"That's cool, I can do this in the living room."

It'll be the first time her mother sees her work. She settles in on the chair with her stylus and her mask, turned inside out. She first works on taking out the awkward series of interfaces she already programmed in, the tongue and tap commands, using the flat side to smooth the metal alloy and prepare it for a new interface reception and translation. It's like a series of thorns, running along in places where electrodes would go, designed to pick up the signals her brain gives off (and only hers, can't afford someone else getting in there. This is a security measure, after all.) She doesn't dare create induction - inducing current in her brain, even with safeguards, isn't something she wants to play around with until she can learn about neuroscience. This is just signals reception, with a learning algorithm that she'll need to spend some time training after she finishes laying it in, something she's done plenty before.

Once she has that set up, she reconnects it back to the mask's actual program, then runs a diagnostic with her tablet.

Finally, she fixes the mask to her face and head - it covers everything from the front to the top and sides, gently molding around her ears protectively with golden nodes that settle gently in her ear canals, and she has a dummy armor plate for the back for her full costume that she doesn't use here, letting her hair free.

(Radiance Engineer 17, -10 for 90% to reduce time from 8 hours to 42 minutes. Target: Accessory (Neural Interface), Perk. Since failure grants 1 point, I'm only looking to not get a critical failure, but if she succeeds (and gets a few more points equal to success) she'll fiddle around a bit more and give the eyes levels of Night Vision with the spare.)

Tinkering around, getting the electrodes set up on read is pretty easy. It won't really get access to anything deeper than superficial brain signals - she'll have to train it to recognize distractions, stress and similar issues that might give false-positive brain signals.

While she's in there, she also finds that the optics she's using for the eyes have a light threshold DIP potentiometer she never noticed before, probably because the manufacturer made it so tiny. Putting the mask on, she finds the shadows not quite as deep... It's a far cry from NV or IR goggles or anything of the sort, but it's an extra.

The less interesting - and time consuming - part, then, is to poke around at her tablet and watch the readout until the mask does what it's supposed to do in time with her thoughts. The latency is a bit of an issue, but that's what training is supposed to be - to recognize a pattern instead of having to analyze it.

The alternative is to have an access port in her head or spine connected to the implant so she can take it out... but then she'd be putting pressure on her brain and just thinking about it makes her head hurt. It does feel like she'll need a sharded's help to do something like that safely, short of growing an organic solution in her own body. Which isn't exactly in her pool of powers.

Her mother chuckles, amused by her daughter's gusto. "Well, that's impressive! Though I don't know about giving you this much power over the house's smart-home system," she jokes. "What if you change the thermostat?"

The YPA is a very, very different place when everyone is expected to be in attendance. She can see the buff C-Shell hanging out with a girl near pavillon B. She has a half-shaven hairstyle, dyed bright orange, wearing a halter top and short skirt, with rather muscular looking arms crossed. If her memory serves correct from the directory, that's probably Heat Shock. The other Steel Nova, Keratin, isn't there.

Or maybe that's Keratin and Heat Shock isn't there.

She can see Garra and some other boy throwing a football out behind the Pavillon. Iry is sitting on the roof of Pavillon A with a girl she doesn't recognize.

There's some military presence, too... a couple soldiers at the gate, and there's a couple near the buildings in basic patrols. Her keycard swipes at the gate and it opens up to let her through without a fuss, just a pleasant 'tweet-deep.'

She finds Stream - dressed in her bodysuit uniform with its white and green swirly pattern - out in the hallway outside of the conference room, sitting on the benches outside - alongside the rest of Seto Dragonflies.

There's Distable, with a cap on his head while tapping on his phone. He's a pretty lean looking boy, dressed in a dark t-shirt with a slim, short sleeved jacket.

Oso, a bigger, almost-man, with a soul-patch under his lip. His hair is long and curly in disarray, though he's dressed in something resembling a dress-uniform, minus the military affectation.

And then Kordes, the musical artillery. Hair cut short to pixie-length, duo-tone with blonde on the outside with dark roots. She's layering two half-shirts to make a full one - one's bright red and the other pale blue - and jeans with the right leg ripped right off. She makes up for it by having a thigh-high, black sock, with the other foot having a white one. Her feet are idly kicking above a work-boot and a sneaker, while she tunes a guitar. 'A bit on the weird side' indeed.

"Seshat!" Stream stands up to go greet her. "Hiya. I'm glad you made it on time. The Falcon Scouts are finishing their briefing, then we'll be up."

There's a glimmer of hope that they're just not 'in uniform', but something tells her that only some of them are there with serious prospects at having a hero identity. Her, Stream, and Iry, at least, but she doesn't have the whole story on all of them. Kordes gives her a bright smile, at least, though Distable barely looks up and Oso just looks tired, though he at least raises his hand in greeting.

"Word has it, we have tentatively on business-as-usual, so expect, training, courses, and on-site free time. But, we're expected to be on standby, and it's possible we're assigned a patrol path.

"But Steel Nova is here, so I think they're expecting some sort of trouble. Garra says he even saw the suits give Keratin white tokens for the team earlier today."

"Oh, right, you're new, duh. Sorry." She gives a sheepish smile. "So, when we're assigned missions - as in, we don't just 'happen to be near' but the suits tell us what our objective is - we're given a bracelet. Those are the tokens. It has a communicator, GPS, biofeedback stuff. They have colored tags on them.

"Yellow is the basic one, that you'll see all the time. It records stuff passively. So if something blows up that shouldn't have, they'll review the data, look for power uses and evidence to see if you're in the wrong. It's our equivalent of a police body cam, you might say. Usually, if we intend on making things go boom with Kordes or bust down a wall, we'll mention it in the communicator and let our handler give us the green light, or a negative. That bypasses the need for review.

"Red is the probation one. It reports when anything seems amiss to what it's told is supposed to be. That's for if you did blow something up and they want to make sure you don't do it again without good reason.

"Black is if you're deemed a danger. It's red, only if you put it on, it doesn't come off. Haven't seen it before, so it might be a bogeyman.

"White, though, doesn't record anything. It's a message that says 'go as nuts as necessary.' That if something blows up, it won't be your fault."

"Probably. They wouldn't send you out naked, though it'll depend on if Seto Dragonflies are expected to get into trouble, or provide support. Steel Nova tends to be the odd ones out, cause they're more governed as a GRF unit even if they're in the YPA program.

"Either way, Reception is pretty good at playing them like a guitar, so ask her and she can probably get you a tank, with enough time."

The older lady behind the counter, the titular Reception, looks up at her from her computer as Seshat brings her the tablet. She scratches at the side of her head thoughtfully. "Hm, let me find the case file number..." She turns to her computer, starting to type away.

"Warmachines seized. Later that day, inspected for possible extension of seizure." She glances up, adjusting her glasses, then turns back to the screen. Probably means they were considering pegging her with something else to see if they could steal it.

"Goods considered inert, and of low danger."

No synapse, no power. Thankfully.

"Priority order came in shortly after that from higher up to accelerate the process. They were filed and moved to warehouse 3. I'll have a truck sent to pick them up for you. Shouldn't take longer than a hour."

Since Garra was apparently done with his briefing, since he was out tossing a football, her first guess would be the workshop down below. She's overdue a chat about workspaces, after briefing, after all.

Speaking of, it's shortly after that they're finally let into the briefing room. A couple suits - neither from last night, thankfully - flank an older lady who is in a very expensive looking business suit of her own. "Seto Dragonflies," she greets the team. She's holding a thin little baton, which looks like those long, old aristocratic cigarette holders, just missing the cigarette.

"Be seated and we will begin... This will be brief."

"That's Razor Thread," Stream murmurs to her while drawing herself a chair. "She manages the american supers programs."

"Though it appears Cedilla is gone, we can't discount that he may still be at large, or had something planned with his appearance being a diversion. If we get reports of activity that warrants it, the Seto Dragonflies are to assist Steel Nova in any direct encounters, with Keratin managing both groups as one.

"I don't expect trouble, but if more run of the mill sort of crime does come up, you'll be dispatched to deal with it. We can't really afford to have the police distracted by a simple bank robbery and ruin curtaining, so if anything does come up, hit them hard and make it fast."

She brings up a map on the projector, with a block of the city highlighted in green.

"Finally, if things stay quiet, at 1500, you will be sent out to northern Haven on patrol. Keep everything from center point to the bridge clear and safe until GRF relief makes it there, likely 1800 at worse. Haven's ASRI office is being graciously loaned to use as HQ, but the logistics themselves I will leave to your captain.

"Until then, you are expected to be on facility, though your time is yours."

Razor Thread taps the crook of her crossed arms with her cigarette holder. "Any questions?"

"Government officials would have delayed until after we broke the curtain, but Aline Lafaille broke the news early with a public statement to forestall them. The White House made some evasive, delaying statements to buy time," she points out, with a tone of annoyance.

"But once the GRF took the reins, we had Cedilla's appearance confirmed by both Haven's Mayor Neline, and I had our representative hold a press meeting," she explains. "We're still monitoring the fallback. We can turn this around from being a PR trainwreck if we can detain him very soon."

The obvious 'but' hangs in the air, going unsaid.

It certainly seems like Cedilla poked the hive. The GRF has members being seen all over the country, and they're even pulling out some of the Obscures and Unknowns. YPA branches have also had an uptick, but minor compared to the buzz that is the facility. The Night Host's HQ hasn't moved, though there's been reports that Uplifter is in Eden's Landing with another member.

Revel is leading the charge in the Haven area for the GRF, patrolling above the freeways and townships outside, while Six Ankh has been sent out by the IPF to patrol up and down the coast.

Maybe slightly worryingly is the rather striking lack of red dots. It's no higher than the usual average, and most reports are still just impacted robbers or unaffiliated, untrained sorts - or the more unfortunate puberty-pops. No one knows where the real, A-list criminals known to be in the US like Scope, Ravage or Bastion are. They're not taking advantage of the chaos, anyway.

It's a mess, simply put, and everyone is scrambling to find where it'd all go down before it happens.



"Then that is the situation as far as you are involved," Razor Thread resumes. "Take and wear a token from the tech-box on your way out the room."

"Even if you'd planned that, Silverblade kind of went over your head and drew attention to it to the press."

It's a small, plastic bracelet. It's like a slim, electronic watch, with a microphone and speaker. Though part of the bracelet has the plastic of a different color - white, the almost literal carte blanche.

"If sowing chaos was his goal, he would have just done something else until it happened." She frowns at her bracelet's white tag, but slips it on. "He used to be a cape, so he knows how the organizations work."