"Eco!" Shank said sternly. "What was this?! You decide to run off and take Switcher with you on a rogue dungeon run?"

"You knew it was rogue?" I asked Eco.

"Now, now, now," Eco said, holding out his hands for calm. "We didn't know it was a rogue dungeon. We just knew something wasn't quite right. These are barely even training dungeons. What was the harm?"

"Really!?" Shank yelled as we were escorted away from the dungeon portal. "What was the harm? How about Switcher dying when you sent him against an overpowered foe! Did you think about that?"

"I didn't send him against an overpowered foe!" Eco protested. "They were Pixies! Any of us could have damn near soloed the thing as virgins!"

"We have combat powers, Eco!" Shank yelled. "Of course we can! Switcher here, does not! And that's not even starting on the fact that you know rogue dungeons corrupt time! You and I are fine without sleep for days, but what about the rookie? Do you think he can keep up?"

"He did in that one," Eco replied, holding up his hands to fend off Shank's wrath. "Look, I got special dispensation to clear the dungeons without it working against our allotment, okay? These dungeons are so weak that they barely qualify as dungeons anyways. This was the perfect way to get Switcher some experience. I was with him, after all."

"But. You. Did. Not. Tell. Us.," Shank said, stabbing him in the chest with her finger at every word. "This is not how we do things, Eco. You know better."

"I know that you've been giving Switcher the cold shoulder ever since he joined the team," Eco told her calmly. "As long as he had no combat related abilities, all you'd do is see him as a burden. I was using this chance to try to get him something that would prevent you from kicking him out because of something he can't control."

"You don't know what I see him as," Shank retorted.

"Actually, we kinda do," Hyper said in as calm a tone as I'd ever heard. "You've been talking bad about him since day one, and you've been inattentive to him to the point of actual neglect. Eco got with Mecha to get him outfitted, Bright and I have been working on figuring out which dungeons would probably do him some good, and you've been beating him into the ground with the smallest number of words I've ever seen you use. You spent two hours that first day beating him up and didn't even realize that he had no combat training."

"You were wondering where the rejuv potion was going?" BrightGold piped up. "I was pouring some in his spa water and the water bottles I handed him when he was too sore and battered to even stand up for a shower."

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"I canceled no less than four medical alerts due to the stress you've been putting on him," Hyper added.

Shank looked around at the team, all of them giving her the steady stare of people at the end of their limit. She turned to me, but I just shrugged, watching her.

"Fine, fine," she relented. "Maybe I have been a bit harsh. I wasn't going to kick him out, though."

"Then what's the problem," BrightGold said. "We've known you since we all were inducted. You've always pushed us, but you've never been unreasonable. Until now, that is."

"I was trying to get us into the A ratings," Shank confessed. "We've been advancing so fast that I thought we could make it this year, but with Switcher coming on board...."

"Our rating comes to a dead stop as he gets up to speed," Eco finished. "Maybe even goes backwards."

"So help me get up to speed," I said, startling a few in the group, as if they'd forgotten I was there. "I'm sure we'll still lag, but I think you might soon be glad to get me, especially if we can raise our allotment."

"Switcher, you don't know what you are talking about," BrightGold began.

"Actually, I think he might be right," Eco said. "I think if we can get our allotment increased, he'll drive us up faster than you might think."

"Oooooooh," Hyper said, perking up. "Eco, you saw something, didn't you. You saw our young padawan do something that leads you to believe he's going to be a decisive help to us....."

"I did," Eco said. "The dungeon had changed substantially from what it used to be. There was a human-sized pixie as a boss this time. She drew something like seventy other pixies out to surround us. Switcher completely messed up her plans. He switched places with the boss, bringing her into my range while getting himself out of the ambush. He ran in circles around the clearing, whacking and kicking pixies while I finished off the boss and then helped me kill all the small pixies. He wasn't the fastest, he wasn't the strongest, and he wasn't the most lethal...but he was excellent at figuring out how to beat the boss. We finished a swarm-style boss fight in five minutes."

"But did he get anything from it?" Shank asked. "You were the one that beat the boss."

"I did," I volunteered. "I got an ability modification called Quick Switch. Not only can I store the energy signatures of people, so that I can switch instantly with them, but I now have internal batteries that can hold enough energy for an instant switch. Only three right now, but I think I'll get more as I grow."

"That's not very helpful," Shank said.

"Shank," Eco said. "You aren't thinking this through. Yes, he is not doing more damage, and I get that. He'll never be solo clearing dungeons, but that's not what his goal is. That's not what our goal for him should be, either."

"Then what should our goal be," BrightGold asked.

"I'm here for utility," I said. "I'm going to be doing crowd control. I'm going to be trying to get each of you where you will do the most damage."

"How does that help us?" Shank asked. "We need more damage."

"It's not about more damage," Hyper said. "What Switcher is trying to do is put us in positions where our damage is far disproportionate. You know those bosses we all hate, right? Where we have to just play defense while BrightGold has to whittle them down? Or those scenarios where we have to take positions one by one? Switcher gets us around that."

"I'm not convinced," Shank said. "But I'll tell you what. I'll get permission for the whole group to finish these rogue dungeons and we'll work with Switcher. Let's see if he is a net positive to the group."