Scene 28 - October 23rd

Interior MLED Compound, Early Afternoon

Quinn Kaufman

Holly and I had parted ways not long after dinner, but the following morning she texted me to let me know that Legion had been captured - or one of them had, at least, and the other two were have thought to have left the city - and as such the Compound was no longer on high alert. She had invited me to come by whenever I was available to spend more time with the Journeymen, since my visit had been cut short. So after my classes were over for the day, I headed over to the Compound.

The receptionist was the same young man I had met a few days ago, and he greeted me politely. “Welcome back to the Metahuman Law Enforcement Division’s New Venice Compound,” he said as I approached the desk.

“That’s a bit of a mouthful,” I noted.

He shrugged. “There’s a reason it usually just gets called the Compound. Are you here to register with the DMO today, sir?”

I bit my tongue - it wasn’t worth arguing about - and shook my head. “No, I’m here to continue the visitation that was interrupted on the 20th.”

“Of course. I just need to call ahead to confirm your invitation.” He pressed a button and picked up the phone. “Hello, Anima? The young fellow who was visiting a few days ago has come again.” The receptionist listened to her response, then nodded. “I’ll send him right up.” He smiled at me. “You remember the way?”

“Yes. Do I need a new passphrase?”

“Yes, one moment...” he tapped at his keyboard for a few seconds, then said, “your passcode for the elevator will be...” He sighed. “Holy elevating machine, Starling.”

“...really?”

“It’s a random generator, four words from the dictionary. It’s not usually that relevant or coherent.”

“Right, it was ‘correct horse battery staple’ last time.”

The man shrugged. “Anyway, you’re clear to head on up.”

I didn’t bother to pull on a mask from the elevator’s visitor tray this time. After all, I had already decided that I wasn’t going to keep my identity from the heroes, whether or not I ended up joining.