Not that he was afraid of the beast man, but the assurance that he wouldn't be attacked no matter the anger management issues of the beast man came handy in making him confident.
Beast men were illegal in most human cities because of their innate violent personalities and because people didn't like them for being the descendants of otherworlders. The latter reason is just racist, but the former is a very important reason why civilized human society doesn't like beast men.
Of course, beast men believe that humans are the uncivilized ones. They would mock humans and say that they are weak and live like sheep. As far as derogatory comments went, that last part clearly needs more work.
The two of them regarded each other mildly. Then they glanced away and joined one of the six lines servicing villains. The line was long, so people were chatting with each other. There were also tables and chairs, with many sitting at them close to the walls, so conversation was brimming.
Someone in front of him in another line complained, "You would think that with all the advances we've made in technology, we wouldn't need to line up for something we could do online."
The person beside him chuckled and said, "It seems you are new to this part of the city. Where did you come from?"
"None of your business," came the curt reply.
"What if I want to make it my business?"
"Then you will have to buy me dinner first. But you're not my type. I don't go for scrawny weasels. I like my weasels with meat in them and female."
That caused a loud roar of laughter to erupt in the hall. The villains were obviously having a good time. At least for now. Things might be different when they leave this place.
No one did give an explanation as to why people needed to line up instead of registering online. It is because villains are selfish with everything and very selfish with information.
The guy who asked that question clearly showed that he was ignorant. No one was going to enlighten him by handing out information for free. If anything, they would be looking to take advantage of him. He had made himself look like prey with that ignorant complaint.
Kelvin wasn't that ignorant. He knew that it was because the internet wasn't secure anymore. He knew that hackers were an issue long before the advent of the Tower of Destiny, but the weapons class of supers made it too dangerous to leave important information on any electronic.
Because of them, electronics would just give up the data they possessed as long as they were asked nicely. So the network being used by the league is an organic one.
To be specific, it is a single person serving as the main computer and smaller machines serving as terminals to access this person. This way, the network couldn't be hacked easily, and the location of the main computer is unknown.
He waited for 32 minutes before it was his turn. He entered the booth, which sealed him off from the surroundings. It was as if he had been transported to a different location.
It was there that he made his registration. A robot helped him through everything he needed to do. He didn't mind that he had to show his face and have his finger prints recorded for it. He wouldn't have minded even if he was not a shapeshifter. The personal terminal they gave him made it all worth it.
When he was done, the booth opened for him to leave. He could finally hear the drone of idle chatter again. He decided not to stick around for their pleasant company, so he left. He went to a restaurant close by to access his terminal in peace.
Despite trying to control himself, he couldn't help the smile that played on his lips. The feeling of the terminal in his hand was the proof that he was his own man. It was liberating.
Wrath noticed that he was in a good mood, so it asked, "What's got you so happy?"
"Nothing much. Just full of anticipation for the future."
"Ok." Then it changed the subject. "This place doesn't seem so bad. So are you going to join a gang?"
Kelvin sneered and said, "I would rather join a corpo than join a gang. Gangs are too messy. I just be an independent."
"But you won't have backup and support though."
Kelvin shrugged. "I don't need one."
"Fine. So what's the first mission?"
"I'm thinking something with an interesting ability that I can steal."
Wrath agreed. "That's a good idea. Prioritize growing your ability over money. When you are strong enough, money will come to you."
"I was not thinking of that. I was just too excited to try my ability."
"That works too."
He didn't care about the increase in the amount of glances he was getting for mumbling to himself. They are just glances, nothing special. No one cares if he was crazy. They simply identified the possible threat and kept a safe distance between him and them.
He finally reached the restaurant. The two of them eagerly huddled over the terminal as soon as he found a seat. They couldn't wait to pick a mission.
The terminal is a rather large device. It looks like a brick and feels like one. It is heavy like a brick, but it has a touch-interactive screen for inputs, so it is clearly an electronic.
As a bona fide villain, he can access the league network through it. Not everything had to be done by lining up. But some of the functions of the terminal required special permission or reputation to access.
In its base stage, he can get some updates about the events going on in the world. There is a news real and power wall that showed the ranking of villains. It was sort of like updates about the stock exchange. Except the updates are about which villains have been confirmed dead, which bank was robbed recently, or which villain was responsible for robbing a bank.