Sept. 4th: Ms. Kinney's Office

[Onyx]

Onyx knocks on the door to the office. She had concerns. Specifically, she had concerns about her capacity for leadership. She had always followed orders. She was comfortable following orders.

She was not very comfortable giving them.

[Laura Kinney]

"Yeah?" comes her voice from inside.

[Onyx]

"Hello, ma'am," Onyx says. "It's Onyx. May I enter? I have...concerns."

[Laura Kinney]

"Sure, come on in." she says. Inside her desk is pushed back against the wall and she has her feet propped up on it while she's doing push-ups.

[Onyx]

Onyx doesn't seem surprised by this as she enters the room. It strikes her as a totally normal thing to do.

"I am concerned I will not be able to fulfill the obligations of being a team lead, ma'am," Onyx says.

[Laura Kinney]

"Why's that?" she asks, only briefly glancing up at Onyx while she continues her workout routine.

[Onyx]

"I have never given orders before, ma'am," Onyx says. "I have never had to lead anyone before. It would put the team in a dangerous position."

[Laura Kinney]

"None of them have ever lead anybody. You've got experience doing this kind of thing. You can't keep taking orders all your life."

[Onyx]

"I could try, ma'am," Onyx says in a weak attempt at a joke.

"I just do not want to let anyone down."

[Laura Kinney]

"I wouldn't have picked you if I thought you couldn't handle it." she says, finally stopping her pushups and jumping to her feet. "Not gonna lie, you'll probably make some mistakes, but so will everyone else."

[Onyx]

"But...do they know that, ma'am?" Onyx asks. "This is not something where you can make mistakes. People get hurt. People die."

"I do not know if I can be responsible for that."

[Laura Kinney]

"Look, I know you're used to the whole flying solo thing. I get it, it's easy because all you have to worry about is yourself and you know what you can trust yourself with. But when we go out there we take on responsibility for other people already. You're stronger in a group if you can learn to rely on each other. You'll just have to trust them to be able to hold their own when push comes to shove. Besides, this is Maldon, not Madripoor. Things are a little less... intense around here."

[Onyx]

Onyx doesn't look entirely convinced, but nods anyway. "Yes, ma'am."

[Laura Kinney]

"Believe me, I know how you feel. Fuck, I didn't want to take this gig for the same reason. I know how to hurt people, not how to keep them safe. But that's probably exactly why Baldie talked me into this."

[Onyx]

"He wants people to perform in roles they are ill-equipped to handle?" Onyx asks.

[Laura Kinney]

"He wants people to challenge and better themselves and blah blah, you heard the speech, right? But he's got a point. Plus I owe him."

[Onyx]

"What do you owe him, ma'am?" Onyx asks.

[Laura Kinney]

"Nothing in particular, it's just an expression. I used to be much worse off before the X-Men."

[Onyx]

"...May I ask you a question, ma'am?"

[Laura Kinney]

"Shoot."

[Onyx]

"How did they help you?" Onyx says. "I am supposed to learn something here, but I am not sure what it is. I do not know what I am supposed to be doing."

[Laura Kinney]

"I'm not really sure that's applicable, but I was conceived as a weapon, to hunt down and assassinate people. I was really good at it too. Even after I got away from that I just kind of drifted around aimlessly until the school in New York took me in."

[Onyx]

Onyx nods, "And they made you a better assassin?"

[Laura Kinney]

"Hell no. It's more that they showed me there's better things to do with my life. Better causes to fight for and better ways to go about it than killing people. That's my point. I don't think you're here to learn how to get better at what you already do. You could have done that in Madripoor. You're here to learn the things you don't even realize you haven't learned yet."

[Onyx]

"...That hurts my head, ma'am," Onyx admits.

[Laura Kinney]

"You'll figure it out. Challenge yourself, learn new things. That's it."

[Onyx]

"Yes, ma'am," Onyx says. "Thank you."

[Laura Kinney]

"Hey, any time."