Miss X looks at the man standing in front of her desk. He's tall and muscular, with short dark hair and brown eyes so dark they seem black. He's dressed in an oddly familiar spandex suit with white metallic shoulder pads and a yellow utility belt. His legs, from the knee down, are protected by heavy armor-like boots, and his forearms covered by some sort of high-tech machinery, all white, that has a slot for the hands to come out.
"So, you say you want to apply for a membership in Vanguard International..." Xiang says.
"Yes, ma'am," the man replies with a short nod. He stands still and looking at the front.
"It says here you've been in the millitary..." Miss X says as she looks at a sheet inside the folder she holds in her hands. She turns the page, and her eyes widen as she reads something she wasn't expecting to read. Suddenly, the reason why the man's uniform seemed familiar becomes very obvious. "And you've been in the Strikeforce, too," she says, trying to disguise her surprise.
"Yes, ma'am. I resigned shortly before the Naecken war."
"May I ask why?"
"I realized the team wasn't what I thought it was when I joined it. I don't think I need to tell you about Jack Merlin's real personality..."
"No, I know about that. Why are you using the team's uniform, then?"
"Nothing else in my wardrobe goes with these things," the man replies looking at the equipment in his shoulders, arms and legs. He smiles, but the smile only lasts for a second before his serious expression returns. "I thought maybe a demonstration of my powers would be required, and I need this equipment to control them."
"Ah, right," Miss X says, looking at the folder again, "you're capable of 'causing natural disasters around you'..."
"Mainly small earthquakes. The scope and intensity depend on my concentration. My equipment helps me regulate that."
"Good," Miss X says taking one last look at the folder and then closing it and placing it on her desk. "Now tell me, why do you want to join Vanguard International?"
"I quit the Strikeforce before the war, but I got to the battlefield under my own means to fight for my planet. I saw Vanguard for the first time there and I was impressed by their performance. I don't care what the media says, I know for a fact that you were instrumental to the fall of Naecken and the whole planet is in debt with you because of that."
Miss X thought for a moment.
"Well, I'll tell you what; if your references check up, I have no problem with having you on the team. But that's not up to me, it's up to the team itself. I suggest you go out there and introduce yourself to them. I honestly hope you make a good impression, mister Matthews."
"Thank you," the man said with a smile, that this time stayed in his face as he looked at Xiang, "but please... call me Epicenter."
