ic The Slow and the Sensible (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hmph." Watchdog made a noise slightly muffled by her helmet, Ashley doing her best to hold back the surreal feeling of hysteria she'd felt ever since she'd realized Danica had just walked straight into the agency command post. "Caught them off-guard," she finally growled, after pushing through what sounded like a faint choking sound. "...did the job, didn't it?"

 

Judy frowned, then murmured with a little more edge than she usually used with her sister, "Ah don't think talkin' like you were gonna shoot people is helping any!" 

 

"We'll talk about this later," said Ashley, coughing slightly as her tone grew more reassuring. "You know I wasn't going to shoot those people." Well maybe Graves and his stupid idea of using the damn Claire's as the command center! 

[KnightDisciple]

Micah was definitely giving Ashley some side-eye.

 

"Yeah, the breaking and shooting seemed a bit much? And I'm saying this as a dude who's probably going to rack up a bit of collateral if I do somehow end up going into hero-ing at all."

 

He sighed and shrugged.

 

"I guess the important part is everyone's okay and safe? Though...don't you have, like taser-guns, or something? I mean, they'd still hurt, but they wouldn't hurt-hurt people, yeah?"

[Electra]

Danica seemed loathe to admit it out loud, but her face said clearly that she hadn't been entirely sure Ashley wouldn't shoot those people. She diplomatically changed the subject instead. "But at least we got Judy her dress, and now we've got a case study to talk about in class, just like the upperclassmen! I just wish I'd thought to record it, but I was too busy freaking out," she admitted frankly. "Maybe next time." She turned to Micah. "And if you've made any progress on those shoe things, I'd love to try them out! I was super-awkward in there, the aisles were so close that if I'd had to retreat, I'm not sure I couldn't turned around!" The mental picture had her laughing, for all it could've been a tight spot. 

[KnightDisciple]

"Yeah, glad you got yourself the dress, Judy. It looks nice."

 

Micah shifts a bit in his seat, trying to not be self-conscious at that statement. Danica's question about the motorized shoes makes him refocus.

 

"Still working on them. I think I'm close; I've got the pre-alpha model down, but they're way too big right now. The next step is shrinking everything without losing the performance."

[Avenger Assembled]

After a little while of talking the group found themselves back at Claremont - and heading straight for the headmaster's office. Ashley went in first, leaving her helmet behind with Judy, and after a few minutes all the students from the outing rotated through with Headmistress Summers. For Micah and Danica, anyway, Callie was reservedly sympathetic - reassuring them that they weren't in any trouble and that they'd handled the situation well, but asking them for exact details about exactly what it was that had happened during their shopping trip. It was hard to know exactly what had happened when she spoke with Ashley and Judy - after all, her office was soundproof. But the latter had emerged looking nervous; and the former, scowling. When they were all back inside, Callie looked them over and said, "Well. This was certainly an interesting day, wasn't it?" She seemed - maybe a touch more heated than she usually was when dealing with unruly students? 

Steepling her fingers, she looked at the group. "Ms. Holmes, Ms. Smith, Mr. Roebuck, you handled the events today quite well. I'll be placing a note of merit in your files, so well-done." 'Gamifying education' had been the buzzword lately; which meant notes of merit would give them time out of classes, rewards for their teams, and other benefits deciding how they decided to spend them. 

 

"As for you, Ashley, I am - disappointed to hear about the display you put on. Encouraging other students to talk like...the worst kind of vigilante is not acceptable for a student at Claremont. Consider yourself confined to your dorm except for school activities until the start of the month." 

 

Ashley rolled her eyes and snarked, "Oh really. So you're gonna lock _both of us_ up for a week because of something that wasn't my fault?" 

 

"It will encourage you to be more thoughtful about your actions and plans in the future. And I didn't say anything about your sister, Ms. Smith," said Callie frostily. "As far as I'm concerned, she handled herself with distinction."