Chapter 14

“What do you mean “denied”?” A large man with a face half obscured by a single large tattoo asked loudly.
“It’s like we said. We are denying your application.” Trevor said as he stretched one leg out to the side.
They had been interviewing applicants for the last 5 hours straight and everyone’s legs were getting sore from sitting for so long. Trevor had stopped counting after the 50th applicant. They had so far managed to fill three of the four positions they had open. The two people they had hired to help man the storefront were already down in the lobby helping. While neither of them was Metahumans, they both seemed to be on the up and up had considerable people skills. Juliet was currently being trained by Charity, She was 29 and had been working for a pawn shop for the past 5 years that had been utterly demolished during the Invasion. The other’s name was Jed, he was working at one of the shipping yards downtown. But when the association commandeered the place to store downed alien spacecraft, he was left without a place to stay as his own apartment complex had caught fire.
One position in their security detail had also been given to a 21-year-old man. His name was Ashton Thatcher. While he didn’t seem like much of a talker, he was indeed a Metahuman. He had the ability to turn pain into physical objects. This had a nice side effect of actually reliving the pain he was experiencing. If he had a headache, he would just make a small ball and throw it away. The object would eventually evaporate when the pain naturally would have gone away. The more intense the pain, the more durable the object. But of course, if it broke, the pain would come flooding back all at once. Apart from that he also possesses enhanced strength and durability. He had previously been working as a waiter at a family restaurant. He freely admitted that he wasn’t much of a fighter, but he had a good grip on his ability and wouldn’t run from a fight if one broke out. He was currently watching the outside of the building.
“You didn’t even interview me!” The man yelled.
“We told everyone that we will not be offering employment to anyone that has a gang or criminal affiliation.” Trevor said as he leaned back in his chair.
“How do y-” The man began to complain.
“Your tattoos give it away. One, they don’t look professionally done. Meaning you probably had them done in prison. Two, the one on your neck stands for the 12th Street Diablos right?” Trevor said, not actually asking a question.
“I ain’t a member anymore.” The man said clearly angry.
“We can’t take that risk.” Sir said.
“Fuck that! I saw that scrawny boy you hired! You think that I can’t do a better job than him?!” The man yelled.
“Okay, that’s enough…” Darius said obviously fed up with the man.
He raised both hands and let off a flurry of finger snaps. A barrier rose in front of the man as well as to his sides. More walls began to box him in leading back to the door of the office. The man took a reflexive step back, allowing Darius to snap his fingers again. Another wall was erected in front of the first, pushing the man further back towards the door. Darius then began to snap his fingers in a rhythm, forcing the man to turn and run to the door.
“You’ll fucking regret this!” He said as the door slammed shut.
Darius sighed and leaned his head back. He raised his hand to his head and massaged the spot right between his eyebrows. He began to snap his fingers on his other hand to dismiss the barriers.
“Let’s take a break…” Darius said.
“Alright. I’ll go tell everyone be-” Trevor said getting out of his chair but the door opened with a new applicant stepping in.
“Uh, actually we were about to take a break.” Trevor said to the woman that had entered.
“Oh! I’m s-sorry… I thought we were supposed to let ourselves in when someone left.” She said looking worried that she just screwed her interview before even sitting down.
“No, That’s right. We were just going to take a break but… I guess we can do one more interview.” Trevor said nodding to the others as he got up and walked to the door to tell the rest of the crowd.
“T-Thank you.” The woman said to him and gave a small bow.
Darius sighed and then motioned to the woman to sit.
“Alright, could you please introduce yourself?” Sir said to her.
“Y-Yes! My N-Name is Beatrix Maddox, I’m 34. Currently looking for employment!” The woman said nervously.
“We actually already filled the positions for our storefront.” Darius said to her.
“Oh… N-No, I was actually more interested in security.” Beatrix said.
Darius looked at Sir who looked back at him. They then both looked back at The woman sitting before them. She had long wavy jet black hair, her bangs partially obscuring her purple eyes. Darius blinked, Purple eyes? He looked her over more. While the rest of her looked normal he then began to focus on her mouth.
“Your…” Darius said.
The woman pursed her lips as she realized she had been smiling out of nervousness. She turned her head away and looked like she was in the beginnings of having a panic attack.
“Uh, Sorry… Um, you’re a Metahuman right?” Darius asked.
“Mmhmm…” She said nodding her head.
Darius felt a bit bad about staring at it out now. It was clear this woman had a hard time talking to people as it was, but it seemed she had a complex about her teeth. They were sharpened, much like the teeth of a shark but still in a single row like a human. Her K-9’s were also longer and gave her a vampire-like look. Her teeth on the bottom row were off center so when she clenched her jaw, her teeth would interlock cleanly. That coupled with her goth like look made her look more than just a little creepy.
“A-Anyway. Why do you wish to work in security? Can you fight if it comes down to it?” He asked.
“No… I-I can act as your security system though…” She said looking back at him with one hand covering her mouth.
“You don’t have to hide your metahood from us. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.” Darius said to her as sincere as he could.
Beatrix nodded and lowered her hand but kept her lips closed.
“So, What exactly did you mean by acting as a security system?” Sir asked as Trevor opened the door and walked back in.
“What did I miss?” He asked as he walked back to his chair.
“She wants to work security.” Darius said.
“Well… You currently have 173 people in line around the building, 13 people are in the lobby. There are 57 people lined up for interviews in the halls outside.” She said.
“What?” Darius asked.
“I just t-told you how many people are in and around the building.” She said to him.
“…Are you psychic?” Darius asked.
“Oh no… well… kinda… I was told.” She said.
“Told by who?” Sir asked.
Beatrix moved her hand to her shoulder and brushed her hair aside. Sitting there was a large Tarantula. The hair on its carapace and legs were of a deep, almost metallic like blue while its abdomen was that of a rust-like color. Trevor stood up quickly, knocking his chair over. Darius blinked and starred. Sir just sat there unfazed. The large spider simply stared back at them with 8 judgmental eyes.
“This is Alejandro.” She said nervously.
“… Okay… What?” Darius asked as he raised a hand up as if he was waiting to be called on by a teacher.
“Ummm… I can talk to Arachnids. Y-You know, spiders and scorpions and stuff like that.” She said.
“How does that explain how you knew? How did that spider know?” Sir asked.
“Alejandro isn’t the only one I’m talking to… Right now I’m linked to every arachnid in the building.” She said.
“So… all the spiders in the building are giving you information?” He asked.
“Yes! Its like they take little pictures and send me them. I then put them all together in my head and… well… tada!” She said waving her hands but then put them down when she realized how unprofessional that must have looked.
“How many?” Trevor asked in a monotone voice.
“Huh?” She asked looking at the man that had his back to the wall.
“How many are in the building?” He asked.
“Trevor, are you okay?” Darius asked looking over at him.
“You mean arachnids? About a little over 9,000.” she said.
“What! 9,000! There’s no way that can be right!” Trevor let out.
“Trevor… Are you afraid of spiders?” Darius asked.
“Yes! I’m fucking terrified of spiders!” Trevor said looking around paranoid.
“Um… I can control them sort of.” Beatrix said.
“You can?” Darius asked.
“Yeah, They sort of see me as their Queen or something so they sort of take orders from me. I can tell them all to never go near you.” She said.
“You’re hired!” Trevor said bluntly.
“Wait, hold on.” Darius said.
“While I agree with Trevor in that her ability would be indispensable in protecting us all. It would be wise to learn a little more about Miss Madox.” Sir said.
Beatrix nodded and straightened her back.
“What else would you like to know?” She asked.
“Have you committed any crimes in the past that we should know about?” Sir asked.
“No. I’ve never even gotten so much as detention in school.” She said to him.
“Heh, That’s good to hear. What was your job prior to the invasion?” Sir asked.
“I use to do work over the telephone, from home.” She said.
“What kind of work?” Sir asked.
“Telemarketing mostly…” She said wincing a bit.
“Strike one!” Darius said but then laughed.
“Sorry, that was a joke.” He assured her.
“Oh! Aha!” She chuckled a bit relieved.
“Well, I guess that’s really all we need to know.” Sir said and then smiled.
Darius nodded with approval. Trevor gave a quick nod as well. Having her around would be like having thousands of cameras watching for possible intruders. Other than the Association, they would be the most surveilled place in Carver City.
“Alright… Congratulations! You got the job! My name is Darius Grey.” Darius said and stood up and extended his hand to her.
Beatrix blinked and looked at his hand.
“T-Thank you! You won’t regret this!” She said as she took his hand and shook it enthusiastically.
“I’m glad to hear that! Oh! The old guy here is William Henry, but we all just call him Sir. And that scaredy cat is Trevor Douglas.”
“Age is a state of mind. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.” Sir said as he shook her hand.
“Same here Mr… uh… Sir?” She said with a small laugh.
Beatrix turned to Trevor with her hand outstretched. Trevor acknowledged it with a nod and looked over to her shoulder. He coughed as he saw Alejandro raised one of his front legs towards him, and then lowered it towards her hand. Trevor gulped and slowly reached out and shook her hand once and the went back to hugging the wall. Darius sighed at watching a super intelligent spider commanding a human to do as it wanted through intimidation.
“Ahhhh…. Well, That’s two and two. I guess we are done with hiring! Thank god!” He said with a broad smile and stretched.
“I…I’ll go tell everyone that we’re done…” Trevor said.
They all watched as he hugged his back to the wall on his way to the door. Trevor’s eyes never leaving Beatrix.
“Ummm… Is he really okay with me working here?” She asked watching him leave out the door.
“Yeah, I think he’s just trying to avoid Alejandro there.” Darius said looking at the furry spider.
“Oh, But he is really friendly!” She said as she reached up and gently rubbed its head.
“Haha, I don’t really think that matters to him.” Darius said scratching his head.
“I-I’ll make sure that all my little friends avoid him!” She said to him and gave an intense glare at Darius.
“Uhh… I’m sure he will appreciate that… Is there something on my face?” Darius asked.
“Hmmm? Oh no! Sorry, I was just sending out a message.” She said blushing.
“Sending out a message?” Sir asked.
“Yeah. It works like telepathy. I can send them pictures, emotions, and simple words.” She said to the older man.
“And they are intelligent enough to understand?” He asked as he too got out of his chair and stretched a little.
“Normally no.” She said petting Alejandro with a smile that could only look like she was saying sorry to him.
“They sort of use me as a brain booster.” She added.
“Sooo, it works a bit like a computer network? And you’re like the main server?” Darius asked glancing back at her as they walked to the door.
“Y-yeah! That’s a good way of putting it.” She said smiling.
Darius turned back to the door when she smiled at him. From the way she acted during the interview she clearly had a confidence problem, and he didn’t want to make her feel self-conscious about herself by staring at her mouth. The truth was, he had no problem with her teeth, but the pure difference of her having a mouth full of serrated shark teeth caused his eyes to wonder. Knowing that he might accidentally stare, he thought it would be best to avoid that till he was used to it a bit more. Darius waited till he could hear nothing on the other side of the door before opening it. He peeked out to see Trevor standing by the stairs at the end of the hall. Seeing that the coast was clear he pushed open the door fully and stepped out.
“Whoo! So glad that’s over! Let’s get something to eat huh?” Darius asked the group.
“Sounds good!” Trevor said shouting from down the hall.
“I could definitely eat.” Sir said.
“You hungry?” Darius asked Beatrix.
“Sure… But is it okay? I haven’t really even worked yet… “ She asked.
“Yeah, we have plenty of food.” He said back to her.
“Your part of the team now. So don’t worry about stuff like that.” Sir said to her.
“O-Okay!” She said as she walked in step with them.
A few moments later they were all in the lobby. Sir and Trevor went to see if they could help take customers. Darius motioned to Beatrix to follow him out to the street. Darius had to blink a bit as the evening sun was at the right angle that seemed to deliberately try to blind him. He looked over at Ashton who was standing in the middle of the street, looking around for people making trouble. He was holding what looked like a claymore sword, only the entirety of it looked as if it was made out an obsidian glass. The tip of it was embedded in the asphalt, and both of his hands rested on its pommel. He glanced over at Darius and nodded. He reached down and yanked it out of the ground and placed the flat of the blade on his shoulder as he walked over to him.
“Fuck, That’s guys cool…” Darius said under his breath as he nodded back.
“Hey…” Ashton said as neared him.
“Good work out here!” Darius said to him.
“Mmhmm.” Ashton said.
He was a man of few words but luckily for Darius, he wasn’t needed for his conversational skills.
“This is Beatrix Maddox. She will be working security with you. Beatrix, this is Ashton Thatcher.” Darius introduced them to each other.
“I-I-It’s nice to metchu! Meet! Meet you!” She stammered and corrected herself.
“Same here.” He said back calmly.
“I-I can talk to Spiders!” She said starting to panic, Ashton’s cool demeanor and good looks seemed to be overloading her brain.
“…Okay.” Ashton said looking over at Darius.
“Aha… She’s a bit shy so…” Darius said.
“Your teeth look like shark teeth.” Ashton said as he turned his head back to her.
Darius coughed and looked over at Beatrix who had frozen in her tracks at his comment. Alejandro crawled back out onto her shoulder and raised his front legs in a threatening manner. In retrospect, Darius should have seen this coming as Ashton seemed to be a pretty straightforward and blunt person.
“Sharks are my favorite animal so that cool. Your eyes are cool too. The purple goes well with your black hair. Good color combo.” He said with the same blank expression but he held up a thumb to show his approval.
“U-Uh… Thank you?” She said blinking.
Ashton nodded and then looked back at Darius.
“Break?” He asked.
“Huh?” Darius asked back, still a bit thrown off by his comments to Beatrix.
“Is it time for a break?” He clarified.
“Oh! Yeah.” Darius said as he turned to the line of people.
“Excuse me! May I have your attention! I know that it’s a bit earlier than normal, But we will be closing shortly!” Darius said out.
A loud cry of disapprovement came from the line. Darius raised his hands and motioned for the crowd to quiet down.
“I know! I know… We will be taking everyone starting from the door, to… You, the kid with the duffel bags.” Darius said out loud as he walked to the back of the line and turned the corner.
“I know some of you heard that, but for those who did not… We are closing early today! We will be open bright and early in th-”
“Dar..Er… Mr. Grey? I think we might have a problem!” He heard Beatrix yell out to him.
Darius turned back to see a large group of people walking down the street, towards them.