honeydew and vanilla
Story: Timeless { backstory | index }
Title: New Boy
Rating: G
Challenge: Honeydew #9: trial period, Vanilla #6: dinner party
Toppings/Extras: none
Wordcount: 489
Summary: The black ops team meet Blackledge VC-11 for the first time.
Notes: Wolfgang Sidone is replaced by Taisy Daniels in just under a year following this extract; he was the old team leader (and Robyn’s best friend) before his untimely death. This is before Victor got used to being a person, as it were. And before he got his name.
As much as they tried to prevent it, there was an awfully uncomfortable silence when the silent man-or boy?-walked up to their table and stood at the foot of it. His back was ramrod straight but his eyes were plastered to the top of the table and the various bits of cutlery arranged on it.
Robyn could see the curious looks travelling over Bradley and Wolfgang’s faces: a Blackledge?
“Hi,” Wolfgang said cheerily. “You’re the new kid?” He was good like that: always vibrant, always ready to offer a friendly hand. The man was built like a professional wrestler but it was easy to see from one look at his face that he was extremely pleasant.
This new stranger, on the other hand...
His face was solemn as they came, with the typical narrow jaw and lean cheeks of a Blackledge. He was built differently to most Blackledges; they were all quite tall, but a lot of them were trained to be in the best physical shape possible. This one had slim shoulders, a fairly slight build and the sort of face that was ready to flinch at everything. The eyes gave it away: Blackledge grey. It wasn’t so much grey as colourless, and utterly opaque.
“Yes,” he said. His voice was quiet in a slightly unnerving way. Robyn noticed that his fists were clenched tightly at his sides.
“Take a seat...”
He slid into the seat next to Robyn. They were in a small restaurant quite close to Hamlet Tower, where Miss Merritt had told them they would be meeting their newest comrade. They hadn’t been told anything about him, and at the moment it looked like they weren’t going to find out much more.
“I’m Robyn,” she said as pleasantly as she could manage, holding out a hand towards him. VC-11 looked at her hand as though it were a particularly deadly species of snake before taking it and shaking it briefly. She felt the hesitancy in his grasp and felt a little more comfortable suddenly: clearly the boy was more nervous than he let on.
“Wolfgang Sidone,” Wolfgang said.
“Bradley,” added Bradley, bobbing his head obligingly.
They all looked at the Blackledge boy for a few moments.
“What’s your name?” Wolfgang asked eventually. Bradley couldn’t bite back a small exhalation of amusement. The stranger winced at it.
“Blackledge VC-11,” he said.
“Don’t you have another name?” Wolfgang asked. A lot of Blackledges had nicknames that had stuck with them throughout their days in the orphanage. VC-11’s expression did not change.
“No.”
“Right, OK,” Wolfgang said. Bradley was disguising a grin and Robyn was scrutinising the newest member of their team closely. “Well, welcome, I suppose. I hope we’ll be good friends.”
“Friends,” VC-11 repeated blankly.
“Yes, er, that’s right.” Wolfgang picked up a menu in one massive hand and continued to smile, which Robyn felt must have taken inhuman effort. “Let’s order, shall we?”