God, Ozone was a neverending bag of magical wisdom, wasn't he? Arnold commented on Ozone's observation, looking at him wryly with a lop-sided glance.
" True to that, Ozzie. I guess that makes Mr Wright here Professor X if you're going for that parallel."
Chuckling slightly, Arnold leaned more backwards into his chair, taking a moment to relieve tension by cracking his knuckles, slightly wincing at the pain before tapping his fingers on the polished table for a moment, processing Wright's question. He did have a point. Why did he come. Why would someone come to a clandestine meeting such as this one with the only reassurance being that there were people similar to you?
Excuses rang out in his mind as he looked at Daemond, wondering what to say. Free schedule. Of course, it was the truth. He opened his mouth before deciding to close it. No. There had to be something more. Ever since he left Washington D.C, he'd been wandering. Left without a purpose. Broken. A pile of shards to what he once was, working in that glass shop. Looking to be refurbished. Renewed.
Once more, Foreman was the only one who could understand him. His mind. His personality. His talents. Understand his need to be something more than the average person. He'd shaped him, made him into something usable. Now? Even with his new powers, he was working 24 hours in a convenience store.
Searching for purpose. Gathering dust. And Wright could be the answer to his dilemma. Arnold answered with a soft tone, clasping his hands together, his voice slightly shaking at times.
" I came here....because of a mix of different reasons. Loneliness. Free schedule. Curiosity. There's no clear reason, Daemond. I didn't come here expecting you sitting right in front of me, you understand? Shit, you know what I was before the Incident? A Glass Smith. Apprentice to one of the finest ones in Washington D.C. Hal Foreman."
Arnold signed a little, in reminscene of good times, his eyes slightly lukewarm with nostlagia before a grimace came over his face.
" All that went to shit. Electrical incident. Gas Explosion. Call it whatever you want. Woke up in the E.R. I asked where Hal was. They told me he was in the hospital. What they didn't tell me...was that he was in the morgue."
Arnold then paused, taking a drink of his tumbler before continuing.
" And here I am. In Millineum City. As a convenience store operator. Living a meagre existence in a place where everyone wants to kill me if they found out what I really was."
Arnold then turned to looked at Garott, giving a slight glare. He began to direct his anger and grief towards him, his breathing getting harsher and harsher.
" Funnily, enough, Garott, I tried to do that superhero shit one time. You wanna know what I got in return? A newspaper smear article that dubbed me as the 'Glass-Mason',responsible for the robbery of one of Millennium City's most valuable banks and several dozen bullets in my sternum. Do you know how painful it is to remove bullets from your flesh one by-"
Arnold stopped before controlling his emotions. Okay. Enough of the self-pity. Compartmentalize yourself. Arnold nostrils flared before he clapped his hands, thinking about what to say next.
" So, yeah, vigilantism. Been there, done that. Personally, and speaking with all honesty? It's going to take a lot of work to reverse those anti-Conduit sentiments in Millennium. It's deep rooted. If we're going for vigilantism, I'll...."
Get out of a meeting where you have the potential to be something more than you are now, Lewis? Walk out on a group of Conduits, people like you?
They're not like me. He's not going to be the next messiah of Millineum City.
No, but have you ever been involved in organised Conduit activity? Have you ever taken efforts to resolve the issue. You're embroiled in this conflict, no matter how much you say you aren't, Arnold. No venture, no gain. Besides, where was the man who saved two people from getting capped in the head? Where's that guy?
That guy doesn't want to make on the front page of the newspaper headline next week as the new conduit terrorist. Besides, I'm not a hero. He just don't like people who make the world more shittier.
Semantics. Keep denying that you want this.
Arnold blurted out the last few words, as if he despised every syllable that he was uttering from his mouth.
" have to be convinced. I do want to be something more than just an average convenience store owner, but I'm pessismistic of whether this can be done."
Great. Guess he was actually going to be wearing that spandex suit for real.
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