Work Text:
Professor Khimaira idly tapped a claw on their desk as they skimmed the resume before them. The first semester of the academic year was mere weeks away from beginning and they had to replace Dr. Phlebotinum, who had decided to give mad science a try. Not unexpected after long-term exposure to undergrads, but the timing could have been better.
Now they had to find and interview a replacement.
A soft knock at their office door hopefully heralded the appearance of that replacement. "Come in!" they called out.
Moments later, the door opened to admit a green yokai with purple-rimmed glasses and a lavender cardigan. Probably some kind of lizard or reptile, based on the nictitating membranes covering his eyes. When he turned to close the door behind him, they could see some sort of protrusion on his back. Based on the shape it stretched the cardigan into, it was a shell. So a kappa or turtle yokai, most likely. There was something oddly familiar about him.
"You're here for the teaching position?" they asked, just to confirm it wasn't a confused grad student who had wandered in.
The man smiled and nodded as he turned to face them again. "Yep. Pleasure to meet you." He motioned to the chair in front of the desk, and at Khimaira's nod took a seat.
"Your resume says you have some experience teaching at…NYC College of Technology," Khimaira said, claw following the words on the paper in front of them.
Legs crossed and hands folded placidly in his lap, the man nodded again. "I do."
"A Masters from MIT and a Doctorate from Cornell?" Khimaira removed their glasses and frowned across the desk at the job candidate. "Forgive me, but...how?"
A hint of mischief crossed the man's face as he said, "They're all under the impression I have a debilitating medical condition. I was allowed to do my work online. And my students never minded that I lectured remotely. With the camera off, of course. Though sometimes I would set up a camera to show my brother's cat, the students always got a kick out of that."
"I see." Khimaira raised a dark-furred eyebrow, then replaced their glasses on their snout and returned their gaze to the man's resume. "You certainly appear qualified, though I'd want to see an example of any practical application of your skills before making an offer."
"Certainly!" If there had been any doubt the man was a scientist, the speed and eagerness with which he pulled out an electronic tablet and navigated to a folder that seemed to be nothing but projects he had worked on would have put that doubt to rest. "This one I'm especially proud of, it was a joint effort between my brother and I."
He passed the tablet across the desk and beamed. On the screen he was standing next to another turtle/kappa man with darker scales and a more muscular build. They were both wearing dirty coveralls, but the brother had stripped out of the top half and tied the arms around his waist, revealing natural yellow armor over the front of his torso. In the background, they could make out part of a sign reading "MANTIS," but partially blocking that sign was…
"That's a tank."
The turtle/kappa frowned in confusion and leaned forward to peer at the screen upside down. "It's more of an RV?"
"It's heavily armored."
"For protection."
"That's a cannon on top."
"Also for protection."
"Why does it have extra wheels?"
"Oh, those are actually detachable motorcycles."
Khimaira stared over their glasses at the man, wondering if he was playing a joke. "I can clearly see missiles."
"I'm very protective of my family," the job candidate said solemnly.
"Your…brother and his cat?"
"Different brother, not this one."
They stared at each other across the desk. Finally Khimaira glanced back down at the screen and lightly tapped it with a claw. "I do like this metal detailing here."
He smiled brightly, and Khimaira was once again struck by a sense of familiarity. "Thanks! I designed it, but my other brother actually forged it."
"This one or the cat-owner?"
"Different brother. He does some blacksmithing over in the Craftsman District."
If they didn't ask, it was going to nag at them the entire time he worked there. "Have we met before? You look familiar."
He tilted his head thoughtfully, then pointed at them. "Maybe you saw my brother compete in the Battle Nexus?"
"Another brother?"
"No, just the one with the cat again. There's four of us altogether."
Professor Khimaira thought back to recent fights they had witnessed before their eyebrows suddenly shot up. "The Turtle Titan is your brother?"
"That's the one," he replied, nodding.
Khimaira glanced back down at the tablet and swiped through a few other pictures in the folder. They all appeared to be quality work, though perhaps more weapons than they were expecting from someone with such a mild voice and expression. And the blueprints were excellent.
"Well, I've seen enough of your work and credentials," Professor Khimaira said, passing the tablet back and clasping their hands on top of their desk. "What are your thoughts on mad science?"
"I've found that science usually improves my mood, so I'm usually not angry for long once I get in the swing of things."
Khimaira stared at him again. Then down at his resume. The only resume they had received. "Would you be able to start this semester?"
"Of course!"
"Welcome to Hidden City University, Mr. Splinterson," Professor Khimaira said, holding out a paw. "I look forward to working with you."
Standing up to shake the offered paw, their new Professor of Engineering grinned and said, "You can call me Don."