp logo and the sound of Angela's voice. She looks over and waves happily. "Hello Miss Angela!" she calls out, then...stares for a few moments, very confused. "Um...Miss Angela? Are you...helping clean today?" she asks, unsure of why Angela pad is strapped to a mop.

     Kukuru seems busy, so Solty turns to Sougo as he explains. She listens quietly to him, her big green furry ears twitching every now and then. She makes a bit of a face at the little guy is irrelevant bit, but the parts that follow sound okay.

     She pauses a moment after, then hmms. "Ambition...is wanting everyone to be safe and happy, not having to worry about killers and monsters and evil governments an ambition? Oh! How about wanting to become a great cook?"

     Do they get to steal from each other? Solty is about to say something, but Woz makes her double take at what he says. She seems rather dubious about that part. They would...help Limelight steal bigger stuff? "...I am not sure I like that..." she says quietly.

     Kukuru introduces herself, and Solty smiles and bows politely. "Nice to meet you, Miss Ku-ku-ru!" she says, the giggles cheerfully. Kukuru makes it sound better with her assurances that they don't actually steal from each other. And even better when it sounds like everyone helps everyone else to get better and stronger. "And if I decide I want to join, how do I do that? Is there a test?" the green-haired android girl asks.

     Aidan and Madeleine are new aquaintances, and so Solty greets each of them in turn with a bow and a happy, "Hello! I am Solty Revant! I'm glad to meet you!" Petra she has met before, so she offers a wave. "Hello! Glad to see you are feeling okay today!" she calls out. The last time she saw Petra was at Angela's sleepover, and Petra wasn't feeling well that day.
Madeleine Cadrasteia     Madeleine taps her chin as she listens to Kukuru rattle off a list of jobs. "I didn't know we had Elite chefs. I guess I shouldn't be surprised... I'll have to try your cooking sometime, if I get the chance."

    "You are the official monster hunter? Blessed breeze that's amazing." The huntress puffs out her chest at Aidan's enthusiasm. "Why yes, I am *the* foremost monster hunter of the Concord. And rightly so. But what are you doing here? You're with the Watch, right?" "If everything was on the line. My friends, my family, and no one came... would I be able to pledge myself to the Concord?" "Depends on what you mean by 'pledge yourself'. I couldn't guarantee that you'd be an Elite here, even with the recommendation of myself or another of my esteemed colleagues." A gesture to Kukuru. "But there's room in the Concord for growth at every level, and take it from me - the background check is a breeze." She gives a conspiratorial wink. "I don't even HAVE a past in the Multiverse and they let me in."

    Madeleine accepts a pat on the back from Kukuru as Solty introduces herself. "It's nice to meet you. I am Madeleine Cadrasteia, huntress extraordinaire. What do you see yourself as offering to the Concord's skills? Don't worry, I'm not in charge of hiring. I'm just curious."
Kukuru Stagehand's presence is notable among those visiting the fair, but the drones go generally unnoticed by the unnamed staffers. They're all busy working, after all, and the most he gets from them is primarily in the form of trying to sell him on sending in an application! The only person that even looks twice is one of the attendees, but even they just shrug and let him do his thing.

Limelight gets Kukuru's attention with that neat little card spin, complete with Kukuru clapping lightly at the display. "Oh, that's stylish... Ah, it's not so bad if you do something like that, then. Then it's like a game for everyone trying to catch and not get caught~" She concludes with a gentle chuckle and humming noise. "Everyone's got their specialties, too, so you could be the stuff-getting experts alongside... Saaay."

She squats a bit, then holds both arms out to gesture at Sougo and Woz. "The experts at kinglyness and smarts!" And then she settles right back out of that stance, because she is tired and she can't hold herself that way for long.

Aidan gets a quick nod, too, along with a concerned noise from Kukuru as he mentions the pain. "Mhm, mhm. If someone's hurting and they shouldn't, they shouldn't.  Especially if it's easy to stop them from hurting, we can just... Do it." She asserts and, as a brief display of both her powers and the Concord's generosity, holds a hand out to Aidan as that familiarly faded green light moves from her hand over him. It's just a bit of healing, not a particularly huge amount, but it's at least got soothing properties to it even if there's no gaping wounds to handle.

"The Concord'll help anyone that comes to us for it, and we take care of our family no matter what."

With that firm statement issued, Kukuru immediately melts slightly a moment later, letting herself relax as she takes another sip of her drink to refresh herself. She inhales deeply at first, then turns to Solty again with that same wide smile. "There's a whole buncha stuff involved, but I bet you'll do fine even on the tests~"

Kukuru doesn't actually know this, but she's certainly convinced that she does. "You just gotta fill out the application, take a few tests, and then... Um. You're in!" She says, having not done most of those things herself. Nevertheless, she offers Aidan and Solty blank applications to fill out (two per person, just in case they mess up the first) and Grand Dorado-branded clicky pens with the little nub on the back for convenient use on most touch screens.

Madeleine mentioning Kukuru's cooking, naturally, gets Kukuru's eyes to light up. "Oh! Of course, dear. I can make just about anything you'd like, too, even if it's something that's gotta be hunted fresh." She affirms, almost looking hopeful about Madeleine asking her to do just that. Before she can get too ahead of herself, however, she remembers she's got... THE BAGS. Thus, Madeleine is offered a second bag of meat cookies while she's asking Solty more pointed questions that might actually be useful to consider for a job application.
Petra Soroka "I overworked a bit during that whole thing with the Queen, you knooow? All the healing stuff in me really takes a lot out, and..."

    Petra watches Kukuru's hand swipe through the air where her boobs used to be. Her expression is unreadable, until about five seconds after Kukuru has *stopped* gesturing and her eyes haven't moved, at which point she wrenches them back up to look at Kukuru's face. "I'm fine. It's not your business to worry about me."

"Do you want me to take the rat robut?"

    "What the fuck? No." Petra pulls Pence back like she's afraid Aidan is going to suddenly snatch it out of her hand. "Don't fucking touch my ratbot. I'll remotely detonate it and blow your fucking head off before you take five steps-- er, after that, actually, obvious reasons." She can't remotely detonate ratbot anyways. That's a lie.

    "No, I'm just recording so that--"

"Would I be able to pledge myself to the Concord?"

    "Oh. That was fast." Petra blinks, a little dumfounded. Her hand with Pence in it lowers, but she doesn't click the recording off. "I guess I kind of just thought it'd be funny if I leaked whatever dumbass shit you say to the Watch so they know you're untrustworthy."

    Petra shrugs, and the gingerness with which she does is metaphorically relevant in a way that's clear to absolutely no one besides Cinder. "Not for the Watch's sake, obviously. There's barely even anyone I like in there." She pauses to think about that: who *does* she like in the Watch? Liza being the first person to come to mind says a lot about her particular mindset that she doesn't want to examine right now.

    "So, uh, cool, I guess. Go ahead and keep talking. Or-- preferably not, I hate your voice, but at least I can do something funny later."

"Are you interested in the Concord itself, or can you simply not manage it where you are right now?"

    In the most unintentionally insulting way possible, Petra turns away from Limelight at the sound of Stagehand's voice. "Oh, shit, I recognize that voice. You're the partner of the person I kidnapped before." Turning back to Limelight, who has at some point many months prior spent hours tied up in the back of her mech and still wasn't recognized on sight, "So *that's* where I know you from."

"There's no stealing between family members, silly."

    Petra looks a little queasy at that.

"Why yes, I am *the* foremost monster hunter of the Concord. And rightly so."

    Madeleine instantly raises Petra's put-down alarms. She desperately wracks her brain for a counterargument so that this new girl doesn't get to feel cool and accomplished, and to portray herself as much more knowledgeable and unimpressed, because of how used to the big pond she is.

    She comes up with nothing. So instead, "Really? I don't think I've heard of a single big thing you've hunted. People are out here saving worlds, you know, not just shooting squirrels." Word choice intentional. "The biggest monster I know of is Hiromi, so maybe if you tracked *her* down...."

"Hello! Glad to see you are feeling okay today!"

    Petra looks like shit. Underneath her EGO gear, she has a long, magically-healed cut across her entire torso, practically bisecting her. Her face is bruised and bandaged, bullet cuts and impacts pock all over her body, and that's on *top* of everything that happened fighting the Queen.

    "Yeah. I'm doing alright. Thanks."
Angela Angela smiles a little at Madeleine bragging about being the foremost Monster Hunter of the Concord. It doesn't really matter if it's true or not but there's some charm to the attitude.

Solty, however, gets a bit of a strange look. "No, I am obviously helping recruit to L Corp. We are not hiring you." It's not out of malice, after everything going on lately (even before the events of Walpurgisnacht), she is uneasy about drawing someone as bright eyed and bushy tailed as Solty into the mix. "I would not be able to look after you properly." She adds.

"Yeah and you'd probably get eaten right up." Yuri asides, less gently--but Angela doesn't argue. It's one thing if Solty helps during a Meltdown with numerous Elites supporting her but the day to day work can be quite dangerous on its own.

Cinder is preoccupied with The Incredible Shrinking Kukuru. "...Just how tiny can you get?" She asks.

''The biggest monster I know of is Hiromi, so maybe if you trakced *her* down...''

Cinder's face gets a little more pale. "Oh uh...I mean. Uh."

She swallows
Aidan Proudpick Aidan looks Petra dead in the eye and picks up his radio, speaking somewhat sheepishly into it. But unwilling to look away from Petra. "I just asked the Concord what they could do for me if Quicknest was under siege by the Paladins and all of the Gale Empire and no one came... You should know that."

He puts it back down into his shirt.
Angela Cinder says, "I don't even know what the fuck a Quicknest is." Cinder frowns. "Is that Kale's home or something?" She assumes because of the word 'Nest' in there.
Solty Revant      'What do you see yourself as offering to the Concord's skills?'

     Solty looks a bit uncertain at that question and fidgits a bit. "Um...well, I am strong and fast and dependable." she says, then clenches her fists in determination. "And I want to get stronger so I can protect more people and help my friends! And someday bring down the Aurora Shell so the people of the City can live without fear of losing loved ones in Blastfalls!"

     Aidan talks up Madeleine being a monster hunter, and Solty lets out an excited, "Ooooh. I've only fought a few monsters. I think I did alright, but I could use some help. Have you ever fought a giant teddy bear that could hug so hard it breaks power armor?" she asks much more cheerfully than someone asking such a thing should.

     Solty looks confused at Angela's strange look, but she smiles after. "You don't have to worry about me, Miss Angela! I promise I can take care of myself and wouldn't be a burden!" she says with determination. She takes Kukuru's application form and clicks the pen a few times in child-like fashion before she giggles and starts filling it out.

     Those green ears twitch at what Petra says, and Solty takes a closer look. "Oh..um...you're welcome!" she says uncertainly. Petra doesn't look okay really, but she seems like she's acting okay. Except for the threatening Aidan with explosives thing. That causes Solty's ears to droop. She instead approaches Yuri and Angela pad. "But...Miss Angela, you are on a mop." she says, not realizing it is some kind of prank or something.
Timespace Riders Because we're doing just fine on our own. And all that prestige would be split a whole bunch of ways, instead of just one or two ways.

    "Then why join?" asks the retainer. "I am familiar with your work. While you have more talent than the common rabble, the same is *abundantly* true of the Concord. A share of a fortune is better than the whole of a pittance. Do not cheat yourself by settling for 'just fine.'"

    He opens his mouth to say something, before turning and seeing that Angela is being held up by a mop. "If I may assist, esteemed Angela?" he asks, waiting for her permission before taking the tablet and holding it himself. His brow twitches in mild annoyance at Cinder--that particular strain of 'you're making us look bad.'

I don't know if that'll work.

    Sougo frowns thoughtfull. "It's okay, if you feel like Quicknest is better served with you in the Watch. Would the Concord come, if it was in danger? That depends very much on what they'd get out of Quicknest--Kukuru and I might come, because of who we are, and what we want--but generally, the Concord cares about results and bottom lines."

Is wanting everyone to be safe and happy, not having to worry about killers and monsters and evil governments an ambition?

    "Not really," says Sougo with an impish smile. "It's 'something you want,' but it's not an ambition. See... I think the Paladins want that, too, and the Watch, and the end of the day. An 'ambition,' that's more like me wanting to be king." He rubs a hand against the back of his head, and laughs bashfully.

    "I mean, sure, I want to be king so that I can give that to people, and I understand if it seems like I'm just saying 'what you said, but different'--but, and this is really important," he says, with a little nod, and a clarifying index finger held up, "*I'm* included in other people." Index curls, thumb pressed into his chest. "I want to make and rule over a world where all of us can be happy and safe, including me and the people I love."

    Woz smiles to himself.

    "What you said... most people don't want 'killers and monsters.'" Sougo's impish smile is back, as he leans forward, palms planted on the kiosk. "Not even Dr. Eggman, our resident supervillain. He'd probably say they were... uninspired, or tactless, or something." He glances briefly over to Petra. "Right, Petra?" A brief giggle.

    "He wants to make the world into a theme park under his control. That's an ambition. Being king is an ambition. It comes from you, not what you can do for other people."

...I am not sure I like that...

    "The Concord is not a fit for everyone," Woz interjects, with a stately inclination of his head towards Solty, "We believe that the Multiverse belongs to those with the will to shape it. Some will find this too unpalatable to join, and even those who wish to join may be turned away, if they do not meet our standards for selection."

The biggest monster I know of is Hiromi, so maybe if you tracked *her* down....

    Woz cracks a smile. "Come now, Petra," he says. "*Tracking* the Archwolf is not where the challenge is. Her trails of destruction are visible even in ruined places like the wasteland beneath the Industrial Behemoth."
Phantom Thieves > "Ah, it's not so bad if you do something like that, then. Then it's like a game for everyone trying to catch and not get caught~"

"Hah! That's the spirit. And the game starts whenever someone gets one of those cards."

> "Everyone's got their specialties, too, so you could be the stuff-getting experts."

"Sounds about right," says Stagehand, who's finished his lap around the tables and has joined the group around Kukuru. "We've got an excess of acquisition ability, and a shortage of logistics and intel. And supplies."

"We're doing fine," insists Limelight, in the tone of something that's been privately litigated to conclusion already but that she also can't not bring up publicly regardless.

> "A share of a fortune is better than the whole of a pittance. Do not cheat yourself by settling for 'just fine.'"

"... Better be a big share."

> "So *that's* where I know you from."

"Ah ha! So I owe you a rematch!" Limelight perks up. Rivals are much more appealing ideological ground than the necessity of factional support. "Maybe this time we'll make off with that mirror girl you're always hanging around with!"

Meanwhile... the food and other amenities the Concord's set out on the tables are being used up at an unusual rate. There haven't been that many people coming through, right? But it's not like there's a small army of stealthy spider robots steadily carrying everything off or anything, that'd be absurd.
Madeleine Cadrasteia     "I don't think I've heard of a single big thing you've hunted."

    Madeleine bristles. "Well, Vajra for one. You were there for that. And it very much was part of saving a world. You're welcome. As for this 'Archwolf', I don't claim to be the greatest fighter. And if she's as easy to find as Woz says, she's hardly worth the time of a proper huntress. Send a murderer instead."

    "Have you ever fought a giant teddy bear that could hug so hard it breaks power armor?"

    The huntress pauses to think. "You know I probably have, now that you mention it. At least if I'm counting times before I unified. Run into all sorts of things in my profession."

    "I want to make and rule over a world where all of us can be happy and safe, including me and the people I love."

    Madeleine pokes her cheek and thinks about Sougo's words. "That's an admirable spirit. I'm used to folks who know exactly what they want to tear down but no ideas what to replace it with, so it's honestly a breath of fresh air to see someone with constructive goals."
Kukuru "I'm fine. It's not your business to worry about me."
Although Kukuru's still down about losing her chest from overworking herself, she perks right back up a few seconds after Petra says that first part. "Very good. Hmhmhm... Oh, I know. That's why I only worry about you when I'm on break." She says with an almost smug (for her) smile plastered on her face. She may not actually realize she's contradicting herself by doing this while she's still on the clock, but she'll f...

... No. She's never going to figure it out eventually. Not on her own.

"...Just how tiny can you get?"

"Hmm... I dunno. I wouldn't wanna get any smaller than this, though." Kukuru replies to Cinder, a thoughtful noise coming out of her a few moments later. "It'd be real dangerous if I shrank more, 'cause then my healing stuff would really be eating me up. The doctors back at Grand Dorado said there might be some weird stuff going on inside if I do this again." She explains with a giggle, then reaches up to ruffle Cinder's hair gently.

"Thanks for asking, Cindy. I'm not gonna do anything that crazy again, so don't worry about it. Okaaay?"

"The biggest monster I know of is Hiromi, so maybe if you tracked *her* down..."

"Oh! Hiromi would probably appreciate a good fight, mhm!" Kukuru suggests with another giggle and smile at Madeleine, then glancing between her and Petra a few times, before smacking her palm into an open hand. "Oh. You two could even team up aaand... See if you could give her a fun challenge. Wouldn't that be a nice team-building exercise?" She continues, looking hopefully between them even more rapidly and only stopping once she starts getting dizzy from it.

"You don't have to worry about me, Miss Angela! I promise I can take care of myself and wouldn't be a burden!"

"Hmmm. You'd have to go through some preeeetty tough testing for that, I bet. Part of being able to get the job here or there is.. Um." Kukuru starts, then pauses as her brain short-circuits again. She hems, takes another sip, haws, then clears her throat. "... I'm sure you'll have a chance to prove yourself sometime, dear. And there's all kinds of work you can do, even if it's not Elite stuff, you knoooow?"

"An 'ambition,' that's more like me wanting to be king." "The Concord is not a fit for everyone," "We believe that the Multiverse belongs to those with the will to shape it."

"I want to crush a planet." Kukuru states abruptly, her gaze suddenly going distant for just a moment. "Not because I wanna destroy anything or whatever, but... I wanna be able to do that. Smart enough to reach one way out there, and strong enough to be able to hold it and do it if I needed to. Then I'd be strong enough to protect everyone important to me, and I could earn enough money to take care of everyone back home, too."

"We've got an excess of acquisition ability, and a shortage of logistics and intel. And supplies."

"There you go~ Yeah, Woz is right about the whole pittance thingy, too. You could get pleeenty of small stuff real easy, but if you wanna get the really big stuff and reach even higher..." Kukuru closes her eyes, humming pleasantly and swaying in place as she seems to be imagining something. She doesn't actually stop after a good ten seconds, though, and it takes a staff member muttering something about refilling the snacks to actually get her to wake back up.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah! With a big team in the Concord, even a small share of what we'd get would be bigger than any of the small stuff." She concludes with another giggle, finally remembering to offer Limelight and Stagehand each a pair of applications and clicky tablet-friendly Grand Dorado pens.
Aidan Proudpick Aidan is not paying attention to the spiders because, let's be honest, none of the snacks fit into his dietary restrictions.

"That depends very much on what they'd get out of Quicknest--Kukuru and I might come, because of who we are, and what we want--but generally, the Concord cares about results and bottom lines."

A single nod from Aidan, almost hard to give. "We do. Have something, that is. It might be of use to youi, but." He looks back over to Sougo, "I needed to know. For me, it's about people. Not even just making them happy, us of all making each other happy and safe. I'm not a King. Or a ruler. I'm a..." Aidan grimaces, biting over the words, "sometimes hero. But I think I'd throw it all away for them. If it came to that."

"I don't even know what the fuck a Quicknest is." Cinder frowns. "Is that Kale's home or something?"

Kukuru's nanites have soothed Aidan's pain. So he can actually laugh when Cinder says that. "HE's from the Gale Empire. The Empire trying to run us." Aidan's voice takes on more bitterness as he bites out every word. "Always trying to tell us how to live, force us to do things their way. All in the name of making us better. Because all we do is scrape in the dirt, like idiots or something. He used to be one of the Generals, a conquerer. He still thinks he can swoop in and push us all around. That it's better than us figuring out our own way. That he can do it because he's willing to force us to do it." Aidan is EXTREMELY bitter by the end.
Petra Soroka pansi(153,"I would not be able to look after you properly.")]

    Rather than being insulted by this, Petra puffs up a bit. *She* is totally able to look after herself, Angela just said so. She's one of the best agents, even, so she's not a liability at all. It feels nice, to be allowed into lethally dangerous situations by people who care about you.

    "Yeah, it's not like, just hanging out. It's actually dangerous work. I think you've only ever been around for... you know, spending time with Angela and everyone? But it's really not like that."

"*Tracking* the Archwolf is not where the challenge is."

    The smug little shoulder nudge that Petra gives Cinder reassures her that she knows exactly what she's doing. Obviously, 'what she's doing' is trying to bait a newbie into a deathtrap out of some petty internal superiority complex, but it's at least on purpose. "Well, sure, but I couldn't even imagine *saying* the words 'hunting the Archwolf' with a straight face." She's right about that, too. She's smiling, and a bit more obviously putting on airs. "I mean, no one could possibly hunt her, anyways. That's sort of her schtick, even."

"I don't even know what the fuck a Quicknest is."

    Petra, unconsciously, doesn't move away from Cinder after bumping her shoulder. It's comfortable to lean against her a bit, shoulder to shoulder, tilting her head to the side Cinder's on when thinking about Quicknest. Or, rather, not thinking at all, because she shrugs.

    "Who the fuck cares. It's probably some filthy little mining village full of dumbass furries, if Proudpick's any indication. Or-- hmm. I guess he and Kale probably are like..." Rivals, who are also morphologically similar in that they're nonhuman? There's only one possibility. "Childhood friends to enemies?"

    No longer interested in that subject, she plucks her spent cigarette between her knuckles, and says aside to Cinder, "Bet." She doesn't explain what she's betting *on* before flicking the cigarette over to a less-populated patch of space nearby, morphmetal whipping out from under her trench coat to try to slice it in half lengthwise before it hits the ground. She only manages a diagonal. "Shit."

"Not even Dr. Eggman, our resident supervillain. He'd probably say they were... uninspired, or tactless, or something."

    "Oh, yeah!" The way Petra lights up and eagerly exposits on Eggman would be unquestionably adorable if not for the subject matter. "He never kills people. Supervillainy is all about, like, the *art* of it, about the... you know, dignity of presenting yourself. He gets on my case about that all the time."

    "Like," She deepens her voice for a kludgy imitation of Eggman, "'It's *easy* to stay up high in an airship and drop bombs down and simply *win*, my dear girl, but what separates a supervillain from a base *killer* is the *limitations* you place on yourself for your vision.' You know. Like that."
Petra Soroka "Ah ha! So I owe you a rematch!"

    The kidnapping was a while ago! They're both villains! Everything's fine, Petra doesn't even hesitate to be interested in the idea of a rivalry. Oh? Yeah, sick, actually. I've actually learned a lot in the past year, so--"

"Maybe this time we'll make off with that mirror girl you're always hanging around with!"

    An instant weak point, and almost certainly not in the way Limelight imagines. Who *knows* what Qetra might say if she gets kidnapped. Petra cuts off and stammers, obviously shook, though not completely repelled. "Er-- well-- that, you know, she's not even really a person, so kidnapping her is... what's the point, really, you know?"

"Well, Vajra for one. You were there for that."

    Madeleine gets a flatly condescending smirk, and Petra's hand hovers at shoulder height, wrist dismissively cocked. "Right, right. I guess that makes *me* also the-- well, I'm not in the Concord. But that's not really a 'hunt' if you're just fighting a sea monster along with a hundred other people, right? I'm starting to think we have totally different definitions for 'huntress'."
Timespace Riders ... Better be a big share.

    Woz's lip curls, a cat-that-got-the-canary smile. "The bigger the prize, the bigger the share. I will await the results of your interest today with a not insignificant amount of *personal* interest."

And if she's as easy to find as Woz says, she's hardly worth the time of a proper huntress.
Oh! Hiromi would probably appreciate a good fight, mhm!
I mean, no one could possibly hunt her, anyways. That's sort of her schtick, even.

    The unusual time traveler's smile is not at all diminished--a flash of zeal sparks in his brown eyes. "Indeed," says the retainer. "'To track' is surely an important part of any hunt--but is the chase not also a time-honored element? Hiromi is dangerous quarry--perhaps the most dangerous. But if you wish to have the many facets of your craft tested to their limit, to know the thrill of the chase as *hunted,* rather than hunter, all in the presence of one who wishes to see you at your strongest, there is scarcely a better teacher. Consider reaching out to her--she will not disappoint." It sounds as if he's speaking from experience.

It's honestly a breath of fresh air to see someone with constructive goals.

    "Thanks!" Sougo beams, rocking slightly in place as he leans on the little stall's table. "A photographer I know--he still shoots on film, even though it's like... the mid 2010s where he lives right now. He told me that a film photo isn't just the negative or the finished result--neither can exist without the other."

I want to crush a planet.

    Sougo beams. Woz looks away, his teeth briefly scraping across his lower lip before his hand rises for a quiet -hmhm- clearing of his throat.

But I think I'd throw it all away for them. If it came to that.

    Sougo nods. "I think... there are probably people there who would want you to live, even if 'Quicknest' didn't. But you'd probably be happier, and able to pour more of yourself into your work, staying with the Watch." He pauses, pushing off of the table to think for a moment--that isn't even addressing the fact that the Gale Empire is a Commonwealth signatory. He continues, tapping an index on his thigh after a moment's thought.

     "The Concord isn't a charity--and not everyone is like me and Kukuru." He makes a nod, towards Petra, her glowing description of Eggman finely aiding his point. "Even the two of us, we aren't really... 'heroic,' in the way that people think of when they say that word. We're in it for us, and so is everyone else. When we help with things like that, it's because we want to, not because it's what the Concord would ask of us--and we do it knowing that it probably won't help us with that stuff unless we can make it worth their while."
Phantom Thieves Limelight and Stagehand take the forms, but don't sign. "We need to discuss it further between ourselves. That was the deal." Presumably meaning the deal she made with Stagehand to even come here at all and hear Kukuru and co. out.

> "That he can do it because he's willing to force us to do it."

"And... what are you going to do about it? Sabotage his stuff? Guerilla tactics? It sounds like he or the Empire are stronger than you. For dealing with the Empire - have you considered becoming a supervillain and terrorizing the Empire? You can get some excellent PR that way."

> "He never kills people. Supervillainy is all about, like, the *art* of it, about the... you know, dignity of presenting yourself. He gets on my case about that all the time."

"There we go. He gets it. Makes me feel a bit bad about stealing his beach."
"No it doesn't."
"Yeah, you're right, it doesn't."
Angela Cinder is chastized by Woz. She doesn't know what she said to make the Concord look bad but she's still sheepish about it, cheeks pinkening faintly. She mostly doesn't apologize because she figures she might be asked 'for what?' and then she'd have to give an answer and feel even more foolish. She takes a long drag from her cigarette.

''Miss Angela, you are on a mop.''

Angela's eyes flick towards Yuri. Yuri's smile broadens. Angela looks back to Solty. "It's fine." She says. 'It lets me get a good look at proceedings."

She will never admit that her pride has been pricked. Fortunately, Woz is able to take the tablet and hold onto it.

"Ah, Woz. Thank you." She says.

Cinder's pinkened cheeks get full on red when Kukuru ruffles her hair. She kind of reaches up to fix it after. "Okay. I guess... I won't worry about it. We're always grateful for your help, but don't...uh... Don't get Eaten Up doing that, okay? We don't really have a good idea of your limits I think."

Aidan tells Cinder a little bit about Quicknest. She was trying to be a bit mean but upon learning that Aidan's home is actually conquered by some kind of fantasy evil empire makes her feel a bit guilty about that. "Wait, KALE was a General? But he's a--"

"Cinder." Angela interrupts, correctly anticipating that she was about to use the term 'birdbrain' which would be inappropriate.

''I want to crush a planet''

Angela's opinion of Kukuru improves. "Perhaps one day you will be able to crush a planet if you take care to save enough to keep growing instead of shrinking." Angela suggests despite this being kind of behavior being something that would be less helpful for her facility, but she does like Kukuru weirdly. It's a bit similar to how she likes Solty but not exactly the same. Angela sees Solty as someone to look after and protect. She thinks Kukuru can protect herself just fine, except--perhaps--emotionally so it's a slightly different vibe for her.

Solty reassures her that she wouldn't be a big burden and Angela says, "Perhaps, but I would still feel uneasy about it..."

She looks to Petra and then nods to her. "You are free to drop by on most days if it is simply about keeping me company." It would actually be nice to have a friend she doesn't have to worry about indirectly killing but Angela isn't going to just overtly say that.

Cinder gets a smug nudge from Petra that seems to return some confidence to the woman. She smiles and shifts her body posture a bit to be omre comfortable to lean against, the softer parts of her arm and the like.

"...Oh...childhood friends to enemies? That's actually pretty dramatic..." Cinder says and she grins, taking her own cig out and says, "Second Chance!" and tosses her cigarette into the air, towards the first.
Aidan Proudpick Aidan stares over at Petra. "What. Childhood fri-No! I just said he comes from a different city. He's not my rival, he's just someone who hates me. And my home. He's an asshole. He's not my childhood friend!" The rest slides off, because it's just normal Petra.

He turns back to Sougo, grimacing. "We'd be exactly where we were. Just different masters." He lets out a short laugh suddenly, breaking into a louder laugh as he feels a sudden weight lift, "This entire time, I was thinking of what I would look like in black armor. Maybe a whole black motif. Aidan, the fallen hero." A little smile plays across his face. "Even now I'm thinking about being a big star." He reaches out a clawed hand towards Sougo. "Let's hope it never comes to that."

Then over to Stagehand. "Uh, my girlfriend is on his ship, I'm pretty sure she would kill me if I did anything like that." He glares at nothing. "I don't know. As for the Empire, yea, that was the whole..." He motions at himself, in his battered state, "Trying to become the world's greatest knight thing. It hasn't worked out y-" He finds he is glaring at the van.

"Okay, come on, you two really should move that van, what if some old lady comes?!"
Phantom Thieves > "Let's hope it never comes to that."

"... Why?"

Stagehand looks confused.

"Is being a hero that important to you? Does it matter more than results?"

> "Okay, come on, you two really should move that van, what if some old lady comes?!"

Stagehand looks confused again. "... Why? I don't understand."
Petra Soroka "But if you wish to have the many facets of your craft tested to their limit, to know the thrill of the chase as *hunted,* rather than hunter,"

    Petra isn't directly looking at Woz anymore, she's let the conversational thread move on without her for a bit while she focuses on Cinder. Totally, completely unrelated to the line that immediately precedes it, Petra murmurs out loud while taking another whip-shot at Cinder's cigarette, "I should visit Hiromi again sometime... oh, sick, that's totally even halves, right?"

"I just said he comes from a different city."

    "Yeah, I'm not going to remember that." Cinder is right. It *is* a better narrative if they're childhood friends to enemies... but the moment Petra steps away from the conceptual shape of the tragic arc, to actually remembering that this line of thinking is about Kale and Aidan, she gets repulsed and hastily reverses where her mind was going.

"Uh, my girlfriend is on his ship,"

    "He's lying about that. He doesn't have a girlfriend. It's like one of those, 'she goes to a different school, in Canada'-- do you have a Canada?-- type things." Petra doesn't have any evidence that that's true-- obviously, because it isn't-- but she says it with unshakeable confidence. Obviously Aidan doesn't have a girlfriend, the idea is ridiculous.
Madeleine Cadrasteia     "But if you wish to have the many facets of your craft tested to their limit, to know the thrill of the chase as *hunted,* rather than hunter, all in the presence of one who wishes to see you at your strongest, there is scarcely a better teacher. Consider reaching out to her--she will not disappoint."

    Madeleine narrows her eyes. "Very well. should I require a tutor, I'll be sure to reach out to her. I doubt it's my hunting that needs work, anyway."

    "He told me that a film photo isn't just the negative or the finished result--neither can exist without the other."

    "Oh, you know someone who shoots film? You should put me in touch! I mean, I could find plenty of film photographers online, but I'm sure one who associates with an Elite such as yourself is of superior caliber. Unless..." Her eyes would be shining, if they were not an inky night-dark void. "Are *they* an Elite too?"
Solty Revant      Solty hears some more about how the Concord seems out to improve things...except they don't care much about the common person. She slows in her writing. "Hmm..." She has to consider that part for a bit. She cares a lot about the common person, and if people in the Concord are going to be trampling on the common person to further their goals...

     Solty is distracted by Woz picking up Angela. She gasps as the idea that -she could hold Angela's tablet- is introduced to her mind. She bounces in place energetically in classic excited child fashion, hands bunched up by her chin and a big smile on her face, as she tries to think of how to ask without it being rude or out of place. "Ooooah! C-can I-" she starts, but her bouncing slows as she decides it wouldn't be appropriate right now. Her ears droop a bit, but she smiles again when Angela says she would still be uneasy. "It's so nice of you to worry about me, Miss Angela! Roy worries about me a lot, too! That's how I know he cares even though he doesn't usually show it!"

     Sougo explains a bit more about how the Concord is when it comes to heroes and heroic deeds. Solty looks more uncertain about continuing her application. Kukuru says she wants to be able to crush a planet, but it's so that she would be powerful enough to protect everyone. Solty feels more certain about continuing the application. She starts writing again, but definitely doesn't look too sure about it.

     Aidan's girlfriend is on Kale's ship? Solty looks curious at this. "Why is your girlfriend on the ship of your rival? That seems..." She tries to find the right word for it. "...difficult?"
Aidan Proudpick "Is being a hero that important to you? Does it matter more than results?"

"What's different? How am I suddenly going to become a big bad supervillain? If I couldn't become the world's greatest knight in three years, I'm not going to become some empire crushing Supervillain!" He frowns, "It matters because... Because I just don't want to be that kind of person. Crushing people isn't the answer. Bringing people up is the answer. I just have to figure out how to do THAT." Pause. "It's in an old person spot! You aren-" He stops, taking a moment to look between Stagehand and Limelight. "Wait, are either of you old or differently abled?"

A glance over at Solty, "It's not easy." Especially when his place is a 4 room house filled with 3 generations of squirrel.
Angela "Aidan totally has a girlfriend. She lives in the Outskirts." Canada doesn't exist in Cinder's world. She glances to Petra. "Oh, is the Canada like the Outskirts of your world?" She smiles. "Girls are repelled by him, as if by magic."

She is pretty confident Aidan doesn't have a girlfriend and has no proof too. But why let that get in the way of a good story? Like with Kale and Aidan being childhood friends turned rivals and enemies.

She says, "Nice!" when Petra bisects a cig.

Angela feels strange about a kid (Solty) being excited to hold her tablet. The tablets are expensive, she thinks, what if she drops it?

But can she say no to that face? Of course she can, normally, but she kind of likes that Solty still thinks of her as not what she actually is sometimes.

Aidan says that crushing people isn't the answer. Angela isn't sure about that. Crushing seems mighty effective sometimes.

But she leaves that aside for now to say, "She can hold me--" A pause. "She can hold the ''tablet'' if she remembers to be careful with it and to return it to... /Cinder/ afterwards."

Yuri says, "It's really cute that you have a fan, Angela." with a wry smile.

Angela imagines throwing Yuri in the Tiphereth Crusher for a moment.

'Why is your girlfriend on the ship of your rival?'

"Did Kale kidnap your girlfriend from Canada, Aidan?" Angela asks dryly.
Phantom Thieves > "Wait, are either of you old or differently abled?"

"Wait."

Stagehand pauses. He seems to realize something.

"Right, I should move it."

This involves physically pushing the van into another space, since it's still having problems.

"Oh, by the way, we just swiped all the convention swag you got out here," says Limelight casually as she pages through the application. "Consider that our resume. If we decide to apply."

Indeed, all the free pens and refrigerator magnets are gone, despite being refilled at least once.
Kukuru "He's from the Gale Empire. The one trying to run us." "The Concord isn't a charity--and not everyone is like me and Kukuru."

As Kukuru considers more of what Aidan's talking about, she starts to realize he's talking of a potential conflict in his and Kale's home. It actually gets her to pause and furrow her brow in deeper thought, resting her cheek against her palm and her elbow against her other palm. "That does make things pre-tty complicated, then... Yeah, we do stuff that looks heroic, buuut... My family has to come first."

Kukuru looks towards Sougo and Woz, Madeleine, Angela and Cinder, and then Petra. "Friends, too, but... It's not the same kind of way we would drop everything for one of us. And Kale's a friend of mine, too, you know? So if you two were fighting it out, and he asked us for help too..."

She doesn't seem certain how to continue with that train of thought at first. It really is a troublesome thing to think about. "... I guess it would really depend on what's happening, or if you've joined us."

"I mean, no one could possibly hunt her, anyways. That's sort of her schtick, even."

Luckily, Petra's able to redirect Kukuru's mind to more pleasant thoughts. "It'd be real easy to find her, mhm, just like Woz said. But you wouldn't need to hunt her, anyway, because she'd be really thrilled to see you." She asserts with yet another pleasant hum. "If anything, it'd be harder to get away from her once she wants to find you~"

"Supervillainy is all about, like, the *art* of it, about the... you know, dignity of presenting yourself. He gets on my case about that all the time."

"It's real important to present the way you wanna, yeah. A lotta people get real hung up on that kind of thing without... Um. Pulling it off anyway, so it ends up just looking real sad." Kukuru adds, deliberately closing her eyes as she does a once around to check on the snacks that seem to be disappearing faster than she and the staff can replace them.

"We need to discuss it further between ourselves. That was the deal."

Once Kukuru returns, she giggles softly at the answer given to her by Limelight before nodding at her and Stagehand. "Of course, dears. It's a big decision! Careers can be pretty tricky, but that's why we've got aaaall sorts of counselors to help with that if you ever wanna figure out what you could do with the Concord."

She'll never stop trying to nudge people in, of course.

"Don't get Eaten Up doing that, okay? We don't really have a good idea of your limits I think." "Perhaps one day you will be able to crush a planet if you take care to save enough to keep growing instead of shrinking."

Kukuru's own cheeks burn a bit, only slightly out of embarassment, but mostly from the visible joy filling her heart that may or may not have shrunk due to nanite overuse. "Don't wor-ry~ I'll be extra careful to make sure of that. I've been eating more to try and get back into shape, and the doctors said I'd be back to normal in... Maybe a month if I'm careful?" She reassures/asks, not sounding entirely certain herself.

"I just gotta keep working at it. Getting smarter's gonna be the hardest part, but stronger..." She doesn't actually finish that statement. Instead, she just groans, likely thinking too much about the work involved. She already looks like she wants to take a nap.
Aidan Proudpick Aidan's face twitches. Just a little. A rush of anger. Petulance. It's really hard getting aimed at from three sides, but the squirrel holds his head high. "No," He answers Cinder's first question, harshly, "No," to the second, less so, "Yes, apparently, but that's fine," to the third, cooling back down. Towards Angela, "No. She just works for him. She does all of his medicine and science work! I barely understand half the words she says when she's talking about science," he smiles proudly.

As Stagehand has to go over and PHYSICALLY move the van, Aidan immediately follows to help push. "Here, let me help." Not that he doesn't have stick arms and a busted leg, but Aidan isn't about to NOT help. He pushes with his legs, trying to help shove the van around.
Petra Soroka "Wait, are either of you old or differently abled?"

    Petra groans. "*Jesus* Christ you're such a fucking stick in the mud. 'Differently abled'? Seriously? That's so fucking lame. Should I be calling you a 'person of fur'?" Petra snorts derisively, and tries to snatch a bag of mini cookies while Kukuru is distracted by one of her sleepy fugues.

    "I'm gonna different your able by dropping boulders on you. Christ. You're so lame."

"Oh, is the Canada like the Outskirts of your world?"

    Petra, firmly: "Yes."

"She can hold the ''tablet'' if she remembers to be careful with it and to return it to... /Cinder/ afterwards."

    Seeing Solty's excitement completely defrosts Petra's opinion towards her, and she's instantly aboard team Let Solty Hold Angela. "Oh! Oh, I'll catch it if she drops it, you don't need to worry, Angela." Conspiratorally but not quietly, Petra asides to Yuri, "It's *really* cute, actually?"

"Oh, by the way, we just swiped all the convention swag you got out here,"

    "Wait--" Petra holds up a hand like she's about to scold them, then just says, "Could I have one of the Priscilla fridge magnets first? They're cute."

    The empty hand is also the only indication that she's let Pence vanish into the crowd, silently rolling its way underneath the Crime Time van to latch onto it. If she's refused a magnet, the van starts rapidly rising up into the air as a hostage. Rivalries begin right at the starting pistol.

"It's real important to present the way you wanna, yeah."

    "Yeah, it's..." Petra slowly sounds out her words, nodding. Come to think of it-- and suddenly, maybe just because of that earlier look along with 'family', she is-- this is the least hostile conversation she's had with Kukuru for a long time. She doesn't know how to feel about that. "It's sort of the most important thing. How other people see you. Since that affects how everything you do impacts people, and how it'll be remembered, and perceived, and all. Doctor Eggman's reputation would be... I mean, worse, definitely, but also kind of contemptible, if he didn't care so much about his presentation."
Timespace Riders Ah, Woz. Thank you.

    "You are quite welcome," he says, pleased to be of service to a respected colleague.

Let's hope it never comes to that.

    "I won't say 'never'," says Sougo, taking Aidan's hand in both of his and shaking eagerly. "But only because you said Quicknest might have something we want, and I can't account for everything every other member might want, or every pet project. You know?"

    "The Concord doesn't set up shop somewhere unless there's something they want there. There's some wiggle room, depending on who has their eye on it..." He shrugs his shoulders. "Even so, there are benefits for working with us. and we don't -usually- waste time telling everyday people how to live their lives, because that's less time getting whatever it is we want. We might not be a charity, but we're also not a land-grabbing empire. We don't 'hold territory,' and most of us won't, I don't know, 'send someone off to the mines' because whoever we have can probably do it better and safer. If anything, we're more like a mafia!"

... Why? I don't understand.

    Woz, standing straight with Angela's tablet held level at his chest, turns his head to look at Stagehand. "I know not," he says, gently rolling his shoulders in a shrug. Continuing further to miss the point, "One would presume that if an old lady could not see such an obvious obstruction, that she oughtn't be trusted to travel on her own in the first place."

I should visit Hiromi again sometime...

    "Indeed," Woz quietly, smilingly agrees.

Are *they* an Elite too?

    "He's a Kamen Rider," answers Sougo. "But I don't know if I'd call him 'an Elite,' only because he keeps to himself and has his own stuff going on. I can't imagine him leaving that world--but, oh!" Sougo snaps his fingers. "His name is Kadoya Tsukasa. Fair warning, uh... his pictures are pretty... 'unique.'" Bad? Probably bad.

She can hold the ''tablet'' if she remembers to be careful with it and to return it to... /Cinder/ afterwards.

     Woz bows his head briefly, holding the tablet out to Solty.

Oh, by the way, we just swiped all the convention swag you got out here.

     "I'm glad," beams Sougo. "That means we really left an impression! I hope you do apply. I'd love to see you two around more often!"
Kukuru Does Kukuru notice Aidan mentioning the existence of his non-Canadian girlfriend? Not at all. She does hear about the medicine, though, and she giggles pleasantly at the thought of who she's assuming is his mother or something instead.

Does Kukuru notice Solty filling out that application? Yes! Noticing that look on her face, though, has Kukuru stopping nearby to give her a gentle pat on the head with the same sleepy look on her face. "Don't think too hard, dear. I'm sure your feelings will mean more than just coming up with the right ones."

Does Kukuru notice Petra going for the cookies? Maybe, maybe not.. No, definitely not. She's really out of it today, and she's also really distracted helping* people out with their applications. Lucky break! Not lucky enough to not have Kukuru still checking on her every now and then, but still.

"It's sort of the most important thing. How other people see you. Since that affects how everything you do impacts people, and how it'll be remembered, and perceived, and all."

"Even so, there are benefits for working with us. and we don't -usually- waste time telling everyday people how to live their lives, because that's less time getting whatever it is we want." "If anything, we're more like a mafia!"

"Mhm, mhm. I know the Concord doesn't always have the best reputation, but... I really believe we're doing what's best for everyone, even if it might hurt some people. That's why it's important for people like me and Sougo to be the nice ones to make up for some of that." Kukuru giggles again, humming softly to herself while closing her eyes.

"I want everyone to feel loved, and know they can belong here with us. Then nobody has to feel like they gotta side with anyone because it's too scary not to."

*Kukuru's help may not improve anyone's chances of being accepted.
Phantom Thieves Stagehand is clearly capable of moving the van entirely on his own, but lets Aidan help nonetheless.

> "That means we really left an impression! I hope you do apply. I'd love to see you two around more often!"

"Hah! Maybe I actually will consider it, then."

> "Wait--"

Limelight waits expectantly.

> "Could I have one of the Priscilla fridge magnets first? They're cute."

Limelight looks disappointed. Was she expecting a scolding?

"..."

After a moment of thought, she produces one of the fridge magnets in question, and holds it in her hand.

"... You gotta... say we're the best, greatest thieves first. No, no wait, better idea. If you want the magnet..."

And then, holding the precious magnet hostage, Limelight makes a demand for Petra to pay the most terrible blood price imaginable.

"You gotta subscribe to our podcast."
Solty Revant      Solty blinks in surprise, then her face steadily and brightly lights up as Angela says she can hold the tablet. Her ears lift upward, her eyes sparkle, and her smile is huge and happy. She waits as patiently as she can for Woz to hold out the tablet, and once he does she takes it carefully with both hands and grips it firmly.

     And with a happy, "Yay!" she holds it above her head! Still in both hands of course. And only for about two seconds before she realizes she isn't being careful with it! She eeps softly and brings it down slowly then turns it so it is screen facing out from her and hugs it to her chest, arms crossed just under it to cradle it both protectively and like some kind of plushie at the same time. And she blushes a bit and smiles at Petra after her comment, and giggles at Yuri's comment. "Of course I am a fan of Miss Angela! She's super nice and I'm going to cook for her one day!"

     Solty takes up a spot at the side of the L Corp kiosk now, making sure Angela has a good view of everything, smiling happily the entire time.

     The question about Aidan's girlfriend makes Solty pause a moment. "Oh no! That would be terrible!" But, apparently she's a doctor. Solty smiles at that, but then looks a bit confused again. "But...why is she working for the person that doesn't like you and wants to take over your town?"

     Kukuru mentioned at some point that she cooks and when she comes by to reassure her, Solty nods at the advice then adds, "If you are a good cook I would be happy if you helped me learn! I want to be a great cook some day so I can bring more smiles to people's faces!" she says enthusastically.
Angela Hopefully nothing terrible will happen soon to encourage Kukuru to heal more, Cinder thinks. "Okay, well--be careful."

"Indeed, I would be quite displeased if you brought serious harm--or stagnation--upon yourself trying to help us. We will accept your assistance within reasonable bounds. I understand the Queen, however, was a special case."

Cinder is, at the very least, largely being mean to Aidan as part of Girlfriend Bonding. She doesn't really know Aidan, after all, but she is strangely considering that she might actually have been wrong about this. But she'll pretend like she isn't.

Except about Canada, because Petra confirms that one. "Ah," Cinder says, feeling a bit of warmth towards Canada in that moment.

Yuri grins and winks at Petra, not above a bit of teasing at Angela's expense. It feels like fond teasing.

It's ultimately just a tablet so the risk is relatively low. She might get a talking to about it but it isn't the end of the facility if Solty eradicates a tablet and Petra is providing some cover over that. She doesn't comment when Solty proceeds to not be careful with the device because she absolutely knew that Solty wasn't going to be careful with it from the jump.

But Solty is careful after and...

''Of course I am a fan of Miss Angela! She's super nice and I'm going to cook for her one day!''

THat doesn't hit the same for her as the first time. Angela's expression darkens as she looks down, away from Solty's gaze.

She shouldn't be a fan of me, Angela thinks. Not like this. Not...

She pushes the thought out of her mind. It still feels good to be treated well and...she'll worry about the inevitable dissapointment she'll be to her once she realizes she's not actually the kind of person she thinks she is.

"I am glad you are having fun." She says.
Petra Soroka "If anything, we're more like a mafia!"

    Sougo, Woz, and Kukuru can plainly see writ on Petra's face that this is the first time she's ever deeply considered the actual politics of the Concord. She's visibly not *swayed*-- politics are still in the abstract for her, and the Concord is still oppositional to her for reasons she can't exactly articulate, but she's giving the *concept* of the Concord a lot more thought than she has previously.

    Which, considering her threefold affiliation to it, is kind of upsetting.

"His name is Kadoya Tsukasa."

    "Oh! Decade!" Petra doesn't have anything to add other than that, but she felt happy making the connection to someone she hasn't seen anything about in a while. It feels like accumulating lore.

"You gotta subscribe to our podcast."

    Petra, hand halfway out to accept the magnet, gasps and recoils as if burnt. "Over my dead *body*. You couldn't get me to listen to two C-Tier superthief wannabes stammer back and forth for an hour with a *gun* to my head. No way."

    As (sort of) promised, the ratbot's antigravity generator flicks on, taking the van thirty feet in the air in just a couple seconds. It hovers over the group around Kukuru's stall, casting a shadow over them, and Petra holds her palm out expectantly.

    "How about I don't subscribe to your stupid podcast, and you give me the magnet, or I'll drop this on Proudpick. And that would be *terrible* for the suspension."
Aidan Proudpick Aidan looks at Solty. "I don't think he wants to take over it, just... I don't know, swoop in and be some sort of hero? Like Prometheus! You know, Prometheus bringing fire to the humans."

As Sougo goes for the two hand clasp, pushing himself up from the van, so does Aidan, slapping it over the other. "Never say never. Granted, I'd die before giving over the Watch secrets. I made an oath there too. But we'll worry about that if it ever comes. Thanks for listening to me, King Sougo." He nods towards Kukuru as well, "And you, Miss Kukuru. You try to get some rest too! If you pass out, you can't help anyone. Trust me, I know. "

Aidan's ear twitches. It rotates around to focus on Limelight threatening Petra. Time slows down as his brain goes into terror mode. And he is already scrambling away as the van floats upward.
Phantom Thieves Limelight looks up.

She makes a mental calculation - about suspensions, and the cost of replacing one, and the cost of cleaning squirrel roadkill off the undercarriage, and then she opens her mouth to give her response-

"Here," says Stagehand, coming up from behind Petra and pushing another Priscilla magnet into Petra's hands.

"What, no, come on."

"I'd rather not have our van wrecked over a cheap magnet."

"Ugh. No sense of theatrics."

Though - Stagehand flashes Limelight a thumbs-up when Petra's not looking at him, which gets her to be a bit less upset. And Petra, next time she checks her phone, finds herself subscribed to the CrimeCast anyway.
Solty Revant      'I'm glad you are having fun.'

     Solty looks down at the tablet at this, a bit confused. "Are you not having fun, Miss Angela?" she asks, tilting the screen enough that she can be seen in the carmera if she wasn't already.

     Solty's ears twitch at the discussion about the van and Aidan, and her expression turns more serious as the idea of the van being dropped on someone is tossed around. She keeps the tablet held tightly, but widens her stance and crouches slightly in case she needs to move or jump suddenly. But, it seems things are under control and so she relaxes again. She seems rather put off by the encounter, though. "...I might have to think about this some more..." she says quietly. She slips the application into her pocket.

     It is getting late now, and as much as she doesn't want to, she needs to get home. Solty heads toward Cinder and smiles. "Here you go! You are Cinder, right?" she says, holding out the tablet. It was part of the condition of holding the tablet, after all. "I have to get going, so I'm supposed to give Angela to you. Take good care of her, please!" she says cheerfully. Once it is taken and she is in view she waves to Angela. "Goodnight, Miss Angela!"

     Solty bids the others goodnight as well, then heads home.
Kukuru "If you are a good cook I would be happy if you helped me learn! I want to be a great cook some day so I can bring more smiles to people's faces!"

"Of course! Food's important for anyone to learn about, and I'm sure you'll do fine with practice." Kukuru replies without a second though, humming softly again as she finally gets a better look at Solty. "Hmm... We'll have to see how much you know some day, but I'm sure you'll be able to make all sorts of great stuff in no time."

> Petra thinking about the Concord Mafia

Kukuru sees the look, and her eyes are gleaming with anticipation. She's not expecting such a decision so quickly, of course, but it's clear enough that she's got her hopes up already.

>Petra vs. Phantom Van vs. Aidan

Kukuru's eyes widen briefly as she looks up, and then she starts clapping for whatever's causing this. Clearly, she has no idea what's happening, but she's impressed by the ratbot's ability nonetheless!

Or Petra, once she actually issues her threat. "Hmm.. Oh, that could be a neat way to show what the Concord can do for our injured, too. Aidan, dear? You can come back, it'll be fine~!"
Timespace Riders      When Petra's threat is made, Woz sighs and flicks his scarf outwards. It wraps around Kukuru's stall as she applauds, stretching out further to wind around the all four legs. With a tug at his wrist, the stall and any outreach staff near her are gently scooted backwards--herself, too, if she's standing particularly close to it, though that's mostly just consequential--he knows she's tough enough to withstand any collateral from the van falling.

     "Apologies," he says to her with a slight bow at the waist, as Stagehand convinces Limelight to just give the magnet away. The garment unwinds, flowing like water before resting back in its original position. "I wished for neither your hard work, nor our fellows to be 'caught by a stray,' as it were." Even if a lot of her hard work is in the hands of spiderbots right now.

     Sougo smiles knowingly at Woz, in a way that makes the retainer avoid his gaze--as if anticipating bullying. For Sougo, maybe the look was enough teasing. "Yeah," he says to Petra. "Him!" It's not hard to imagine that he and Decade bonded over people appearing from timespace to accuse them of ruining everything.

     "Speaking of 'him,' sire, I believe I have a lead on an Another Rider. Perhaps we should retire to discuss strategy?"

     Sougo nods merrily. "Sure! Whenever you're ready, Woz. Bye, everybody!" Sougo says brightly, stepping out from behind his own stall to stand in a spot with a little more floor space. He waves enthusiastically, arm swinging like a branch in the wind before Woz's scarf envelops the both of them, winking out into thin air.
Kukuru Eventually, the job fair must come to an end. Tables are folded up, stands are dismantled, and the mystery of the missing food, assorted fair swag, and branded tchotchkes remains unsolved despite all signs pointing to slightly foul play thanks to Kukuru only thinking that thing with the card was an example and not a signal. Nevertheless, it was a fairly successful event for the Concord as far as getting lots of applications in!

Only time will tell which one of those actually make it past the first test: The shredder.