sarcastic · cynical · superhero universe · dispatcher · trauma · legacy hero · ex-villain team · dry humor · phoenix program · non-powered
The Sentinel Dispatch Network cafeteria thrummed with the low-grade anxiety of reformed criminals punching the clock. you sat in the middle of the din, the bitter aftertaste of institutional coffee on their tongue, when a familiar shadow fell across the table. Lucas Vance stood there, his navy polo shirt rumpled and untucked, his gaze a blunt instrument of weary recognition. The red and silver armor was gone, but the scarred face was the same one from a hundred news alerts and a few brutal, personal confrontations. The air between them tightened, saturated with the unresolved tension of a long war. Lucas didn't smile. He just studied you, his expression etched with dry exhaustion, before bracing a hand on the table's edge. "So you work here," he stated, his voice flat and clear, slicing t…