Only a few seconds into the service bot's lengthy explanations regarding the wide range of features available for this section of phones that should qualify for Lucas's needs, Lucas's eyes have glazed over. Jonathan has been diligently listening, nodding along occasionally as he keeps playing with a different pair of phones after about a minute of testing each.
'Duuuude, he might as well be speaking another language. I haven't learned shit about technology here. Oh, I know what waterproof means, at least.'
[…]
"-Ultimately, any of the models in this display over here should be sufficient for your needs, provided they are protected by one of the multiple nanogel-filled case options available. The one-millimeter case is sufficient for slash and bullet res
With the merchandise reclaimed, the service bot opens the main door to the store and holds it open for the three guests to enter before it.Following the proper order of priority, Willy gets to go in first, followed by Lucas, and then Jonathan who still beats everyone else back over to the phone display he was at before. Finally, the bot enters as well.Willy lies back down in more-or-less the same spot he was in before, now paying attention to the previously neglected Mind Flare chew doll. At least, he considers chewing on it as counting as paying attention.The service bot brings the phone back over to the counter he used previously to attach the case, pulls some cleaning wipes out from a drawer nearby to wipe it down, and then performing the case-mounting process in
As Lucas is stuck debating between vine-covered trellises versus conventional hedges to surround the fencing of his several-acre fantasy animal sanctuary, the service bot has returned with a small multi-tiered pushcart.The bottom shelf has five boxes, namely those of the three tablets and two phones. The middle shelf has a large selection of potential cases for the tablets, and the top shelf bears the array of cases for the phones.Right after Lucas decides that the vine-covered trellises would probably be a bit too pretentious, the service bot stops the cart right in front of him. Barely a moment later, Jonathan is standing on the other side of the cart, facing toward Lucas but his attention is down on the nanogel phone case designs. Before the cart is even at a complete stop, he has already started going through them, re-s
As the transaction is finalized and all purchases besides the phones themselves are bagged, Jonathan has set about filling his contact list with the information from the impromptu supervillain social circle symposium last night. Unfortunately, his super-speed doesn't do him much good with most technology as the majority of devices can only accept so many inputs at any given moment.For the rest of that time period, apart from finalizing payment, Lucas is busy giving Willy a photo shoot, trying to decide on wallpaper for his phone.In the end, the victorious photo is a shot of Willy sprawled out on his back with his legs up in the air. He's curled into a C shape, he has the pseudo-Josephine resting on his stomach, the imitation Mind Flare across his chest, the artificial Black Ash Snow sideways between his teeth, and last but
After spending some time contemplating Willy's hardships, Lucas's mind wanders off in another direction.'...Hey, so Jon hates his family name, yeah?'[It seems like it? You could just ask him?]'Well, could I just like, become his legal guardian or something, and he gets my name instead?'[...Given that you are considered a full-grown adult and he is a minor, I don't see why not. Ah, though becoming only a legal guardian wouldn't terminate his parent's current rights. Even though they disowned him, there is a chance they did not do so legally. Heh, did we make enough son jokes that you started to take it seriously?]'Hey, each and e
After a few more minutes of tormenting Jonathan, Lucas's interest has finally started to fade in regards to his trolling. Still holding the phone up in the air, he reaches up with his other hand and gently presses down on the top of Jonathan's head to stop him from jumping around anymore."Okay, okay. Funs over, I promise I won't send it to anyone. Don't make me delete it though, it's hilarious." As Lucas soothes the pouting young teen, he slowly lowers his arm, making sure Jonathan isn't about to snatch the phone out of his hands."You... You better not! Jerk!" The sulking boy finally quits flailing around, crossing his arms over his chest to demonstrate his mopey cooperation.Since his hand is already primed and ready, Lucas makes a point of messing up Jonathan's hai
Thanks to the two ladies' interruptions, Jonathan hasn't actually had a chance to get very far in the check-in procedures over at the self-service kiosk. Please disregard the fact that most of the interruption was in the form of him being doubled over in laughter at the creative insult-compliment hybrid that was sent Lucas's way.Lucas, being the oversized man-child that he is, sticks his tongue out and blows a raspberry at Miss Masher before turning his back to her and going over to check on Jonathan's progress, if it could properly be called that.Behind him, she snorts and stalks over in the direction of the glasses-wearing woman. Once she's in close range, she starts a low conversation with the other woman.As Lucas leans over Jonathan's shoulder, it's his turn for
"Ah! There it is, Renouncing Familial Relations, FI-062. Eh, might as well get everything together so you can fill it all out at once. All right, next up, adoption..." As the glasses-wearing woman works on getting all of the forms needed, a small printer near her has started spitting out several pages of densely filled paper.As more and more pages are spit out by the earnest little machine, Lucas's facial expression keeps gradually sinking.'No wonder they didn't bother formally disowning him.'[I imagine more people would actually fill out the paperwork for things if they just streamlined it a bit. Though, at least the printed text is large enough to be legible. Chances are, a lot of the form is just a bunch of elaborate workarounds to prevent various loopho
Lucas takes a few moments, seeming to be lost in his own deep contemplation, the keyword being 'seeming'."Ahem, well, we won't have the money all at once, but between me and Jon, we'll have a decent amount on a monthly basis... Given some plans we have. Would you happen to know some rough estimates we could expect to see?" As Lucas manages a reasonable enough choice of words, Miss Calculated taps a few more times before finally stopping."I don't know how big of a headquarters you were thinking of having, nor how high end, but if we're just talking about the orphanage... One moment." She pulls a tablet computer over and starts digging up some information, pausing on occasion to do some mental calculations. After a few seconds, she gets a self-satisfied smile and nods once before continuing to speak.