Brianna didn't move an inch as Crimson's narrowed eyes bore into her, forcing a calm look. Only after Phoenix's outburst did she flush slightly and clear her throat, replying softly:

"Thank you, but it doesn't bother me anymore. In the end, I'm just glad that I made sure a few more people came back from Gaultown alive."

She closed the door to his room, approached his bed and began to examine his wounds. After counting all ten gunshot marks, having been mostly healed thanks to the drug he was given, Brianna sucks in a sharp breath and says:

"It looks like I'm not the only one who's been having a bad time..."

And with that, she pulled up the nearby chair, sat down, and began to call on her gift, gathering a golden, balmy light around her hands that flickered like the flame of a candle. Then she went to work, placing both hands on each wound, one by one, causing the pain in Phoenix's body to fade as the wounds themselves to slowly disappear, one after the other as if they'd never existed.

"Well... yeah... I guess..."
Crimson replied hesitantly. He couldn't bring himself to disagree with Brianna's statement, but it obviously sat badly with him.
"Still, though. People are meant to trust their heroes..."

He waited quietly while Brianna got to work, and considered his own words. That was the core of the issue, he supposed; faith had been lost in the ITSDA, and it was surprising how even a small loss in reputation could have knock-on effects. Once Brianna healed his arm would he'd look over the wound critically before breaking into a grin, this one genuine, and finally breaking his silence.
"Oh! No scars, that's great! I tried the 'battle scarred' look once- but my agent told me to give it up."
His mood improved slightly with his injuries, and he admired Brianna's Gift a little more after that. He vaguely recalled something about it being solar-powered, or something, but that was a fact that didn't concern him. Right now all that bothered him was that it removed injuries, didn't leave marks behind, and looked freakin' awesome. The girl had power, so he was a little taken aback by her quiet and reserved nature.

"Schwartze Augen were in town. You'd have thought that they'd get sloppy since you helped capture their leader- but they really haven't. If anything they're just as dangerous as they were before."
Crimson replied to her statement. He was having a bad time. Daniels gaze drifted from Brianna to his bedside table. His mask was sitting there, with one of it's eye-lenses cracked open from where Vincent had pistol whipped him. Pistol whipped! Crimson couldn't even remember the last time he'd been seriously injured by such a mundane attack!
"Maybe they're even worse. Or maybe I'm just getting slow. It's been that kind of week."
He sighed, ran his now healed hand through his hair, and grimaced as it came away streaked with bits of debris. Once he was in one piece he resolved to get a shower. Shower and a fresh set of Kevlar. Maybe a Starbucks. He wanted to get back into the frontlines as quickly as he could, as terrible as he currently felt he knew that he wouldn't even be able to think about improving his mood until he was back to work.
"I had a clean shot at their leader, at the end, but he was gonna' hit some bystanders. I managed to stop him. That's about... half... of these holes."

Brianna stopped short of healing one of the last 3 wounds at the mention of the Schwartze Augen, and Phoenix caught but a glimpse of the look of shock and worry that flickered across the girl's face before she returned to healing his wounds, masking a look of fear. She had seen the carnage that the Schwartze Augen wreaked in a warzone and could only imagine what they would do in a city full of helpless people. The images that ran through her head of the horror they could inflict made her swallow audibly and feel as though her blood was running cold through her veins, but she fell short of having a panic attack, hearing her guardian angel speak to her like he had done so many times in the last month.

Easy, Brianna. Calm down. They aren't here now.

Valorum's voice, unheard by Phoenix, soothed Brianna back into her work, her face visibly relaxing as she slowly breathed through her nose and exhaled. The small exercise allowed her to return to focusing on the remaining wounds while pushing the dark thoughts out of her mind. The only other time she hesitated during her work was when Phoenix mentioned how he had gotten these injuries. Looking up from the final, fading wound she was healing, Brianna gave Phoenix a look of clear surprise.

"You used your own body as a shield for bystanders?"

She stared at him for a few moments before she snapped back to reality. Brianna returned to her work, blushing in embarrassment at her own outburst and eventually saying in a quiet, hesitant tone:

"I...I can't thank you enough..."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:51, Wed 29 June 2016.

Crimson leaned forwards, and his eyebrows crossed in concern while studying Brianna's reaction. Despite the fact that she'd quickly regained control of herself it was impossible for Daniel to miss her clear signs of worry, and his instinct to always try to act the hero forced him to think of something reassuring to say-
Unfortunately nothing came to mind. He would usually claim that Schwartze Augen and the rest of their Namidian ilk were acting out of desperation, and would face justice soon enough... but that bold statement lost it's effectiveness in light of the fact that Brianna was currently pulling their bullets from his chest.

He kept his mouth shut while trying to think of a more convincing soundbite, although he finally spoke again at Briannas mention of bystanders.

"I, ahh... saw the Namidian aiming at them, and didn't really think about it. Sorry."

Phoenix apologised automatically, as he'd assumed he was about to get yet another warning for acting foolishly- although his doubts were erased a moment later when she actually thanked him for the effort. He'd been torturing himself by worrying how his involvement might have screwed things up for the AGF, so much so that he'd forgotten why he acted in the first place- he hadn't been able to save everyone, but at least there was a chance that his involvement had done some good.

"You don't have to thank me at all- it's all in a days work, and all that."
Crimson averted his gaze uncomfortably and felt colour rise in his cheeks, although a cocky grin had plastered itself across his features. Praise and attention didn't bother him, on the contrary it was the reason why he got up most mornings, but the sincere way that she'd delivered the line put him off guard. He also didn't want to admit that he had another, slightly less idealistic reason, for intercepting the attack- but he spoke out his suspicions anyway.
"There was something else... The Namidians had been kicking my ass the entire fight, which is strange enough, but the way that they were acting seemed... off... somehow. At the end their leader stayed behind to finish me off without his guards, which isn't the kind of risk that S.A usually takes. It was almost as though he wanted to be captured."

Phoenix folded his arms and frowned at the thought. Somehow he didn't think that his suspicions could excuse his actions to his superior Agents, but his gut was telling him that S.A had been after far more than just the contents of the bankvault.
He shook the thoughts out of his head. He'd done enough sulking for one day, and it was time to get back to business. He'd need to write up a report, request another flight suit from his armourer, and post his version of the days events onto his fansite- then he'd need to get back into handling the media before they got the chance to exaggerate what'd happened out his favour. He kicked his feet out of his medical bed, and sat on it's edge, before beaming at Brianna.

"That's not important, I should be the one thanking you anyway. If I had to let my wounds heal slowly I'd be stuck in this bed for weeks, AND I would have to beg Sherry to fix my scars again- so I really, really, owe you."
Crimson wondered how he could repay that kind of debt, hypothetically. He remembered a question that one of the paparazi hounds had thrown out earlier...
"Hey, I saw Jackson and Vandal give their defences at the UN the other day. The fact that Frank had to quit really worries me, but some of the others keep saying he does that a lot... Jill's just had her hearing as well... Not you, though. You haven't been called up yet. Is everything all right?"
Phoenix smiled amicably, and swung his legs freely over the beds edge. He was keeping his tone light and friendly since he knew that it might be a delicate subject.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Thu 30 June 2016.

Unbeknownst to Phoenix, Valorum took a moment to praise the young man.

Well, well, well. It looks like there are still real heroes after all.

Brianna was too embarrassed to say it, but she thought much the same; She had heard too many stories about killing enemy soldiers, allies dying in battle, and civilian casualties to believe that she was in anything but an army, and that she herself was anything except a soldier. She loved stories like that of how Phoenix got these wounds; stories of people saving lives, stories befitting of heroes. It was people like Phoenix that gave her hope.

Finishing the last wound off, Brianna leaned back and sighed, giving Phoenix a moment to revel in his banished pain. The bullets in his chest had been removed long before she had gotten to them, so she was just repairing tissue and destroying the scars. She had even burned the drug that caused his skin to flake and peel out of his system. Brianna couldn't help but smile, albiet an embarrassed smile, when Phoenix praised her. Then:

"Hey, I saw Jackson and Vandal give their defenses at the UN the other day. The fact that Frank had to quit really worries me, but some of the others keep saying he does that a lot... Jill's just had her hearing as well... Not you, though. You haven't been called up yet. Is everything all right?"

The question surprised Brianna a little, but she cleared her throat and answered regardless:

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess the Hague is just starting from the top and working its way down. Besides, I was in Gaultown as a combat medic; I can't be court-martialed that badly for doing my job, right?

"You'd better not be..."
Daniel growled quietly as he imagined them trying. He knew that the UN were after their pound of flesh for the ITSDA's perceived recklessness, but he knew that trying to take it out on Brianna was the wrong way to go about it.

There was one issue that Daniel didn't want to acknowledge, however. That was the fact that Brianna could arguably be classed as a medic, and if the UN decided that Gaultown should be classified as a wartime scenario they might attempt to court martial her on the grounds that she'd joined the battle offensively. Phoenix didn't agree with that kind of logic at all... And there was no doubt at all that Brianna had been defending herself... But the UN were desperate to bring the ITSDA under their heel, so they might not be above such a vicious prosecution. Like most Gifted incidents this one was almost unprecedented, and if It turned into a legal dispute it could be an extremely ugly one.

"...Jill won't let them even think about it. She's someone who'll fight tooth and nail to uphold justice. That, and the others have been making themselves a lighting-rod for the tribunals wrath."
Phoenix nodded confidently. He might not trust the UN, or even necessarily the ITSDA as a whole, but he trusted his fellow Agents completely and without reservation.
"The first response team look after their own. You'll get by. I mean, you're one of the good guys, right?"

Crimson looked around his bed, and tried to find his belongings. They'd carried him in with nothing, but someone have evidently come along later with his resupply bag. He pulled open the heavy gym case's zip and found that it had been packed with his civilian gear. Good! That meant that he wouldn't have to take 'the walk of shame' from the ITSDA's medical facilities to his desk in tattered Kevlar- which was at least something.

He flashed his reassuring grin, the practised but convincing one that he usually threw out whenever cameras were rolling.
"That's the most important thing to remember. Heroes can do no wrong, and you're one of them, so you can't possibly be at fault. Simple!"

"Yeah...I mean, compared to the alternative..."

Brianna smiled a little, glad that someone was here to tell her that there was someone to look out for her and that things weren't so bad. It didn't matter if she knew it herself; it just felt better for someone to tell her, to show that they knew too. Phoenix was treated to quite a sight when he called Brianna a hero; her face flushed crimson and she looked down so her hair hid her face, mumbling embarrassedly;

"Th-th-thank you..."

Brianna never thought of herself as a 'hero'. She wasn't nearly brave enough to do what Phoenix, Frank, Jill, and Sarah did almost daily. She was just a wallflower with a gift that healed people. Actually being called a 'hero' for what small contributions she made at the battle of Gaultown, or even back here at HQ, was such a compliment to what she did that the girl could hardly accept it. At least, not eloquently so.

Regardless of how she felt, Brianna shook her head to clear it and gave Phoenix's wound-free torso one final look-over before saying with a satisfied smile:

"Well, I'm done here. You can leave right now since your wounds have been completely healed. Otherwise, try not to get shot in the future and you should be okay."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:15, Mon 04 July 2016.

Dan smirked wickedly as Teresa showed obvious distress at the compliment. He considered doing it again, but reluctantly decided that praising her just for adorable reactions probably wouldn't be all that heroic. Shame. Most Agents he dealt with were too emotionally closed for him to get any kind of rise, but he was glad to see that current events hadn't hardened the Medic's spirits too much.

"Try not to get shot? That's some good advice. 'Wish I'd heard it earlier."
Phoenix's voice was laced with sarcasm, although his cheer filled grin prove that he was only joking.
"I'll keep it in mind- although Namidias might have other plans."

He stretched his arms above his head, and checked himself for further injuries. There were none. Besides his bullet wounds his black eye, fractured knuckles, and torn muscles had all been set right. Best of all that strange drug was out of his system. Crimson mentally compared Brianna's healing Gift to his experiences with Sherry and noted that he didn't seem to have the giddy 'high' of overcharged power that he'd gotten in Chicago- but that probably also meant that he wouldn't suffer the subsequent 'crash' either. Good news.

He pulled on a t-shirt from his gear bag to replace his ruined torso armour. Daniels sense of subtlety was, as always, completely absent- and even though the packed civilian clothes were meant to be used to blend him into crowds when an ITSDA jumpsuit wouldn't be appropriate he'd still elected to only pack in a single shade of bright crimson. Some habits died hard.

"If I'm free to go I'd better get to my desk. Jill and the other higher ups might want a report -and the last time I skipped out on paperwork someone sent Knight after me. That guy doesn't listen to excuses."
Being discharged immediately was better than he'd hoped for. If he was free to continue his work he'd also be free to work past his earlier whining, and return to the daunting task of damage control. It wasn't a job that he particularly relished, but he'd take it over wasting time on a recovery bed in a heartbeat.

"You're one hell of an Agent- I mean that seriously..."
Crimson decided that he wasn't above prodding Brianna for reactions after all.
"...Have you ever considered fieldwork? -not that we don't need medics, of course! -and I know that you weren't recruited for the frontlines -but I think you'd have a talent for it, is all I'm saying."
That was actually true, and not just an attempt at flattery by Phoenix. In her first engagement she'd blown up and imprisoned Schwartze Augens leader, and disabled several other Namidians. Although the circumstances around the event had been exceptional Crimson still found it hard to connect the reports he'd read to the shy self-conscious girl. He decided that he ought to at least gauge her opinion on the idea.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:30, Wed 06 July 2016.

Brianna's smile faded at the mention of field work and she shifted in her seat, folding her hands on her lap and looking at them with a troubled expression.

"I-I did... I did sign up for field work..."

She swallows, suddenly looking really uncomfortable before saying quietly:

"...Gaultown was my first mission..."

Phoenix rose from the bed and found a handbasin within his recovery room. He'd been in enough hospitals to know that readily available sanitation facilities were usually a requirement; they were installed for the sake of hand decontamination before examinations, although he abused this one to wash the worst of his last battle off his face and forearms. There was something self-concious about the action, as though he were only trying to keep his attention focused on anything but Brianna's discomfort.

"Meh... That's no bad thing. I think you're looking at it all in the wrong way."

Dan's automatic response surprised even himself. Brianna had been through a lot, and the battle of Gaultown had obviously left a dark impression on her. The absolute last thing he wanted was to ruin the mood of the woman who'd just spared him a lot of suffering, and so the fact that he couldn't sympathise with the Medic's confession slightly concerned him.

"Think about it; on your first mission you survived the very worst that Namidias could throw at you. You've done better than survive. You've even said it yourself- your intevention saved lives."
He turned away from his self-concious preening and shot Brianna a look. Instead of his usual cocky grin he looked dead serious, for a change. The tone of his voice shifted slightly when he spoke next, as though he were quoting someone else's philosophy.
"It doesn't matter whether you decide that you want to hold back and soothe injuries, or to punch holes through your enemies, or simply try to give hope to the helpless... It doesn't even matter what anyone else says or thinks... people have an intrinsic idea of 'good' and 'evil', and the most important thing for powerful people like us is to always trust our instincts to do what's best. Just because Gaultown got messy it doesn't give anyone an excuse to hold back or second-guess themselves, because that's what Namidias wants."
Crimson realised that he might be projecting some of his own current insecurities onto Brianna, but the speech seemed relevant all the same.

Phoenix's advice was met with a deafening silence. Brianna didn't know how to respond to Crimson's words; on the one hand, it was sound advice to think that the worst was behind her and no other assignments would be as bad as Gaultown. There wasn't any denying that, but still...he was so fast in doing so, it was like he barely thought about his response. Brianna was literally at a loss for words. She should have been angry that Phoenix was so quick to twist the horror that was Gaultown into a positive event. Any rational person who had seen what she had would be justifiably furious with Crimson.

Fortunately for Phoenix, Brianna was no longer able to feel anger. Unfortunately, that was because she had hired a secretary.


...that's ten.

Oh, lord...

He makes ten. Now I have some work to do.

Valorum...

What?

Valorum, please...

No! I told you what I would do if one more person said something like that! This was the last straw!

Please don't...


Phoenix hears a sharp cacophany of noises, like a shattering crystal chandelier, and, when he looks around, sees a bizzare sight. From seemingly nowhere, a small tesseract made of orange and gold light appears next to Brianna, unfolding and sprouting thin arms to make a vaguely humanoid shape. In a few seconds, the frame is layered over and molded into the shape of a bald, masculine humanoid with the physique of an olympian athlete. He's wearing clothes made out of a material similar to his 'skin'; a pair of loose pants, a long-sleeve dress shirt, and some boxy shoes. Even though he's made solely of light, this 'man' managed to look like a Crossfit freak working a desk job at a bank or something. The only present details that showed any kind of emotion were two searing scars on the man's face, holding a pair of flaming golden 'eyes', along with a distinct set of eyebrows.

Valorum, in his 'civilian attire', as it were, steps in front of a shocked Brianna and fixes Crimson with a smoldering glare before growling:

"And here I thought your obscene cult of fans and paparazzi had forced you develop some tact, Mister Crimson."

The honorific mention of Crimson's name was thick with sarcasm, as if calling him 'Mister' had suddenly become meaningless and devoid of any respect.

Daniel's determined speech didn't seem to have it's desired effect. It would obviously take a lot more than a few clichéd declarations to convince Brianna that she should put her past missions behind her. He wondered if it might be wise to go back and retry his statement- but he decided against it on the grounds that couldn't see anything wrong with a word he'd said. He had become Jaded to the stress of combat, and the heartrending sight of death, long before he'd joined the ITSDA. It had bothered him, once, but that reaction had been ruthlessly trained out of him throughout years of practical experience.

His own thoughts were silenced as a far more demanding noise filled his ears. A sound like shattering glass. The instant he saw Brianna's 'Avenging Angel' he recognised Valorum for who he was; He had never seen the man (if such a term applied) firsthand, but having read Teresa's file it was easy to make the connection. What was less easy to process was the scolding that the golden warrior threw at him almost the instant that it'd formed.

Something in Valorum's tone sounded disappointed, or perhaps disgusted. Daniel wasn't intimidated by the guardians stature or obvious unnatural aura, but the accusations he suffered seemed to cut him deeply. Phoenix actually took a step backward as his own name was thrown at him like an insult.

"I'm...    I...   "

He almost apologised, but his stubborn nature seized the words in his throat. Like hell he was going to apologise for trying to reassure a fellow Agent! -even if he had been tactless about it! His fist clenched in anger before he stabbed a finger towards Firenze.

"First! Don't you dare talk about my fans like that! If you have a problem you direct it at me!"

Phoenix met Valorum's stern disapproval with aggression. He couldn't defend his lack of sensitivity, but he certainly couldn't ignore the slur against his followers! He responded to the Angels accusation with one of his own.

"Secondly! At least I'm trying put this whole mess into perspective!-"
Crimson's voice turned from angry to sincere. He almost sounded as though he were pleading with Valorum.
"-it's not fair! Everyone's been beating themselves up over Gaultown, but the ITSDA didn't fail their mission at all! Just 'cuz everyone else has fallen for Namidian propaganda it doesn't mean we should!"

"Valo-!"

Brianna stood up from her seat, shocked at her guardian angel for such an outburst. Before she could finish his name, though, Valorum held a hand up and shot Brianna look that made her protest die in her throat. Having silenced his host, the angel swiveled his burning stare back onto Crimson and said menacingly:

" Firstly, I don't give a damn what those Namidian scumbags say. Those monsters can burn in the blackest pits of hell for all I care, because they brought our retaliation upon themselves. They have no right to act civil now, not if one of their leaders was seen participating in an active warzone and killing our comrades.

And your little gang of journalists and starry-eyed fans isn't even my concern. I just thought that having such a cult-following would have given you cause to silver your tongue a little. 'I think you're looking at it all wrong'? Do tell me, then, how to properly look at the farce that was Gaultown."

The flames in Valorum's eyes rose and brightened as he growled:

"Because you're right about one thing: this mess needs to be put into perspective, but you, of all people, are not the one to do it. What were you doing while Gaultown was being torn apart; signing someone's shirt? Hamming it up for the papparazzi? Stopping another third-rate criminal from swiping someone's wallet? What? What battlefront were you fighting on to give you this 'perspective' we so sorely lack?!"

Pheonix's pleading expression wavered, and as Valorum insulted him yet again he felt his fist instinctively clench. The air around him grow a few degree's warmer... and it wasn't just his angry imagination.

"How can you call Gaultown a farce?! How dare you! Yeah, it got rough, but we-" Phoenix checked himself "-YOU captured some of the most dangerous Gifted the ITSDA's ever faced!"
His hands uncleanched with a force of will, and stabbed another finger at Valorum. His tone hardened seriously, although it couldn't help but betray a tinge of sadness.
"...it sucks that we lost some of our friends. It really sucks. -but Scrap and all the rest knew what they were getting into. No one ever signed into the ITSDA because they wanted an easy retirement."

"I'm going to work through my grief by making life as difficult for Namidias as I possibly can- So yeah! I'm gonna' be grinning into cameras every single day! I'm gonna' convince whoever will listen that the Namidian Wave are hurting as hard as we are! Even if we can't always protect everyone it's my job to give people the hope that we can!"

"Gaultown was a disaster for the ITSDA, but we need to pick ourselves back up and get back in the game. The public are depending on us."

Daniel was getting angry. He had to take a breath to keep himself from getting too impassioned and speaking too far out of turn- but Valorum's last statement had hit close to his nerves, and before he was able to stop himself he'd taken a step close towards the Angel to return his answer in the same threatening growl.

"...by the way, while you were in Gaultown I was tied up in Chicago. When you'd met up with Jackson and the ground teams I was trying to keep Namidian assassins away from the Brazilian President; I remember getting shot a whole bunch in the back, and using my last breath of consciousness to try and nail an Augen lieutenant. So no. I wasn't signing shirts."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Mon 22 Aug 2016.

Valorum just stared at Phoenix as he rationalized his argument, eyes burning. Meaningless drivel, in his opinion. The angel only reacted when Phoenix said he was in Chicago during the battle at Gaultown; his eyes narrowed even more and the fire inside them changed from burning gold to molten white. Valorum leaned towards Phoenix so that he was looming over him and snarled one word:

"Precisely."

Phoenix's temper flared again, and another spike in the rooms temperature prove that he was more than ready to escalate his argument to it's natural conclusion. Valorum's holier-than-thou judgement was grating sharply against his nerves- yet, somehow, he didn't feel as though venting his anger against Brianna's guardian would improve his mood in the slightest. If a villain had been talking down to him in the same way Crimson wouldn't have hesitated to punch them through the thickest wall in the room- but as emotionally volatile as he was, he still held onto enough of his senses to know that infighting with other Agents was only going to make him feel worse.

"So... what? Because I wasn't there I don't get an opinion?"

It took visible effort, but Phoenix forced himself to take a step back from Valorum, put aside his pride, and let go of some of the strain in his voice. He diverted his eyes from Valorum's as he struggled to try and find some common ground with the spirit, without apologising directly.

"I just... It's just that I don't know what to say... Everyone's obviously cut up about how that operation turned out, but I don't feel as though the away team did anything wrong..."

Brianna had begun sweating visibly in the background as the two guys in the room caused the temperature to spike. Valorum, sensing weakness, closed the gap made by Phoenix stepping back, stepping forward so his imposing, towering figure, along with the flaming wings slowly rising from behind his back, wouldn't lose its desired psychological effect as he said in a low, disgusted voice:

"Yes.You. Weren't. In. Gaultown. That's the point. You can't 'put things in perspective' when you have none. You weren't there, and we were, so you have no right to say 'you're looking at something wrong' when you never saw it yourself! If a tree falls in the woods and everyone but you hears it, you can't say everyone else heard it wrong!"

"Valorum..."

Brianna tried to step in again, but she shut her mouth and swallowed hard as a sliver of Valorum's burning gaze turned to her. With his charge silent again, Valorum continued speaking with a low, dangerously quiet voice;

"So allow me to give you some perspective, Phoenix; if a small team of Augen commandos turned you, an experienced gifted agent with a volatile, room-clearing gift, into a piece of swiss cheese before you could so much as sneeze on one of them, what do you think it looked like when that team, with tenfold reinforcements, no hostages to draw their aim, and an entrenchment like the cliffs of Normandy, had a battalion of run of the mill DA soldiers charge them head-on? Well? What did that look like?"

Phoenix swallowed hard as Valorum stepped again into his personal space, and responded to his attempt to de-escalate the situation with aggression. He visibly grit his teeth and growled under his breath as another barrage of accusations found their mark.

'Just apologise.'
His thoughts urged him.
'You really don't want to cause a scene infront of the medical staff, you know that provoking Valorum won't end well for anyone, and... Let's face it... Valorum's scorn isn't entirely unearned. Just apologise! Apologise and walk away! It's the only wining move here!'

Crimson's traitorous inner thoughts ran rampant as Valorum stared him down. With a force of will and conscious effort he forced himself to speak against his usual stubborn impulses.

"I...    I...    "

The words he needed refused to form. Frankly he was too pissed off to simply put his anger aside! What he really wanted to spit a reply back to the Angel; to tell the creature that he'd only offered his opinion in the hopes of reassuring the clearly troubled Brianna, and that it wasn't fair to throw his own recently botched mission back into his face, and that he would have happily given anything to have that day turn out differently than it had. He wanted to state that he'd earned the right to comment on the battle from having suffered similar trauma himself, and that for a being who'd chastised Daniels lack of tact that Valorum seemed to be exercising very little of it himself...

Most of all he just wished that his fellow agents would stop emotionally torturing themselves over the incident.

"I..."

All of those factors, and more, pushed Crimson to the brink of losing his self control. What finally broke his nerve, however, was when the Angel turned around to silence Brianna for the second time in this exchange! Phoenix could tolerate the man's aggressive behaviour by assuming that Val had simply been overprotective of his host, but the single action he'd taken to overule the medic seemed inexcusable! The little switch in Daniels head that identified Valorum as either a 'Friend' or 'Foe' slammed down like a hammer!

"I'm...  I am SO sorry, Brianna!-"
Phoenix's eyes glanced past Valorums attempted intimidation, and flashed genuine regret and desperation to the girl that'd helped heal him only minutes ago.
"-please forgive me!"

His apologetic eyes snapped away from Brianna and instantly hardened into unleashed fury as they met Valorums! With an ineloquent roar in place of his usual battlecry his fist ignited and lanced out to crack Valorum across the jaw!

"Stop it, both of you!"

That desparate cry rings off the walls as Phoenix's fist hits this golden, hard-light barrier that appears out of nowhere, catching his attack before Valorum can be hit by it. The angel, though he was ready for combat, wasn't prepared for an interruption like this. His eyes widen and their colour visibly cools to their usual golden-orange before he turns around to look at Brianna. The medic has her halo floating over her head once again, a shimmering aura surrounding her outstretched hands, and a look of concentration etched into her face. Valorum, shocked, begins indignantly:

"Brianna! What-?"

But Brianna interrupts him, locking eyes with Phoenix and saying with a genuine, pleading look and voice:

"Phoenix, thank you! I really appreciate you trying to comfort me because I needed someone to say what you said and it was the right thing to do. There's no denying that, but Valorum is right; what happened in Gaultown happened to me and to the others who were there. It was our experience, we have to deal with the scars it left on us, and nothing can change that."

Her gaze shifts to Valorum and she continues:

"But that doesn't mean we're alone in this, Valorum. Just like how it took teamwork and trust to win in Gaultown, it'll take that same trust and teamwork to win this war at all! And those soldiers who died to save us? Imagine what they would be thinking watching you, fighting among your friends about who's more righteous!"

Valorum flinches, a little stung that his own argument was thrown back at him by the girl he was supposed to protect, and takes a few steps back from Phoenix as the barrier between the two of them falls. Brianna sighs and drops her arms, summoning every ounce of social grace she can and continuing:

"You're both right; you, Phoenix, for trying to take something positive away from such a terrible thing, and you, Valorum, for saying that it's my ordeal to learn from and overcome without anyone trying to mitigate what I went through. And I have learned something from Gaultown. It just...took me until now to put it all together..."

Phoenix's fist flashed fire as it rebounded off the transparent wall!

*KRAC-CK!*

Brianna's unexpected interruption seemed to force Crimson to rethink his actions. His angrily boiling blood simmered down, and while the Girl made her speeches and Valorum backed off by a few but significant steps he couldn't help but feel a stab of shame at how easily he'd lost control of his temper. Likewise, as Brianna talked he felt his conscience grow guilty at how he'd handled the argument. Crimson held his tongue during the conversation, and when the barrier separating himself and Valorum finally dissipated he couldn't quite bring himself to look either in the eye.

"...I wasn't trying to dismiss how awful Gaultown was. I'm sorry if it sounded as though I were..."
His voice had muted. Not just losing it's hard angry edge, but he'd also forgotten to maintain the false timbre of heroism that he put on whenever he was 'in character'.

Daniel bit his lower lip anxiously as he weighed his next words with exceptional care, deciding that maybe he could afford to exercise a little tact after all.
His usual direct and over-the-top manner of speech worked well when it came to impressing spectators, threatening villains, or showing off to cameras... but it was woefully unsuited to this kind of task. His mind fired through several possible ways to try and turn the conversation around, but in the end he was forced to concede to Brianna's wishes; it wasn't his place to comment on the Gaultown battle, and as much as he desperately wanted to say something to help put things right it had been made crystal clear that Brianna wanted to come to terms with the event in her own way.

"I wish I could help, but okay. Yeah. I understand... Just so long as you know that I- no- the whole ITSDA, have your back."

The last part of Brianna's sentence piqued his curiosity, however. Curiosity was a thousand times better than guilt, and Phoenix grappled onto the emotion with two figurative hands.
"What did you figure out from Gaultown?"

Seeing that both Valorum and Phoenix have calmed down and are listening, Brianna takes a breath, steels herself, and speaks her mind:

"I learned that I can't stay here. I can't just keep sitting here, cooped up in HQ, helping whoever comes in the door, and when I'm on a mission, I can't rely on everyone else to carry my weight for me. I have to start acting like a member of a team because that's what I am. That's what we all are; gears in a clock, and unless we all spin right, we won't work right, and we won't win."

Brianna looks at Phoenix specifically and a hint of pride enters her voice as she starts walking towards him, speaking as new determination rises in her voice:

"Which is why, no matter what'll come back to haunt me from Gaultown, I'm going to keep signing up for missions, and I'll keep going out into the field, and I won't stop until I know that what happened in Gaultown will never. Happen. Again. That's how I'm going to work through my grief; by saving people, by fighting every day if I must, and by being what we need more of in this army; a hero."

She stops walking and stands in front of Phoenix, looking up at him and smiling a grateful smile as she finishes:

"If anyone should be thankful for being healed today, it's me. Before now, I wasn't brave enough to admit that I was needed out there so badly, but now that the worst is behind me, I have to make sure the worst is past for all of us. I owe everything I'm going to do from this point forward to you giving me the courage to move forward. So thank you, Phoenix, for being the hero that I needed."


Valorum, meanwhile, is just staring at Brianna with shock, confusion, and slight horror writ on his face. It looks like this came out of left field for him.

That hadn't been the answer Daniel expected! After making a fool out of himself he'd assumed that his earlier suggestions had fallen flat, and he especially thought that the fact that she'd seen firsthand the damage that combat could cause might cause her to avoid frontline duties as much as she possibly could...

Yet that wasn't the case! Brianna had more than enough reason to walk away, but instead looked as though she could face her demons head on! The surge of pride that Phoenix felt wasn't borne from the sudden an unexpected praise he'd received, but rather how Teresa had surprised him!

"Brianna, You are so freakin' cool!"

His muted mood broke to a huge grin and wide shining eyes. He partially shared the horrified concern that Varorum seemed to have, but all of that was pushed aside out of sheer excitement.

"Yeah, We need more heroism in our ranks! I'm really glad you see it that way!"

"I already knew that you were brave, and I know that you are gonna' do important work no matter what anyone would have said so I have to to refuse your credit... but I know that Jill, Myself and Glitch and everyone else could use the help. The sooner the ITSDA get's back to full strength the sooner we can put the 'Wave down for good, right?"

Brianna was excited. She hadn't felt this confident in a long time, and as terrifying as the idea of another Gaultown was, that didn't outweigh this high of conviction she was suddenly riding on. She smiled and nodded, saying:

"Yeah. And the sooner that happens, the sooner we can make the world a peaceful one again."

Valorum, meanwhile, had buried his face in his palm and was turning over this revelation in his head before he sighed and said:

"If I knew that was how you felt, I'd have nailed my jaw shut."

Excavating his face from his hand, Valorum looked at Phoenix and said grudgingly:

"If that's how you feel now then I'm in your debt, Mr. Crimson. It seems in our argument, you've pulled my charge out of a place I've barely been keeping her from sinking into. You have my thanks, as well as my apologies."

And with that, Valorum swoops into a stiff bow.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:43, Thu 10 Nov 2016.

"Eh?"

Phoenix was dumbstruck by Valorum's sudden admission. He hadn't expected the imposing angel to actually back down from the argument. Not so suddenly, at least. He felt a flush of colour raise across his face and he averted his eyes from the other man in shame as he remembered losing his own cool.

"It's- it's okay, man. I shouldn't have tried to hit you... Sorry."

Phoenix bit his lower lip. This whole situation was beginning to feel a little awkward, despite it's happy resolution. More importantly he was starting to think that he was deliberately extending the conversation so that he could put off going back on duty; normally it took physical restraint to keep Daniel from performing his ITSDA and Vigilante work, but his failure had disheartened him. Brianna had repaired his motivation, though, and he decided that the time had come to throw himself back into where he'd left off.

"Now that you've fixed me up..."
Daniel winced as he spared a glance towards his blood-soaked hospital bed. It almost seemed unbelievable that only a few hours ago that he'd been placed their with most of a magazine's worth of ammunition inside him, had he not been there himself.
"...I think I should get cleaned up, and give my report to my mission handlers. Maybe try to smooth things over with the NYPD and press as well."

So saying, he left the room with a final grateful nod to Brianna. He had a lot of work to do, but hearing the girls bold pronouncement had reinvigorated his spirit, and he felt suddenly determined to get back to work.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Sun 11 Dec 2016.

Brianna waved with a smile, calling after Phoenix:

"Don't over-exert yourself for about a day and you should be fine!"

Now that they were alone in the room. Valorum straightened up from his bow and folded his arms across his chest.

"I really wish you told me how you felt earlier, Brianna. I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself just then if you had."

Brianna's gaze shifted to the floor, but there was no shame in her voice as she replied:

"I know, but like I said, it wasn't until now when you and Phoenix began saying it aloud that I thought about it."

Valorum just grunted affirmingly. In the end, as long as Brianna was okay...

"So, what now m'lady?"

Brianna was silent for a while before saying:

"I think we should take that assignment."

Valorum didn't move.

"...are you sure?"

"Positive."

"...*sigh* If you think it best, then I can only follow you, but remember, it's still dangerous."

"I know, but it's been a month. It's high-time I faced my demons, literally in this case."

Valorum was silent, standing where he was and deep in thought. Eventually, he discorporated and became just a voice in Brianna's head again.

Let's get the paperwork done. The sooner you do this the better.

...yeah.

And with that, the two left the room.

-----

Nobody knew about the file Brianna had received barely a week prior. The thought of accepting the task held therein haunted her until after that encounter with Phoenix. Even now, it remained open on the desk in her room, awaiting but a signature and a delivery for it to become a reality.


Agent Brianna Teresa Invictus,

You have been specifically selected for the following task based on your Gift, including its healing capacity and your supernatural empathy. In order to maintain maximum security and to properly correct behaviour of inmate 82251, the ITSDA has requested you to transfer to the maximum security prison in Maine. Here you will join the present psychoanalytical staff and work with inmate 82251, otherwise known as Kane Isaiah Armani, as additional psychoanalytical and therapeutic staff.

Your preliminary objective is to assist the present staff with learning about Kane's powers and state of mind, while your ultimate objective is to totally rehabilitate Kane Isaiah Armani so he can return to normal functionality. In doing so, you will be removing a clear and present danger from the world and reducing the load on the ITSDA in its global operations.

Pending your hearing at the Hague, the ITSDA High Command reserves the right to terminate this contract in the case of a guilty verdict. However, you will be able to operate until the date of your trial without interruption, during which you will retain all of the benefits of being an ITSDA agent while gaining the additional benefits of becoming temporary prison staff.

To accept this mission, sign below, and you will be transported to Maine on the following date.


And a reality it would soon be.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Thu 05 Jan 2017.