Shindo had to give it to HOC: they really knew how to make a room look grand. The simple decorations on the wall contrasted heavily with the high ceiling of the Assembly Hall. The space between him and the ceiling made him feel small, insignificant, as if he was an ant compared to the greatness of HOC.

Still, this didn't do much to stop Shindo’s confusion. What could HOC need from him now? They had said that they wanted to tell him his final score, but he had already guaranteed his position as a hero directly from that asshole Yata. So, if that wasn’t the reason, why would they call him out?

This is when he remembered Lozen's words. If he wasn't wrong, she did mention that "...various teams chose you to be a hero..." when they spoke, so it was fair to assume that this was the reason. Well, of course someone would want him in the team after his display. Nevertheless, joining one was still a bit of a bother. Couldn't he simply go solo?

A wry smile graced his lips as he started assessing the new room. Once again, he was impressed with the grandeur of the U-shaped table at the center, which expanded on the imposing pressure of the room. However, he also felt somewhat unsettled by the expectant but welcoming stares he received from the nine people sitting around the table. What could have they discussed before he entered the room?

Still, the stares he received only intensified. The man in front of him gave off the aura of a judge or head of a board of directors. He, along with a mature woman in black sitting to his right, seemed to be scrutinizing Shindo's every action and expression.

The more annoying stares, though, came from three heroes besides the mature woman. One of them was someone Shindo recognized: Professor White. He sat hungryly scanning Shindo, a glint of desire escaping his eyes. This disturbing attitude was mirrored by another hero in a white militaristic costume with a plain-looking face and a petite woman in a cute grey mouse hoodie and a wicked smile.

Feeling disgusted by their attitude, Shindo shifted his attention to his right, where he saw four other heroes, of which three were on monitors. Unfortunately, Shindo's eyes fell towards one of the monitors, where he identified the classy man as Theodore Flambarge, the first seat of the DSG and Manny's boss. He was known through the gadgetsmithing industry for his skill and his insatiable thirst for the next big gadget monopoly. Although... he still had a good head on his shoulders, since he still hadn’t given him the second seat.

With gritted teeth, Shindo forcefully pried his attention from FLambarge and landed his sights on another familiar figure. Unlike the other people present, Lozen was acting weird. She at first reacted like the others, her full attention and scrutiny on him. But now? The cold woman's eyes were unfocused, almost as if worried. Yet, her crossed arms, uncomfortable shifting as she reclined on her seat and her furrowed brow showcased some kind of anger. Shindo could only guess as to why she was pissed.

"Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen," Shindo formally greeted the nine heroes while he halted his steps. "To whom do I owe this pleasure in this afternoon?"

The bandaged man in front of Shindo chuckled in amusement. "Wattz, right? You can call me Mute. Do you know why you've been called here?"

"I don't have the faintest clue, Mr. Mute," Shindo responded. "Was there an issue with my exam? Or did I fail?"

"Oh, there's no issue with your results." the mature woman in black smiled as if to calm Shindo. If Shindo remembered correctly, she was a top heroine named Noire. He took note of her warm and beautiful smile, which didn't reach her eyes. "In fact, Wattz, we called you here because of your actions during the exam."

When she finished speaking, Mute took out a remote control and pressed a button. A holographic display appeared in front of Shindo and the heroes, showcasing key moments of his fight with Yata and Batoon in amazing detail.

However, what truly astonished Shindo was that the image came from a display pod. Display pods could display images and videos more accurately than projectors, but the manufacturing and materials of which they were made off were delicate. It would take a small team of well-trained gadgetsmiths and a huge budget to have a display pod of this quality.

"You see Wattz, you are a unique case in today's ambiance. You fight like no hero we've met." Noire's statement immediately put Shindo on guard.

"What do you mean by this?" Shindo asked, flashing them an innocent smile.

"Your skill at fighting meta-humans with gadgetry is unorthodox, to say the least. The way you prevailed over the examiners Yata and Batoon was eye-opening for us."

Shindo grinned, but his eyes darted in caution. He had a rough idea of where this was going, and he wasn't liking any of this.

"However, what truly caught our attention was this."

The footage on the display pod stopped to show Shindo grasping his Static and RTC controllers and zoomed into them.

"We have to commend you on creating a gadget that can nullify superpowers. This is a first in HOC history."

He was an idiot! Of course they would focus on that!

While Shindo cursed himself in his mind, Theodore took this chance to speak. "As a gadgetsmith myself, I noticed a few peculiar things about you. You know how to take full advantage of your gadgetry, leading me to believe that you created them. I will assume that your armor and your other weapons were made by yourself." This is when Theodore furrowed his brow in disapproval. "However, this "RTC" gadget is not registered in the Public DSG Patents. Did you use this exam as an experiment?"

The attention of the room went back to Shindo, who let out a sigh at Theodore's accusation. Yet he remained silent. Of course Flambarge would suspect that, but he was wrong. Still this was a minefield, and one wrong step would destroy Shindo’s career.

He carefully deliberated his options. Some ideas risked Shindo making enemies, others would only get him fired on his spot. However, risks were worth nothing now, so it only left him with one option.

"Mr. Flambarge," Shindo spoke up, a confident smirk decorated his lips. "Even though I won't reveal my identity here, I am a proper gadgetsmith. My gadgets have all been patented under article 45-EOE-19 of the DSG regulations. If you want to check on the patents, check the documents under the coding Delta-seven-C, Delta-sixteen-Z, and Epsilon-one-U. I uploaded all of this information nine years ago, under the alias "University Grey"."

Stolen story; please report.

Shindo's statement left the heroes slack-jawed. Not only was the reveal of Shindo's former job surprising to them, but to think that gadget was already patented? It looked ridiculous!

"You aren't lying about this, right?" A gruff hero said through one of the monitors. Shindo recognized this man as Steadfast, a bulldozer of a hero.

"I think Mr. Flambarge can verify my words." Shindo nonchalantly put his hands on his jacket’s pockets.

Almost all of them put their sight on Theodore, who was still shocked by Shindo's words. Slowly, the first seat of the DSG typed the codes Shindo had given to confirm his information and in two minutes, he gave them a thumbs up. The other heroes smiled, thinking this a victory for HOC. However, Shindo knew that wasn't the whole story.

For Shindo, there was virtually no risk in revealing the official patent of the controllers for two reasons. The first one was that it was patented to him and him alone, impeding HOC from ever trying to replicate it, unless they wanted the DSG on their backs. Even Theodore couldn't break the rules imposed by the DSG, lest they all face consequences.

The second one, and a pretty funny one in Shindo’s eyes, is that the information on those three files was lengthy and contained at least two hundred papers for each. Yet the catch is that they were all theoretical ideas. The results they saw during today’s exam were only possible because of Shindo's repeated tests on the 'theoretical' controller formula he did during his villain days.

However, not all heroes bought into this "victory". The hero in the militaristic costume was smiling at Shindo, Professor White was tapping his fingers impatiently, and now Lozen summed to this group staring holes through Shindo's head.

"So, you're saying that this gadget has already been verified?" The girl in the mouse hoodie said, grinning excitedly.

"Correct, Ms...?"

"Fuzbuzz," She said. "Call me Fuzbuzz."

"Right, Ms. Fuzzbuzz. The thing about my gadget is that the materials to make them are sparse on the East Coast. That may be the reason why they weren’t mass-produced."

This seemed to calm most of the members. Yet, the militaristic hero suddenly burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! You're even better than what I expected!" His rude attitude gained the scowl of Mute and Noire, but he kept laughing for a minute or so. Then he composed himself and his face returned to its plain-looking state, but his eyes had a weird gleam to them.

"You always were an impatient one, Ignia. You couldn't wait any longer?" Professor White said with a smug smile.

"Oh shush White! How can you say that when there's someone so interesting!" Ignia cocked his head towards Shindo.

Professor White deflated at Ignia's words. That small slip up from the hero and his sudden interruption, rattled Shindo. Who was this guy?

"Ahem," Mute cleared his throat, "Ignia, please refrain from interrupting any further."

"I didn't even interrupt you," Ignia said boldly, surprising Shindo.

"Plus, you're just gonna continue running around in circles. You'll keep asking for the 'RTC', and he is gonna give you the same information. I much rather enter the topic of him going into a hero team, right, Mr. newbie?" Ignia said with a knowing smile.

Shindo kept smiling at the arrogance of Ignia. Still, Ignia was right. There was no need for Shindo to reveal anything else. Yet, the way Ignia predicted this made Shindo eerily quiet.

"Staying silent, are we?" Ignia grinned, "No matter. I'll take over from here."

The man stood, dominating the room with his presence.

"If you permit me, I'll be frank." Ignia waited for Shindo's approval, but Shindo stayed silent. Ignia took this as a sign to continue. "Professor White and I are the only two heroes who want you on our teams. Your skills, while incredible, frightened a lot of prospects. Added to you wearing green, a color of disgrace, and you've made yourself a few enemies, Wattz."

Shindo did not even react a bit to Ignia's words.

"However, I want you on Shining Mortar, Wattz. Your skills fit perfectly with the team composition I have. You would also be instantly respected. As to why I'll tell you if you apply. I don't want that to influence your decision."

The room stayed silent as Ignia took his seat. His boldness and arrogance surprised Shindo, but more than that, Ignia's reason unsettled Shindo. A man that bold must have a plan in mind.

Seeing as he kept quiet, Professor White took this as an opportunity to speak. "As my co-worker said, I also want to extend a formal invitation to my team, Exodus. I want you because adding you will balance out my team. and don't worry, your job will be assured with me."

Professor White sat down with an expectant look in his eyes. He seemed nice, but he gave the impression of a flashy man. There was also something else bugging Shindo. If he was a team leader, where was his team two weeks ago when Shindo entertained Pyro at Murrow's subway station?

These options were too risky for Shindo's taste. One team belonged to a man interested in him for an unknown reason, the other was of a dubious team leader. Shindo also suspected they held off on telling the truth of their reasoning.

Yet, what annoyed him the most was that the flow of the conversation was going against him. No way was he going to let them dictate this conversation!

"Gentlemen, I'll have to decline your offers." All the heroes present flinched. Wait flinched? Interesting reaction to have for a refusal…

Shindo’s face grew serious as his sights returned to Mute. This was a bit of a bet, but that flinch must mean something, "Is there a way for me to start as a solo hero?"

"Outrageous!" Steadfast immediately screamed. "You just started your career!"

"But he has the skills needed." A man with baggy eyes said through one of the monitors. Shindo didn't recognize him, but he seemed to not have slept in days.

"Seconded," Fuzzbuz said. "He even has the knowledge required, if we are to believe his words."

"Yet, we would be flexing the rules for him," Mute commented, his brows furrowed in frustration. "Wattz is capable, yes, and he has passed his exam, but I have to agree with Steadfast here."

"I beg to differ, Mute," Noire debated back, leaning on one of her arms, "Doesn't the feed show he is ready? Even as a solo hero?"

And with that question, all hell broke loose. The board was split between letting Shindo be or not be solo. Ignia, Steadfast, Mute, and Theodore were against this, but Fuzzbuz, Noire, and the tired man argued a case for him.

"Wattz," White said, taking advantage of this chaos, "Are you sure this is the right decision? I'm not sure why you ask this but—"

"Shut it, White! Are you really taking advantage of the chaos?" Ignia said with a deep grin.

"Whatever do you mean?" White rested his head on his hand while looking innocently at Shindo.

"You are part of this discussion! You will choose a side! Him joining a team or him going solo!" Ignia said, veiling a threat.

"Well, seeing as you want him on your team, it would be hard to have him on mine. Such, it would be better for him to go solo!" White rebutted, bringing more chaos with his declaration.

At this, Shindo sighed in disappointment. His hunch was proven right again. These were the people in charge of managing and regulating other heroes? They were too single-minded! With only a simple calculated suggestion, they were already at each other's throats!

But above the disappointment, a small part of him felt like laughing. It took every effort to suppress his need to laugh at their pathetic squabble, but the growing chaos made it harder and harder to resist. Their arrogance only made Shindo want to prod them more!

It was then that Shindo realized just what he was thinking. This intoxicating feeling of satisfaction quickly turned into disgust. His back started itching as his hand had started to slowly vibrate.

Since when had he started thinking like that? Since when had he started thinking like Herttz? Since Pyro? Since his fight with Yata and Batoon? Was he reverting back to becoming that… that thing?

Nausea started to settle in, making his world spin. He needed to quickly end this meeting, or his old identity would be at risk. But how?