Gabriel picked up his phone. He wasn’t waiting for too long but it’d be longer than he would have been happy with if Jun weren’t here. Considering this close a call, however, he’d have to reconsider the way he operated. For now, he’d keep that mask of his close to his chest. If he needed to, he’d get out of here before the police arrived, too. He wouldn’t want to be caught with this out in public. He may not have made a name for himself yet but this could be evidence against him in the future.

“Hey, authorities. My name is Gabriel and I’m kind of getting attacked by a bunch of crooks here.” His tone was far too light. The criminals were already insistent on finishing the job but he pressed their buttons even more. “No, no. I’m fine. Well, for now. My friend Jun might beat them all up if they try to put a finger on me! But, uh, anyway yeah we need help immediately! Thank you.”

Gabriel hung up.

“Ope,” He laughed nervously. “Forgot to tell them our address.”

The hammer connects... but not who you'd expect. It doesn't make sense but the smallest one of the bunch sacrifices themselves and takes the hit. They go flying and his eyes turn into those little circles as they fall limp onto the ground

"Did I say you could nap?" The boss says. Immediately, they snap out of their consciousness and awakens. They apologize via bow and ask for forgiveness. "I didn't say to beg, either. You know the drill."

The little guy prepares to jump in front of Jun's next attack and annoy the ever-loving hell out of her.

Meanwhile muscle marches onward and throws a haymaker toward Jun. One clean hit and she’ll be done for. After this brat is chucked to the side, they’ll give the real headache a world-o’-hurtin’.

---

junsuina

“If you plan on becoming a hero, you will deal with the media. More often than not, the path of least resistance is through compromise. Laugh now, give your quotables, and walk off before the headache sets in.” Gabriel looked Elijah up and down. “Unless you plan on being your authentic self?”

He stifled a laugh.

“Deployable like a cat. Mrow.” That has got to get a chuckle out of him, right? A chortle, mayhaps? “I could always add a sixth finger. With your attitude, I bet you’d love to give the cameras two middle fingers with one hand. Lie and say it has ‘your special peace sign’ and they’ll eat it right up.”

Another ridiculous suggestion but it was fun to tease the serious types. They showed the world just how fragile they were. Guarded, inflexible… it reminded him of his younger self. A self that knew not the value of misdirection.

“Looks like the stuff I need to fix your arm is in the other room. Because of the production, it’s gonna take a few days to clear out my rig and then build your arm. It’ll be done in two days unless you want, like, a fire extinguisher or something. Then that’d make it three.”

---

“Comedy is not universal.” The elitism dripped from Gabriel’s tongue. In the same way that Elijah found him unfunny, he found countless artists — some of whom were renowned for how funny they were — entirely disappointing. “But that does give me an idea.”

At this point the rough sketch for the arm is complete. The anatomy is functional, even if some of the lines were wobbly at best. He’s not an artist, after all! The rough will get the job done as long as he has the materials. Gabriel starts shuffling through the laboratory.

“I need better jokes. You need to laugh when things aren’t funny.” He shuts one cabinet and opens another. Gabriel shuts that too before moving on to a different countertop, tapping his fingers on the countertop. Where would it be?

“We can make this a weekly thing. I come with a tight five and you sit in a one-man audience and pretend to laugh. You can write a real score for each joke and then I’ll rate your laugh based on how funny you thought my joke was.”

Absolutely convoluted. A waste of time. But he needed to waste time because… he couldn’t find it.

Dammit. He sighed. It’s in the movie room.

“Knives? Grappling hook?” Gabriel returns to the sketch and starts taking notes. Then he does some preliminary drawings and shows how he’d incorporate the designs. “I’m open to feedback if you have any.”

---

The support labs were busier than normal.

If you stuck your head in, you would see them marching around with loads of cameras, wires, and similar equipment. At the center of it all was Gabriel. He was something of a control tower for the operations at hand. He had a big project coming up that would determine whether or not he’d graduate from UA University. He could have managed it on his own if he wasn’t wasting time playing vigilante and accomplishing not much of anything.

Someone pokes their head in and almost gets it cleaved off by a clumsy first year nearly dropping a camera.

“OH GOD! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!” A throaty, raspy voice. A type of panic not often seen in Gabriel. Considering the investments he’s already made, he might have been tried for murder if the camera had hit the ground.

“Sorry! Scared! Door!” They pointed at the door where Elijah was at.

“HOLD IT WITH BOTH HANDS, CHRIST!” Gabriel was still in a panic. “EVERYONE PUT EVERYTHING WHERE I SAID AND THEN TOUCH NOTHING UNTIL I’M BACK!”

He clears his throat and goes to the door.

“Hey, they’re all busy in there. You can use that empty room over — oh my god.” He noticed the arm or lack thereof. “You need a hand.”

Beat.

“Ugh, that’s insensitive.” He grabs the bridge of his nose and guides Elijah to the other laboratory. “So, is that your prosthetic in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” A grin that let Elijah know Gabriel was too happy with himself. “What are you looking for exactly?”

Once he sees the arm, he’ll know if it’s in his wheelhouse orrrrrr…

---