empathicfault | IC Inbox

Yeah. Finch was wrong.

[Shaw leans back against the wall, slouching, letting Winston flop onto her more fully.]

We kept her in the library for a few months. She wanted to help us out because that's what the Machine wanted her to do, but, uh-- trust has to be earned, you know? Eventually we cut her loose. She mostly did her own thing for a while, showing back up if she needed us for something or if we needed her. She was always jetting around the world, doing crazy stuff.

[Her voice grows quieter. Fonder.]

She didn't get hired on the way the rest of us did; there was no one conversation or decision or turning point. It just... happened gradually. But it did happen. She became one of us.

[ Will smiles slightly, hearing all that. He doesn't need his condition to tell how important Root is to Shaw. How unique she was. ]

Your team is so important to you.

[ An obvious statement, but it sheds new light on her telling Will that she'd hire him. He will have to add weight to his consideration. ]

Glad she was a part of it, too. Even if it was in an unconventional way.

Yeah.

[She doesn't try to deny it - she has no desire to. Emotion-based words are something she struggles with, leaving her never quite sure when and where she should apply them; if he'd said you love your team, she'd have hesitated, no matter how true it is in her own way. But whether or not something - or someone - is important to her is an easy judgement for her to make, and there's no question of how high her team ranks.]

Teams in general are important to me, but... I've never had anything quite like them.

[A pause.]

And neither had she.

[It's no surprise that she'd been willing to die for Finch.]

[ All right. Now that she's talking them up so much, he kind of has to ask. He looks almost confused. ]

...and you were saying you'd hire me on?

Well, Finch is the boss, not me. But he'd like you a lot.

[She glances over at Will, wondering if he'll be skeptical of this judgement.]

Taking in people from shitty circumstances and giving them a new purpose is... kind of what he does, and I guarantee you're not the worst case he's seen. So, yeah, we'd want you. Whether you would want us when we're dealing with a stupid war between robot overlords might be another story.

[ There is skepticism, but not directed at her. Instead, he looks down at his hands, frowning thoughtfully.

That breaks up into some quiet laughter as she starts talking about 'robot overlords,' though. ]

Is that The Machine, and whatever you're fighting? It helped you stop the violent crimes before they happen...maybe someone else didn't care for that?

Someone wanted to take the same idea and go further with it. Control society way beyond what we do. And Finch already has enough personal crises about what we do to begin with, so, obviously he's not on board with that.

Ah...and there's the thought crimes. And/or Illuminati situation.

[ Will nods, feeling like he understands. ]

Well, that's definitely something to consider. Maybe I can meet Finch after I graduate- if we haven't been jumbled around too many times by then. Do you think me coming from a completely different universe would confuse the robot overlords?

[ He smiles, a little spark of interest in his eye. He could really use a good fight. ]

[That is... a very good question. Would Samaritan and the Machine even know? The Machine would surely at least know that something was up if one of its new agents appeared out of thin air.]

Uh-- it'd be a big advantage when it came to hiding you from the enemy. The rest of us had to get fake identities. We'd probably have to prove the existence of the... multiverse or whatever to the rest of the team, though.

[ Will's smile widens. ]

Yeah. That's going to be interesting, wherever I end up. Although most places I probably wouldn't try to explain. Can't imagine that'd fly with what your team's up to, though.

Well. Something to consider while we're here. I'm sure we could figure something out.

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