Nicholas was enjoying his view from the rear eyeing the pretty girls that he sees yet cautious to Scarletâs eyes. He was a bit startled by Grey skipping over to him and hooking her right arm to his left, yet he smiled at her as she introduced herself as Grey holding her free hand in front of him. â âŠand thank you for kidnapping meâ she said while giggling at the end. Nick had a hunch that the girl was not being quite truthful with her laughter as her smile was bigger and her laugh sounded a bit forced, yet he decided to go along with it, thinking to himself, âOkay, here we go girl number two! Iâm on a roll today!â He shook Greyâs hand gently saying in a smooth voice, âAh how rude of me I donât believe I had introduced myself very well back there so sorry. I had some business to take care of but no matter. I am Nicholas Truman, though call me Nick or Nicky if you wish.â He smiled at her and looked into her eyes as they walked up saying, âOh youâre very welcome. Iâve always been the expert at catching the best fish in the sea. Though I apologize for having you walk four flights of stairs. Like I said before there is no elevator.â Nick continued to flaunt and flirt with Grey and look at the other women until they reached the Benefactorâs office.
The Benefactor leaned back on his desk as the new recruits slowly gathered inside his office. First the men appeared and then the women. As the Benefactor studied them closely without staring, he couldnât help but notice how disheveled, confused, and even angry they looked. One of them had even called out "So, you're the asshole that kidnapped me...who the hell do you think you are?" The Benefactor wasnât fazed by the anger that snapped out of the young boy. In fact he had to admit he was very straightforward which would be useful to him.
âPoor things,â he thought. âThey mustâve gone through some pretty rough times only to be brought to another adventure of their lives. No matter. It is now that they will begin their possible transformation.â
The Benefactor then stood up proud and as tall as he could clearing his throat and then greeting his new recruits with a âWelcome.â âMy name is Sylvester Cromwell but I am usually addressed as The Benefactor. Although some of you may know that from reading the letter. Before we begin, I should let you know that should you desire to return to your rooms, the room number is placed in the back of the letter. If you by chance did not read your letter in your room or did not bring it with you and donât remember your room, I will give it to you before we give you a tour of the places you will be working in the town.â Sylvester could see that some people seemed to look up or raise their eyebrows as though he had guessed correctly that some people havenât touched or known about the letter. No matter, there is always an incident such as this one.
The Benefactor motioned to the two recruiters who had accompanied them to move aside as they always have done. He then motioned for the new recruits to come closer and he put his hands towards them palms facing forward. He wore white gloves that matched his formal business attire of a black suit, pants, and shoes. The room seemed to stir a bit and a wind picked up that shook some objects such as a lamp by the corner and some books in Sylvesterâs shelf but not so hard that it would knock things to the floor. A faint glow came from underneath Sylvester and the recruits. It was obscure because of the many recruits, but there was a light sea green spell circle with intricate and ancient symbols. The same glow surrounded the people who may or may not have been a bit frightened but the Benefactor reassured, âDonât worry and donât be afraid. He is right now observing you and trying to gather information of your pasts, of your fears, of your strengths, and of sorrows. He is the one that will bestow your powers which you will utilize in your work. These powers are your Gifts of Innocence. You must now open your hearts, minds, and souls, and accept the Gift of Innocence as parts of you now.â
The glow emanating from the spell circle grew warm and surrounded the individuals as the Benefactor closed his eyes and concentrated. He could feel his strength diminishing bit by bit until the spell was complete. He doubled back and tripped but Nicholas ran to catch him in time.
âThank you Nicholas. Iâll be fine donât worry. Just be sure to fill in what I need you to fill in.â
âSure sir. Hey wait, what do you need me to fill in?â
âYouâve already agreed Nicholas. Youâll see.â
The Benefactor then proceeded to walk towards each individual to inform them of their powers and their tasks. He first walked to Rosalina and said, âRosalina, youâve lost money and your life has gone in all sorts of directions, but now you can help others who were put in the same situation. You are the Loaner who has the power to produce blank checks to loan money to whoever needs it. The wielder of the blank check is able to create blank checks that can be at any dollar amount. They can be given to anyone poor or rich or somewhere in between as long as they meet the terms. It will be agreed upon by customers that there will be a set date for payment and a 1% interest is to be expected. The customer chooses the exact date and time for the payment but it cannot be altered no matter the situation. You will be working very closely with an old friend of yours.â
The Benefactor walked over to Noah and said, âNoah, youâve abused drugs and even conjured your own, sometimes bringing others with you to your downfall. Now you will be a potions maker which is like a drug dealer only your potions are made through your gift of magic medicine. You will brew potions that will solve problems that the customer will have. Materials and the guide book will be provided by the Benefactor. However, the medicines are still drugs, which mean they have to be taken at certain dosages and in a limited amount of time. Make sure you take some funds with Rosalina.â
After talking to Noah, the Benefactor moved on to Hailey, Aradia, and Grey. âAll three of you will be counselors though you differ depending on your power and experiences. Hailey and Aradia youâve been best friends but the friendship hasnât been exactly comforting and supportive has it? Hailey you will be the Empowerment Counselor, taking those who feel as though they are weak and help them take charge into their lives. You were given power to âtake chargeâ because you have been used by another and have felt helpless. You will tell people to recite a mantra to help them take charge into their lives. âI am powerful. My actions do have meaning. I will take charge and control my destiny.âThis mantra when recited helps the user to feel empowerment. The user can take charge in his or her life to the point where he/she is intimidating enough to make other people do as told. The mantra only lasts for twenty-four hours, but it can be said over and over again.
Aradia, you will be the Satisfaction Counselor, taking those who feel as though they are not satisfied with their life and are jealous of others. You will help them turn their jealousy around and replace it with feelings of wanting to know and understand the object of their jealousy more. You were given this power because you have felt jealous and have taken out your jealousy on another person. There is a mantra for this that you will teach. âI am satisfied. There is enough for me. I will turn jealousy into devotion and become a true friend instead.â This mantra when recited helps the user become more devoted to becoming a true friend rather than a jealous poisonous friend. Like the take charge mantra, it only lasts for twenty-four hours, but it can be said over and over again.
Grey, you will be the Death/Suicide Counselor who will try to help and understand victims of depression due to death and suicides. In order to understand your patients you were given the gift of empathy which allows you to feel the pain of your patients emotionally, physically, and mentally. You have experienced the feeling of guilt due to obliviousness. Your empathy is not limited to her patients however. You can also feel the pain of others around you when listening intently, usually asking others âTell me, Iâll listen and try to understandâ in order to activate empathy.
You three will be working very closely as counselors so I hope you get along nicely. The Benefactor said giving a warm smile to the ladies.â
He moved on to Zeus and informed him about his role. âZeus, you will be working with the counselors as well with your role being the Psychologist. You will help people recover from traumatic experiences by permanently erase the painful memories of your patients. You have been sexually assaulted by other women and are always haunted by it, so now you can help others ease their pain by erasing their memory. However, in exchange you must peer into the memories of his patients and erase a happy and equivalent memory. He may use this power outside of work, but the people must be willing to have at least the bad memory erased for it to work.
He turned to Fiona and Alton to tell them about their roles. âYou both will be Animal Rescuers and Trainers as you both have witnessed and or experienced pain. Fiona, you will be a friend to the animals, able to befriend animals easily and having them listen to your commands, as though they understand you completely. Friend of the Animals is given to someone who has been tortured by the various cruel deeds done on animals. You will show them a better life through taking care of them and training them in the special Animal Training facilities provided by the Benefactor.
Alton, you will help Fiona rescue animals from their various dangerous situations. To aid you, you will have the ability to not feel any pain, for you have been abused too many times without reason. It should be noted that the effect of feeling no pain lasts both in and out of the job. Make sure however that you rest periodically."
The Benefactor decided that since he just told the animal Rescuers their roles, he should designate the rescuer of people. âForgive me, is it Jang or Jang Hyun? I have never been the best with Asian names. Anyway, you will also be a rescuer but of people with the gift of resurrection. You have lost many people in your life that you have loved through cruel fate, so now you can help others get that second chance of living. Just note that the people you resurrect will have their lives changed in ways that you need to discover on your own.â
Next he went on to another Asian to get the awkward names over with. âAnother one ahhâŠMaâkoâto? Anyways, you have been running away from a past of killings, being in the Mafia, and other wrong doings and want to get another chance under a new identity. You will allow people that chance as well. Under the guise of a prison guard, you will have the ability of a reset button, the chance to improve their current lives by allowing them to go back and fix the point in their lives that they think ruined them. Look in your hands and you will see that you have a literal Reset Button that has knobs that change the date and time displayed on it. A person can change it to whatever time and date they want to go back to. After they are done fixing their problem they are transported back in the new present There are however limitations as you will figure out."
He turned to Harper and said, âYouâve been in a lot of raping and prostitution business havenât you? You feel worthless thinking that being a whore is your only worth and youâve even panicked about that job of yours havenât you? Donât answer the call. You have another home now. You can help others by being the Empowerer. You are similar to Hailey in that you will help others get up from their sulking, agony, and lack of confidence. You will guide those who were lost, thrown away, and shunned by society to a new direction in life. Your Gift of Innocence, "Listen Well," enables you to allow the person she is talking to listen and obey her advice and commands. There are however, limitations to this power as the person must be able to actually hear it. Unlike the others you will search out those in the town rather than have your clients directed to you. We must always remember there are those who do not wish to actively change their fates, as you should know from experience.â
He turned to Jasper, the man who had spoken up to the Benefactor, and said, âI am someone who knows that you were blamed of murder incorrectly due to misunderstanding. You accuse me of kidnapping but it is merely a misunderstanding as I am helping you as you were at your lowest point. So you want to find the truth of things and you shall as a detective with the gift of Psychometry. It allows you to touch an object or person to see the recent past or future. However, note that you will not be given any indication whether it had happened in the past or will happen in the future.â
The Benefactor made sure to be more open and comforting when approaching Novia knowing that she will be more distrusting than the others. âNovia do not fear. Although I know that you are not legal here, let it be assured that your secret is safe with us and that I am not here to deport you. In fact come see me some time and I have connection that might help you get citizenship if you so desire. But in regards to your job, I know you are a bright person, yet you have been held back by poverty. Therefore you will be the Negotiator, negotiating with various salesmen for needed goods. If any of the workers or I need something we will turn to you for your negotiation skills will be so amazing it will be as though they cannot refuse. You will persuade them with âDo we have an accord?â and the item is yours! I trust that you are smart enough to know the correct amount to negotiate for and will give her a budget to abide by.
Sylvester made sure to hurry since he can tell that people were getting impatient and from the corner of his eye he could tell Jasper was itching to get out of here. âFinally Daniel, the man who was supposed to have been a father. Iâm so sorry about the miscarriage and your wife. Trust me, I know how it feels to lose your significant other.â The Benefactor looked off in space about after he said that, thinking aboutâŠClarissa⊠He shook his head to get back to reality knowing he had to continue and said, âEr Sorry. Anyway, you will be a Fertility Specialist, being able to let others have children the way they want them to be and at any time they wish for the baby to develop. The clients will also be able to pick specific traits for their unborn child. It should be noted that you can only induce pregnancy on willing women. And I would advise you please, do not make any of my staff pregnant. It would be very troublesome to have many little children even though Kaylee would love to have siblings.â
The Benefactor then walked to the front of the room pausing a bit to catch his breath from all of the talking and then finally opening his mouth to speak. âNick I believe it is time for you to fill them in on what I cannot fill in, your power and Scarlet would you like to do so or as always leave it to mystery? Of course Nick you cannot refuse,â the Benefactor ended with a smile.
Nick sighed but he knew he had no choice so he stood in front of the crowd and said, âAs you all know, I am a recruiter but I have the power of persuasion. IâŠused to not be able to commit to anything. I have so many jobs itâs hard to count, I have had many girlfriends that I havenât had the courage to commit to, and IâŠâ Nick paused but the Benefactor urged him to go on. âI left my fiancĂ© at the altar. I couldnât do it. IâŠI ran because I was too afraid to commit to something I wasnât sure of. However, the Benefactor found me and gave me this power. Now Iâm able to make commitments with ease. If I agree to something someone asks me to I will actually be able to do it! Though it goes the same with others. Just be careful, if I ask you to do something and you agree, you canât run away and you have to go through with it.â As Nick finished he sighed having said this story to many new recruits to rile them up.
The Benefactor then stood in front of Nick and asked, âAny more questions?â