mercury rising

how did project MKHellfire find them?

Theodore inherited a lot of things from his parents. He inherited his mothers hair, eyes and loyalty. From his father, he got his empathy and ridiculous eyebrows. But his sisters got his stubbornness, her mouth, his wit, her penchant for danger. All the things that the Atwood-Collins were known for? They passed him right on by. He got straight A's, maintained a 4.0 GPA through 4 years of majoring in International Relations at Stanford.

Post-graduation, Theo's hard work finally paid off. He landed a job as an assistant to the Greek ambassador, and life switched from hours in the library to hours pouring over paperwork, setting up meetings, and doing his damn best to get someone in Washington to notice him.

Nobody who knew Theo would ever peg him as the kind of man to be recruited into a program like MKHellfire. He was never particularly strong, or fast, or physically skilled. His legs moved as if independent of his body and his eyesight was shocking on a good day. He was clever, though, and observant. Deemed once by a New Orleans psychic to be 'the most god damn empathetic man I ever met', it was his brain that caught MKHellfire's attention.

Little did the ambassador know, the friend to which he recommended Theo was actually a part of the project. It was this recommendation that led to his recruitment, and to this day, almost 4 years after he first entered the program, he still can't quite figure out what makes him so special.

how well can they control their ability?

Theo has very little control over his ability. To start with, his trainers told him he’d be able to pick and choose when to detect lies, like switching on a light. Almost 2 years later, he still can’t control it. Every word he hears, he knows the honesty behind it.

That knowledge comes with a price. He knows when someone is lying when they say he looks nice. He knows when “I’m okay” is the biggest lie someone has told that week. He can’t shut out the fake compliments, the veiled emotions, the soft words with hard meanings.

If he hears too many lies, Theo becomes exhausted, headaches splitting his head in two and body becoming lethargic. It takes a lot out of him to  detect lies, even though he can’t control it.

do they get along with their teammates?

All Theo has ever wanted was to be liked, and his teammates are no exception. He admires them, looks up to them. Sometimes, it reaches the point where Theo becomes a bit of a doormat, doing anything people ask just in the hope that one day one of them will say something that doesn’t taste like a lie.