[Elijah]

It would've been a normal day. Elijah went to his classes as he always did, sitting in the back and writing notes on what lessons he deemed important and sleeping through the ones that weren't. He collaborated with his classmates on thought exercises and projects, giving his own opinions that prompted knee-jerk reactions stemming from his inability to sugarcoat anything. He ran the drills, fought his spars, and exhausted himself on the simulations they did daily.

It would've been normal if Elijah had both of his arms.

The fact was impossible to avoid; if he was going to survive four years of hero training on his skills alone, he needed something more durable than his current prosthetic. Day after day he could sense it wearing down from the damage it had to put up with, and while he could easily have it repaired, he couldn't depend on it when he would eventually be out on the field.

So Elijah went to the university's work shops and requested a new one be made, having dropped off his current and only prosthetic so it could be used for measurements. And that was how he only had his left arm for the past few days.

The reactions he garnered from others were expected. Those who wore their hearts on their sleeves pitied him the most and offered their notes to him, despite the fact he was ambidextrous. The more respectful didn't treat him any differently, and even fought as they usually did during spars. Elijah lost more rounds than he won.

It was easy to forgive though. He was essentially crippled.

Now the one-armed freshman was in the cafeteria eating his lunch, his loose sleeve tied in a knot so it didn't get caught in anything. He never gave the person working on his prosthetic his contact; he figured he didn't need to. He could just drop by in a week for an update.

Maybe he should've to prevent what's about to happen next.

Johanna Larsen

OOC: He would've introduced himself to Jo as Hawthorne, he doesn't use his first name much.

[Johanna Larsen]

It seemed that there were always surprises at U.A., as she had been hanging around on her own working on some blueprints for her own exosuit, she got the unlikely question from another hero student she hadn’t really met before.

”Wait, you want me to design a new arm for you?!” is how she had reacted when they had asked.

With there being a dedicated support course, her own abilities at making gear had mostly been something she had kept to herself, something that she didn’t assume others would want. Besides, she really didn’t want to steal the thunder of all the other support course students who were undoubtedly triply as talented as she’d ever be at making cool support items.

She’d be asking them for her own gear, if she hadn’t spent the past four years designing and maintaining her own exo. But with the new challenge to redesign someone’s prosthetic arm, she honestly couldn’t ever have said no since they asked her directly.

…

Making her way through the hallways with the newly redesigned arm slung on her shoulder her eyes would dart around classrooms and faces to see if she could find the boy. Whom she had totally forgotten to ask their contact info of, since she had already been jumping to design things the moment she had agreed to it.

She was oblivious to the weird looks others gave to the combination of Johanna and metal arm slung across her shoulders. Because she’d finally find the boy, who she remembered called themselves Hawthorne.

With an excited yet unceremoniously thud she’d drop the arm on the table in front of his lunch, her smile beaming as she looked proud and excited to present her creation.

”Heya Haws, I did the thing you wanted. Here’s your new state of the art mega-awesome super-arm.” she’d wax lyrically with her goofy grin.

”I added a little bit more plating to it so it can take a punch, but don’t worry about the weight because I used some of the tech I use for my suit so it’s lighter than it looks. Also since I figured you need to pack a punch, I also made sure it’s big enough to punch even the biggest villain into submission if you need it to… And that’s just the outside, wait till I show off this baby’s big secret!” she exclaimed in a ramble as she hadn’t even made sure if Hawthorne was listening.

”Whatcha think?”

---

Elijah |

[Elijah]

If he were anyone else, he would probably jump from his seat and let out a yelp at the suddenness of an appendage being dropped before him. It was a surprise; who would do that in the middle of the cafeteria during lunch time? Johanna would apparently. And start rambling about said appendage to boot, without a care for the eyes surely directed their way.

That's why he wasn't surprised by her arrival really. She made her presence known a mile away, drawing attention to herself with a shock of orange hair and an arm that lacked an owner slung to her back. Who was now found. Hello, right arm missing. 👋

Once the mechanic was finished, Elijah let himself continue chewing his food as she came in mid-bite, stretching the silence between them for what could only be a comically long time. Only when he swallowed did he actually spoke. "Do you usually drop people's arms in front of them?" He could only trust that she made it as robust as she claimed if letting it fall on the table wouldn't cause any damage.

So he tested it further by dragging the arm towards himself, making no effort whatsoever to reduce the noise.

Turning it this way and that, the Canadian inspected the new piece of gear, nodding at the lack of paint scratches that would've emerged from the action. "Light is good, I specialize more in speed than strength," he admitted with no sign of embarrassment. It was a fact, something he always knew about himself. "Though I know there's situations where packing a punch is necessary."

Brown eyes turned to peer up at her as he gave a thumbs up. "Looks good so far. What's the secret?"

Johanna Larsen

[Johanna Larsen]

”Well, I would rather want to show you, but I doubt the lunch ladies will appreciate it if I showed off its special feature in here.” she grinned with a slightly devilish smile.

It was a big one, and definitely not one for the faint of heart. So casually she pointed to the exit so that they could go outside, and she made sure to nab a granola bar off Elijah’s plate before they left.

A little payment for now, because all that engineering and inventing had worked up a heck of an appetite.

”So well, the best way I can describe the little secret in your fancy new arm as… “Absolutely En Fuego.”” she explained, being as vague as possible.

She took a bite from the bar, but kept part of it from being victimized by her ever voracious appetite.

Once they were outside, she would hop back a few paces before raising her throwing arm. She was no softball champion, but she could probably hit this shot.

”Okay, clench your fist and then whip your elbow backwards!”[/font[ she’d tell him, revealing the way to activate the fancy secret.

And just as he would do so, she’d use her strength to throw half the granola bar straight at Elijah, in the hopes that he would somehow figure out how to use his new tool…

…One of those trial by fire tricks… Literally.

---

Elijah |

[Elijah]

Elijah looked down at the arm as the other student explained further. Something about it was disruptive no doubt, and he did ask for an arm that he could go on the offensive with. When he saw her take his granola bar from his peripheral he sighed. He supposed lunch was over now.

He dumped the contents of his tray in the trash and stacked it on top of the others before taking his new arm and following the girl out. "En... Fuego..." That meant fire didn't it? It was one way to give him an offensive advantage.

With his interest piqued, Elijah removed his jacket once they stopped walking to reveal a sleeveless shirt. He nodded at Johanna's instructions as he attached the device to his shoulder, flexing his new fingers to ensure they moved as they should. "Sounds simple enough." And the gesture would even be reactive, what with the other junior throwing her partially eaten snack his way.

He pulled his arm back as instructed and launched his fist, landing it squarely on the bar. It flew back at towards Johanna, probably in pieces but otherwise fine to eat if she caught it.

Elijah blinked, confused. For all she boasted about it, the arm just seemed the same as his usual one. "Was that it? The lunch staff wouldn't have been mad at that." He paused then amended. "If they would've been then they're hardasses."

Johanna Larsen

[Elijah]

If prosthetic training hadn't taught Elijah patience, he would've thought the time it took for him to realize the full potential of his new arm was embarrassingly long. As it happened though, he knew the work it took to learn how to move a limb that wasn't your own. He'd even go so far and say the progress he made in one lunch break was substantial.

Because it only took one session for him to trigger its superheated plating.

Granted the student who made the arm gave out that information when the first punch did nothing. The arm was supposed to be a furnace, fuelling the fire by suctioning up debris through his palm before heating up the metal to set whatever he punches ablaze. Or at least scorch it a bit.

It worked though. He could feel the heat radiate from his arm. All he had to do at this rate was train himself to trigger all the mechanisms reliably. Satisfied with Johanna's handiwork, he thanked her before walking back to the support labs with her. For as much as he liked the new arm, it wasn't one he wanted to do homework with.

Unless he planned to excuse himself from it by burning it to a crisp.

Johanna Larsen

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

An arm walks into a bar. The bar goes everywhere!

Great job you two!

+ 5000 EXP!!

Elijah - 250 // 5250
Johanna - 0 // 5000

tag: Johanna Larsen Elijah