“Is it on yet?” Benji called through the open doorway to his room. Papers and open books were strewn across his desk as he looked for information on the team’s newest foe. While he considered his work important, he wanted to make sure he watched the televised party just to make sure he was still kept in the loop.
Even after a few talks, Tango still has questions. Questions that he doesn’t know if he can figure out the answer to himself – which means, his next stop has to be Benji.
Benji is very smart. Benji will have answers, right?
Tango has never been the sort of person to move quietly, but he has noticed that his sudden appearance tends to startle people if they were distracted and not paying attention to their surroundings, so he’s come up with a solution: carrying a squeaky toy around HQ now and then. This one is shaped like a hamburger, and he thinks it might be a dog toy, but it’s very satisfying to chew on.
So, as he approaches Benji’s room, he is forewarned with noise.
Step. Squeak. Step, step. Squeak.
Unfortunately, he has to drop it when he arrives at Benji’s door. It’s a bit of complicated operation: he has to grab it with one paw, sit back on his haunches, and knock on Benji’s door with the other. “BENJI. AWAKE? HAVE… QUEST–ION. TO ASK.”
Even though he had probably had an easier night than most of his teammates, Benji had still exceeded his drink limit by about three, which inspired him to turn in a bit early. Nevertheless, he couldn’t sleep. He was still thinking about everything he had watched on TV. While he was entirely comfortable with his decision to stay home, he couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been better if he was there. He tried to console himself by telling himself there was nothing he could do about it now, but it didn’t help.
Whatever sleep he had been approaching was startled away by a faint squeaking noise coming from the hallway, and subsequently Tango’s voice. He slid out from under his covers and opened the door. “Yeah, bud. I’m up,” he said, opening the door wider and motioning for his friend to enter. “Come on in, what’s up?”
A bark of laughter escaped Damien’s lips as he heard Benji comment on their collective asses being kicked by a pair of rogue aliens—it suprised the hell out of him, that’s for sure. The dry humor always made Damien laugh, even in the most inopportune of times, something he was thankful for, most days. “Fair, Brainiac,” Damien replied a small knife-like grin on his face. “ Well, hit me with your theories. I’m here for ‘em.”
In a strange way, Damien’s laughter made him feel a tiny bit better about the whole situation. The same kind of laughter from anyone else would have elicited a flustered response from him, but he knew Damien would listen to him, would take him seriously even if he was laughing. “I don’t have anything totally solid right now, but I’m almost positive we’re already underestimating these things.” He flipped through a couple more pages to find something coherent. “It might be a hive mind kind of situation, but it’s hard to tell. Those two things seemed to be acting independently but communicating about strategy somehow.”
Benji had seen everything on TV. He didn’t like to think of himself as an angry person, but the feeling that came over him as he watched some rich white assholes push Laura into the pool at their dumb fancy party was something new to him. Frankly, he had been pissed. Knowing how embarrassing it must have been for her, he took it upon himself to make sure she was okay.
He knocked softly on her bedroom door. “Hey, It’s me,” he said. “I get it if you don’t want to talk right now, but...I saw what happened. Those guys are shitheads.”
Beth snorted out a bitter laugh, “I’m sure Cesare, if anyone, will understand even if her pretends to hold himself to a higher standard. He knows better than anyone else the sort of shitty, grilling questions we get answered. We can at least admit we’re just stooges. But if he says he doesn’t know they’ll tear him apart.”
She glanced over at him, the city outside suddenly feeling like a grey blur despite how slow the cab was going. She was in utter disbelief at his words. Not because they didn’t have a ring of truth to them (anyone other than Will or Zia could be easily replaced) but because she’d never heard anyone so concisely put her feelings into words. She smiled, finding a strange solace in the thought of them both being ignored. It drove her crazy when she thought it was just her, but if it was the two of them it might not be so bad. He would be someone she could be lonely with. Lonely, but not alone. “Well, maybe they’ll forget both of us and we can run off into the beautiful sunset of obscurity.”
“Good. I finally have a purpose. I can finally be the one who answers questions like ‘What iconic duo wore pure denim outfits to the 2001 AMAs?” she laughed again, this time a little deeper and truer, as if she was finally starting to forget the tension in her chest from earlier in the day. “It’s not pointless information anymore if i can win a $50 prize at the end of the night. And hey if we’re good enough we can quit Exemplar and make money hustling people at trivia.”
Then her face fell, remembering she had to tell him she would actually be leaving Exemplar the next morning. She didn’t say anything. Not yet.
“That’s true enough, I guess,” he said. As much as he respected Cesare and had even at one point considered him a father figure, he forgot to think about him as a human being sometimes. Which he thought was kind of ironic considering how he was sure a lot of the team thought of Benji the same way because of his mutation. “He’s just good at coming off pretty emotionless.” He smirked.
He locked eyes with Beth for a fleeting moment, but it was enough to remind him why he had been so drawn to her in the first place, when the team was first assembled. She made him feel safe, seen, understood. Like the two of them could grasp parts of each other that no one had seen before. “That’s kind of a nice thought, honestly. We wouldn’t have to worry about this whole apocalypse fiasco or whatever it is.”
Okay, that was one he didn’t know. As good as his memory was, he never payed much attention to whatever the biggest trends or fads were. “Damn, Beth. Fading into obscurity, quitting Exemplar, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had something weighing on your mind,” he said lightheartedly.
Beth hadn’t fully detected Benji’s discomfort at headquarters. Of course, she’d noticed that he seemed tense and almost distracted. But there could have been a thousand reasons for that. Returning back to this line of work wasn’t easy or comfortable for any of them. But because she didn’t know the reason behind his discomfort she didn’t know how to help. But getting drunk sounded like the remedy they both needed.
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, shaking her head with a dejected and unethused laugh, “You guys got grilled and then the reporters looked me in the eye and moved on. I’m not even worth of a question.”
“Oh good, cause I kick butt at the celebrity and movies trivia but if anyone asks me anything about math or science I’m pretty much useless. You and I might make a great pair,” she smiled and then leaned forward and asked the cab driver to take them to the nearest pub he knew of. Then she leaned back against the well-worn, leather seat, “I suppose we probably should have invited the rest of the team. But it can just be so loud with everyone around. Even when no one is speaking. Does that make sense or am I crazy?”
Benji flashed a sort of sad smile at Beth. “Trust me, I would have rather been skipped over. I just hope Cesare doesn’t have my ass for giving away too much information because I tried really hard not to,” he said. He truly was concerned that he may have put the bureau in danger, but he didn’t operate well under pressure. Especially with so many eyes watching him and ears listening to him like at the press conference. “I’m surprised anyone remembered I existed. I thought Will or Alec or Zia would handle most of it.”
“Great, because I’m absolute dog shit at the things you just said.” This was a lie, but just wanted Beth to feel good about something. He remembered every actor, director, cinematographer, you name it, from any movie he had ever seen. To be fair, though, that wasn’t a huge amount of movies. Benji far preferred books and scientific movies to popular movies and TV shows. He shook his head at her question. “Not crazy at all, I know exactly what you mean.
“So you are saying that there is no part of this operation that has not been broadcasted to the public? If I were to dig I wouldn’t be able to find any secrets?”
“I...” Fuck, he hated this. He was stuck, and she knew it. He knew he had to navigate his answer carefully if he didn’t want to piss off the Bureau and/or the public. “There is no important part of this operation that has not been broadcast to the public that they would particularly care about, no.” He ignored her second question.
“Yeah. Smart move, I’ll give them that.” He still remembered running after one of them after his fight with Beth. Damien was still pissed at how he managed to let one get away from the perimeter; maybe his age was showing, or he needed to work out more, but either way it was a clusterfuck of a first mission. ”What doesn’t make sense to you? The way we got our asses beat, or the mission? Because either way, I’m with you.”
“Smart...” Benji muttered under his breath. The team definitely hadn’t given these things enough credit to begin with, and he didn’t want to make the same mistake in their next run-in with them. “No, the ass beating actually makes the most sense out of anything here,” he said, tensing momentarily after realizing what he said but continuing anyway. “Well, listen. There’s obviously more than two of them total, right? Now, I don’t know what’s going on on the other side of those portals, but I have some ideas.” He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and flipped it open.
Benji didn’t know what to make of Damien at first. His whole MO was basically to be scary, and Benji was definitely intimidated. Over time, though, Benji found out that they had more in common than they thought. Intimidation turned into respect and even admiration. Even though they butted heads on almost everything, they always came back to a place of respect where they could have productive conversations. He knows Damien will listen to him, even if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. What’s more, even after fifteen years apart Benji hasn’t been able to bring himself to toss out the knife Dames gave him so he could protect himself. Things already seem like they’ve picked up where they left off for the pair, and Benji just wants to maintain that.
MONARCH || Beth Mitchell
Beth was always a source of calming energy for Benji. Even when his head was swimming with intrusive thoughts, theories, equations, you name it, when Beth was around he felt like it all went away and he could finally take a deep breath. There was a point in time when Benji would have considered her his best friend. Over their fifteen year hiatus, however, he started to distance himself from everyone to try and forget his past, but it was hard to give up seeing Beth. He did it anyway, throwing himself wholly into his civilian life. Seeing her again brought too many emotions to surface for Benji, but now he’s kicking himself for cutting her out in the first place. He feels like he’s his best self when he’s with her.
THE CREATURE || Tango
To Benji, talking with Tango feels a little like he’s just talking to himself but with better responses than he could come up with. He knows how much Tango wants to learn, and appreciates the tenacity with which he listens to Benji explain even the simplest things. Despite his more or less chaotic nature, Tango is a calming presence to have around for Benji. Tango also humbles him at times with his questions. Benji could explain quantum physics with extreme detail if given the opportunity, but when Tango asks him things like “Why is cheese yellow?” Benji has to rack his brain for a few minutes, making Tango one of the only people to see Benji stumble over his words trying to come up with an answer for a reasonable question.
PRICE || Cesare De Santis
Benji respects the shit out of Cesare. Having worked for the Bureau before joining the Exemplars, Benji was already familiar with what it meant to have a superior in the organization, and he wasn’t really one to speak up in the face of authority in the first place. But seeing the way other members of the team treat him makes him a little angry sometimes. Benji knows Cesare would only do what he thinks is best for the team, and almost sees him as a second father figure. He knows their respect goes both ways, too, so Cesare will almost always be the first person he goes to if he has a concern about a mission and he’ll be met with consideration.
GECKO || Laura Smith
Upon first meeting Laura when she joined his research team, Benji was elated to be working with another mutant. Not being great with his people skills, he would constantly ask for DNA samples and the works from her, but he eventually came to respect her boundaries and valued her as a lab assistant. While he might still ask the occasional insensitive question here and there, he would be the first to correct anyone who thought she was a subject rather than part of the research team. He wanted to keep her safe, and saw her like a little sister. As two members of the same team, Benji adored seeing her become more independent and sure of herself, and now sees her as an equal in all senses of the word. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he ever let anything bad happen to her.
CAPTAIN KICK || Will Rivkin
Benji respects Will generally as the head of the ship they call the Exemplar initiative, but has never felt particularly close with him. He was one of the faces of the operation while Benji’s face tended to stay behind the curtain. Sure, they get along, they treat each other like brothers because of what they’ve been through together, and yet, Benji wouldn’t know what to do if he was left alone in a room with Will. Now that the team is back together, Benji wants to make more of an effort to get to know him on a more personal level. He sees an intelligence in Will that he wants to access, knowing that the team will be more successful the more they communicate.
TALLAHASSEE || Addy Venture
While some people might think Benji and Addy’s energies are far too different for them to become friends, Benji has actually always adored Addy as a friend and a teammate. Despite her rather reckless antics sometimes giving Benji impromptu anxiety attacks, she also made him feel welcome when he was uncomfortable, and she never took it far enough to push him off a real cliff (emotionally or otherwise). Also, having a dog at headquarters has actually helped a lot of Benji’s anxiety, so he’s extremely grateful to her for that. Benji is excited to be back with her for the first time in a long time, but not even knowing what she has in store is a bit of a source for worry for Benji.
BABYDOLL || Zia Dewan
Despite the tight-knit nature of the group, Benji never seemed to cross paths with Zia much. Nevertheless, he was always a bit judgmental of her. He couldn’t exactly put his finger on it, but something about her just always seemed fake in his eyes. He didn’t dislike her, per se, he just always had a harder time connecting with her than with other Exemplars. He felt like he was interacting with a TV personality rather than an actual human being, so he just never spoke with her much and bam, problem solved.
STARSCREECH || Alec Owersun
Benji has always felt a strange sort of sacred kinship with Starscreech. While of course the science side of his brain always wants to test him and find out what he can do that humans can’t, the rare emotional side of him sees something else. Maybe it’s because they both look human but aren’t, but Benji admires Alec almost to the point of idolization. Even though they’ve known each other for probably far too long, Benji, even fifteen years after the team’s breakup, will sometimes find himself geeking out about Alec’s strength, trying to explain why it’s so cool in scientific terms to anyone who will listen. He missed Alec over the break, and wants to rekindle their friendship back to what it was.
Addy stepped into his workspace, eyes looking for something interesting to play with. “Hey. I know you’re busy savin’ the world and everything, but there’s a new bakery I saw down the street and I thought it might be fun to buy all of their cupcakes for the team. Care to join for the promise of fresh air and sweets?”
“Don’t touch anything,” Benji said firmly as an immediate reaction to someone entering his space. Upon seeing that it was Addy, he remained tense but apologized nonetheless. “Sorry. Um...” He looked over the piles of notes he had out on his desk. He wasn’t getting anywhere with any of this stuff right now, so he figured getting out of the headquarters might be good to clear his head. “Actually, yeah, that sounds really nice.”
“So, you wanted to talk to me about something?” There was a pause, as accounted for all of his daggers, holstered to his coat. Why he needed to wear this to the press conference was beyond him. “I’m all ears Professor X, what’s up?”
“I did,” Benji confirmed. His mind had been racing since the fiasco in the park, and he was barely able to focus at the press conference. Luckily, no one had ever been all that interested in what he added to the team, so he was pretty sure he hadn’t caused any mass reaction. “This whole thing is just bugging me somehow. It doesn’t make sense. There were two of those creatures that got loose, right?”
“Why not? Why can’t we see what goes on behind the scenes? Do you think the public will be upset by the truth behind Exemplar?”
“That’s not what I mean.” Benji could feel his face heating up. “There’s no truth that the public doesn’t already know, ‘behind the scenes’ is just boring tech work. I just try to keep my team safe.”
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