Stranger Things

There was a new visitor on the island: one who did not even know the first thing about the city. If the Titans Tower was not so famous a landmark, she might not have even known where to look. But rather than feel intimidated or insecure, Vali pressed on with her usual calm confidence and poise. She was holding a box of assorted cakes with her two hands. It was a housewarming gift and she hoped that she had at least brought enough. She did not know who the Titans were but they were gracious enough to invite her over so she figured it was the neighborly thing to do to bring something to share. Of course receiving the invitation was odd in the first place. She had yet to make any real friends in the city and then suddenly here was a group asking to meet her out of the blue. Still, stranger things have happened.

As she walked, she came upon the garden in the immediate vicinity of the tower. It looked like someone was taking care of it but was hardly doing a professional job: not that it was a bad thing. It was nice to know someone lived there who appreciated nature. If only there were animals around too, it would have made a nice natural scenery. The next thing she noticed about the garden were the many statues. Most were made of stone except for a group of five that seemed to be made of gold. Even if she didn't know the customs of this country, it was easy enough to guess that those five were important. She wondered who they were as she crossed the bridge going over the small spring.

At last she arrived at the front door. It was a bit puzzling. She couldn't tell where the doorbell was. Or to be more specific, there were several button-like things that could possibly be the doorbell and so she wasn't sure. She gave each one curious stares, unable to decide which to push.

"Don't worry about it. We'll teach you the buttons later." Hotwire's voice came out through the loudspeaker. At this point, he was the one who had to watch the door for every new member. It was a thankless job, but worth it.

"I'm hotwire. I remember you from the airport. Come on in." He said opening the door for her. the dark corridor in front of her would have to lines of light leading to an illuminated elevator. Clearly she was meant to get in it.

She recognized the voice rather easily. She had a good memory for sounds in particular. The speaker was the hero who had come to their rescue from the airport incident. A mental note was made of his introduction as Hotwire. She blinked and looked up, finding a security camera focused on her. She smiled and lightly bowed her head in acknowledgement before entering the building.

As she followed the lights in the dark corridor, she felt like she was walking inside some sort of theme park attraction. Honestly, it made her a little excited. She was half-expecting something to pop-up from the walls leading to the elevator but in the end she reached her destination with nothing unusual happening. The interior of the lift was also lined buttons of all sorts. She obediently stepped inside and waited for the next thing her host would say, wondering what surprises were in store for her.

As she stepped in, hotwire pressed another button. The elevator would lurch to life, smoothly gliding upwards, slowly spinning around to face the main opps center. Everything was running smoothly. No big crimes to stop that day. Ready to receive the new member, hotwire stood up. Any titans who decided to show up would be there.

“Welcome to the control room.” Hotwire said stepping forward.

Vali stepped out of the elevator and into a fairly large room. Her eyes couldn't help but wander around as she took her first few steps inside. Hotwire was already there to welcome her. She wondered if all visitors to the tower got such good treatment, or if there was more to this than just a simple visit. She really ought to clear that up.

She bowed slightly in response to Hotwire's greeting and then handed over the box of cake she brought with a smile. It would only be until after he took it from her that she would be finally free to reach into her pocket and take out her means of communication.

After typing very quickly, she flashed her phone screen to the techy hero. [Thanks for the warm welcome. If it isn't too much trouble to ask, I'm still not sure why I was invited today.]

Before she could get a reply, someone else had shown up, chasing after a little creature she did not recognize. After a small scuffle and explanation of what he was doing, he extended her hand to welcome her as well. She shook his hand and nodded in acknowledgement, smiling warmly.

Once her hand was free again, she typed on her phone. [Hello, it's nice to meet you]

She then placed her hand near her mouth and gestured that she could not speak. She figured it was best to let them know right away before they got any misunderstandings.

Before hotwire could say another word, Kale came crashing through the tower lobby. Hotwire sighed in a very "I give up on life" sort of way.

"It's alright Kale. I'll fix them up... again." He said slightly irritated. He snapped his fingers and a panel on the wall folded out. There was a small box of energy. The top dissolved, and hotwire picked up a set of thongs, before walking over to kale. He grabbed the little gremlin.. elf... whatever... and put it in the cube before it sealed itself. The cube disappeared into the wall, where it would go into storage for a later time.

The girl flashed her phone to hotwire, before he put up his hand.

"no need to show me. I can tell what you're typing." Hotwire said. It was true. With his powers, he could read as she typed. That would be helpful in the field. He then continued right where he left off.

"We asked you here because we want to offer you a spot on the titans team." He said.

A spot on the team. She had briefly looked up the Titans before making her way to the tower. They were a group of heroes who worked together to help people and bring villains to justice. She thought it was a beautiful thing to do good deeds together with friends. But she also wondered if she really deserved to be a part of it. Surely there were others who were more experienced and capable. And yet she was the one who got an invitation. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the reason.

[I'm honored.] She typed before bowing in gratitude. [If you're really okay with me, then I would be glad to lend my abilities to your cause.]

It was convenient that Hotwire could read her messages without her showing him, but it seemed that same couldn't be said for Kale so she made sure he could see her words clearly.

[I guess broken is one way of saying it. I've been mute since birth though so I wouldn't know anything about using voices. No need to be too concerned. It's fine.] She paused for a bit to let him read and then cleared the text to type her next set of words.

If they invited her over, that meant they knew who she was. Though even if that were the case, after having heard both their introductions, it was only polite she did the same.

[I'm Prana by the way. I look forward to working with you.]

She had remembered the elders' instructions to introduce herself with that name when around people who also possessed special talents or whenever she used her own powers. It was supposedly because it was a symbol of her status as a blessed one. In her mind though, it was most likely the old men had read about heroic identities and misinterpreted what it stood for. In any case, the name itself was meaningful to her anyway so she didn't mind using it.

[Is there anything important I need to know or do as a new member? Sadly I'm quite inexperienced in being a hero, but I'm willing to learn.]

Vali paused for a while to think about the question posed to her. Charades? Acting out what she wanted to say? She wondered if Kale meant sign language. Of course she knew that. But more often than not, people she met didn't know how or even understand it. There was no harm in trying though. She slipped her phone back into her pocket. With her hands free, she signed.

(Do you understand?) She began.

(By charades, did you mean sign language? I wasn't sure if you knew it. I prefer this way too but most people don't, that's why I use my phone.)

Now to wait if she would get an actual reply or blank stares.

Hotwire didn't speak sign language, but he was good with machines, which by the sounds of things had been her primary way of communicating to this point. "I'm not as familiar with sign language. I guess I can work on developing a method of communication we can all use." Hotwire said.

"After all, in the field communication is vital. We have a couple hand signals, which are easy to learn." He explained. "And outside of urgent missions, we have patrols to run." He explained. "What would be the best mode of transportation for you?" He asked.

It seemed joining the team already offered its first obstacle. Hotwire preferred typing while Kale preferred sign language. It was a tall order considering people only had so many hands. But then she was not quite your ordinary person. She figured it would have gotten out sooner or later, so there was no better time to show a little bit more of her capabilities. The expression on her face unchanging as though it were the most natural thing in the world, she began her reply signing... and typing at the same time, revealing the extra set of arms that were usually out of sight.

[(That's good to know. I can't really picture working as with a team right now but I hope I don't slow you down when the situation arises.

I don't really have any preference for transport. Whatever suits the team best will do. Back home I normally just run to places.)]

She wiped the screen clean and then resumed typing and signing.

[(About joining the team, does that mean I have to move here in the tower too?)]

She had just settled down at the place she got in the city so she wasn't keen on moving around so soon. But if it was for the good of the team, she was willing to give in.

(Hotwire?)