Scout

Scout is the ball who always shows up prepared. Always. For everything. He's forest green, bright-eyed, and covered in badges — each one earned through relentless effort, discipline, and a genuine desire to help others. His room looks like a museum of merit: badges for engineering, safety, teamwork, exploration, emergency response. "Don't worry. I've got a plan" — and he does.

Scout comes from money. He lives downtown in an expensive, well-run building, rides the tram in the first-class section, and has concierges bring him the phone. His father is a 55 who no longer plays in the games, and his family is more protective than any other on the team: "I have to be home by nine or my parents will send the Kingsmen looking for me." What Scout has never told the team is that his mother left, and that since then some in the city call his father "Five Five" instead of the respected "fifty-five." He grew up believing that being numbered meant being useful, and took it to heart — he wants to be the ball everyone can rely on, the one who solves problems before they become disasters.

He's empathetic, organized, anxious when things are messy, obsessive about plans, deeply kind, loyal, thoughtful, and a little too intense sometimes. He has OCD tendencies — everything must be in its place, every plan airtight, every tool accounted for. His teammates tease him for it. They also depend on it. He fixes Gasket's garage door weekly, helps Zero train, supports Nova's dreams, assists the guards and janitors, organizes the team's schedules, preps emergency kits for everyone, and knows every maintenance tunnel in the realm. He's the emotional glue of the group.

His gift is producing the right tool to repair almost anything: wrenches, clamps, welding tips, stabilizers, rope, adhesives, scanners, emergency lights, spare parts. Even in chaos, even under pressure, Scout can spin up the perfect solution. When the spirits come, he spins up knives, a hatchet, a shield and a staff, and arms the whole team.

He's closest to Zero, who he helps train and encourages without ever treating him like a burden. He's there the day Gasket's garage door is about to burst, and he stays afterward to help Zero shape up. He's Nova's confidant, the one who listens to her questions about the sky.

At Lucky Lantern Park, the first night the spirits come through, Scout is the first one hit, from behind, then dragged away screaming. The team finds him badly damaged and unresponsive, and carries him to the repair facility. He's back for Saturday's draw, moving slowly and complaining about every impact, and the team sends him home before the Founders' Ruins. That's why he isn't there at the end.