For a small stretch of time, the only noise being generated near their table is the sound of impact from Lucas and Miss Chievous kicking each other's chairs repeatedly, due to reaching a lull in the conversation.

Understanding that Miss Calculated might take a while to prepare 23 and separate it from the restaurant's hive mind network interlinking its service bots, Miss Masher opts to resume storytime once more.

As she is continuing mid-story for a scene that makes absolutely no sense out of context, Lucas has mostly tuned her out for now.

'...How come Chi's stayin' invisible still? Doesn't it use some sorta supe-energy or somethin'?'

[She wasn't joking before when she said she had a surprise for you. If she were to release her power on herself, she'd still need to maintain it on the contents of her arms until she was ready for the reveal, which I assume won't be until everyone is outside. Were she visible, it would be obvious that she's carrying something.]

'Don't leave me hanging!'

[I believe it will be more fun for everyone involved if you discovered it organically. Don't worry, I doubt Miss Calculated will take much time, you shouldn't have to wait for all that much longer.]

'Tch.'

While Lucas hadn't been paying any attention to storytime, Miss Chievous certainly has been.

"Oh! Oh! That asshole was the reason Calc figured out how to make my knife! Ehehehe, he cried like a baby from just a little poke once we had the prototype ready." When Miss Chievous chimes in with this addition, Lucas's focus is pulled back to reality.

"Ooh!? You have a knife that works on endurance supes!?" Jonathan's enthusiasm for dangerous pointies manages to cut through his stutter, his gaze now locked on the visibly empty chair that Miss Chievous is seated on.

"Hells yeah! You know it's good because Calc refuses to mass-produce 'em! Well, and they'd be expensive, too. She called it a Viblade. It uses that stuff they use for suppression cuffs. Betcha could stab Lucas with it, right through the fancy suit too! Check it out!" When Miss Chievous says this, there is a brief clack of what could have been wood against wood, followed by the rustling of fabric.

A moment later, a small black-hilted dagger, with a blade made out of a crystal that is bright yellow with hints of neon green through it, slides across the table towards Jonathan, with the hilt intentionally aimed at him.

[...I have a feeling Miss Calculated would be severely disappointed in her right now.]

'Ooh, that's cool… Huh, why?'

[Did you forget that just a small distance away are the THIEVES of Elsewhere? If Freeze Frame wanted to, he could just casually take it with virtually no effort. And here I thought you two were sobering up a bit.]

'...Oh. She did kinda just make a big deal of it and then just whipped it out, huh?'

[...Indeed.]

While Miss Masher had been nodding along when Miss Chievous talked about the Viblade, her expression then stiffened a bit once it was out and about.

Jonathan practically pounces on it as soon as it's within reach, whether out of sheer enthusiasm or because he's nervous about a declared valuable and potentially unique weapon lying around in the presence of thieves is known only by him and 011.

Holding it up, he gives it a few test swings as he gauges the heft and balance of the blade.

Satisfied with the initial trials, he gently tosses it up a short distance to change into a backhand grip in a fluid singlehanded movement. Given the small controlled amount of spin he applied when doing this, the same side of the blade is facing forward as before, likely a habit due to normally using a single-bladed weapon.

Miss Masher gives an impressed whistle, while Miss Chievous makes a soft "Oh my."

'...He definitely practiced the hell outta doing that.'

[At high speeds, nonetheless. A good idea though, I'd say. I imagine he can do quite a few tricks with single-bladed knives, though he probably has nowhere near as much practice with double-bladed weaponry.]

Swiping at the air in front of him a few times, he can't help noticing a small recessed button at the very bottom of the hilt, right where his thumb is resting while holding it in this style grip.

"Huh, there's a button? Oh, is it, um supposed to be p-powered on?" As tempted as he is to hit it right away, Jonathan turns his attention to the general area that Miss Chievous is presumably still sitting in while asking this.

There is a bit of a delay before she gives an answer, most likely due to the fact she nodded as if he could see her.

"Ah, yeah. Without power, it's nothing special, if anything it's worse than a normal cheap metal one. In order to keep it small and lightweight, the battery is fairly small in it, too. You can turn it on for a bit though, just don't waste too much. It feels funny, but at least there's no mistaking if it's on or not." When Miss Chievous clarifies and grants permission, Jonathan doesn't waste any time before gently tapping the button, and nearly drops the poor thing the moment it starts humming.

"Woah, that really does feel w-weird! Your hand must start to, um, go n-numb after it's on for a while… Huh. It… It feels like it's v-vibrating, but d-doesn't, um, look like it?" Jonathan spends a few seconds looking at the Viblade while it's powered on, wearing a serious expression of intense concentration while staring at the crystalline blade.

Conscious of the limited battery life, he does tap the button again to shut it off after that brief period, though.

'Heh, why was he starin' at it so hard?'

[Speed supes have far better kinetic vision than a normal person. Though, still not nearly as much as someone with enhanced vision, of course.]

'Oh, makes sense. Huh… Wouldn't there be a bunch of things that are important for really high speed? Does Boss System give all that other stuff too with each powerup?'

[Not just speed, you know. To a small extent, yes, but that's why there are requirements to go past certain breakpoints. If Jonathan wanted to just keep stacking his speed higher and higher, he'd also need at least one rank each of vision, proprioception, mental celerity, and endurance after a few ranks of speed before going any further.]

'Ouph… But I sorta get it. So I guess naturals just have enough of the secondary stuff if they're really talented? What if they train like, super hard?'

[Generally, over the course of training, the necessary sub-traits gradually improve as well. For example, while Miss Masher is equivalent in terms of strength with you thanks to sheer work on her part, she actually has far more endurance than you did prior to claiming it as your second power. As Boss System only impacts the super portion of enhancements, natural raw training stacks on top of it quite nicely. Further using Miss Masher as an example, were she to become part of the system and claim strength, she would immediately become notably stronger than you, and likewise with endurance.]

'...Which she would absolutely do without hesitating. Fuck, you better let me know if her GDV starts gettin' too high, I really do have to work out before then!'

[...At least now you're motivated.]

'Dude! She would never let me live it down starting the very moment she was stronger!'

-----

Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 12.40

Lucas's fame level: 4.50* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are extremely high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.5* (More than just passing suspicion for some paranoid individuals, people are realizing he's an impulsive idiot)

Jonathan total kills: 6

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 4.01 (+.01 net change)

Jonathan's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2.75* (a few paranoid individuals are suspicious)

Willy's fame level: 1.5* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame primarily as 'Xenoclast's dog', but some strangers know him as William/Willy now)

Supervillain social circle size: 11

-----

Little character theater:

Jonathan is still playing with the pretty shiny risky pointy.

Willy has been quietly staring at the fancy Viblade, deep in doggy thought.

Lucas, now dreading a theoretical system-enhanced Sisterhood of Evil: Oh god, what would Chi even take!? Whatever it would be, I already hate it!

427, seriously considering it: [Well, if her fixation on considering Jonathan her rival continues… Probably speed? I imagine Miss Calculated would take memory… No, maybe celerity… Argh, I'm not sure...]

Author, quietly musing to themself, then grinning evilly once they're done muttering: If you openly admit there is at least one red herring mixed in with the instances of potential foreshadowing, does that help or harm the reader's chances of guessing what is potentially accurate?

Mr. Quacks, completing the set of using every form of foreshadowing in a single chapter by providing a definitive prophecy: Quack!