"So, you mean my DNA's changed? OK. I guess that makes sense, but what about the scales and the mood-swings? None of Praetoria's family have scales, so i don't see how i could've got them from her. Where have they come from?"
"There's other markers that we haven't matched or simply aren't stored in the archive. Also, remember that feathers are simply modified scales, and there's at least one of the Praetor lineage to manifest wings. Whippoorwill's wings were an artificial graft, so I'm leaning toward the Praetor DNA."
He pushes his glasses further up his nose. "The mood swings may be a byproduct of certain markers common to those with strong mental powers -- your teammate Psyche, perhaps? If I'm correct, your mood swings are empathic. You will likely feel your emotions match those of others, especially if they are strong or are shared by a large number of people.
"And there is additional evidence that intense emotional states can catalyze your DNA to recombine. I was provided with some cell phone videos of the other night. You were at a 'dragon themed' party, I note. The one thing I can thankfully rule out, though, is that there was no evidence of a 'street drug' version of the Wyvern Serum. You are the only one exhibiting the scales, and your recombinate DNA is the likely source of your transformation."
At the mention of the Wyvern Serum, Silver Shield's eyes go wide, but she looks immediately relieved.
Psyche couldn't go to her mother's house. Not yet.
She was all too aware that once she released her webs back into the clothes, she wasn't going to be any less conspicuous. There wasn't really any danger that someone would connect Kylie and her, but she didn't particularly want Kylie to be known for that outfit. At least not outside its proper context. Her identity suggestions also weren't really designed to take care of things like seeing Psyche fly into Kylie's bedroom window. She was good, but questions would be raised.
She wasn't ready to go to the Tower. She just wasn't.
She thought about heading out, far out to where people weren't, but she wasn't going to stop and read the instructions for her drone now, and she was pretty sure that she wasn't supposed to leave the state.
Isaiah was probably the only person who'd still be down at Blockbuster. She could deal with that.
She was careful not to get too far ahead of her drone, trying to adjust to its frustratingly slow speed. She descended into the old base, floated over to the empty girls' dorm, and just collapsed.
She felt so stupid. All her life she'd been taught to expect exactly this, to understand just how afraid of her everyone was, but she'd fooled herself. She'd seen how quickly her team had changed from fear and discomfort to acceptance and affection, but she'd been too damned stupid to realize how quickly it would change back.
Even the people who cared about her, who were trying to help her, thought she wasn't human.
She cloaked the drone; she didn't want to look at it any more than she had to. I wonder if it really is just a drone, or if this is how they'll try to kill me? If it's a bomb, or if it's going to gas me or something. I don't think the judge would have authorized that, but who knows what someone might have put in it? Probably it is just a drone. I don't want to know if it's not.
It wasn't her birthday, but she was clearly too stupid and naive to wait until her next one. One of the nice things about having a video rental above her was that she could sit here in the dark and watch Village of the Damned until her eyes were dried out and she finally got it through her stupid head.
It doesn't matter who you fight, or how many people you save. You're not a person to them. You're a monster or a weapon. You're something to be studied, something other. When someone eventually blows up a schoolhouse to kill you, they'll be the hero. Stop hoping for something better.
Stopped by the hulking Beastmode, Rory gives himself a quick but exaggerated pat down and pulling a pen from a utility pocket exclaims, "Ah here! Now what I want you to do is take this pen, find a nice quiet spot, sit down, and write down some insults until you come up with something good, or at least funny. Make sure to drink lots of water because if that big head of yours overheats it could burn this whole place down." At the word 'down' Rory released the pen allowing it to fall to the floor.
Mattie listens carefully. "So its because I went to a party and wore a costume? Really? So, can you stop it? Can you stop me from having the mood swings, or get rid of these scales? It won't get worse will it?" She asks, shooting a nervous glance at Silver Shield.
Horizon clicked on his comms, addressing everyone that was part of the team and had them.
"I've just finished talking to Whippoorwill. I hope that everyone is ready for this. Change of plans, though. After talking to her, it's become apparent to me that us getting involved with mob control is just going to make us targets. So I'd like us to hang back and watch from a distance." This was also good because he wasn't sure that some people on the team would be able to hold their temper - including himself.
"...Isaiah, Psyche doesn't have her comm on her. Can you try and contact her through other means? I guess if you have some psychic tracker, or maybe send her a telegram through hologram...wait. She has a phone. Everyone in this time period has a phone," He realizes, feeling stupid. Especially since he was saying so to everyone on broadcast. "Okay, so, contact her, see if she can make it. She's...going through some stuff. Mattie I think is still at Dawkins, but let her know too if she's good to come. I don't want to down hands if we can help it here. It's possible we're looking at the Duskguard making an appearance today."
He didn't like playing the leader at all. But for this one operation at least, he wanted to make sure that everyone was on board with what they were doing. Soon as he was ready, he flew off to find a good vantage point near the middle school.
Normally at this time of day, Andrew Jackson Middle School was a quiet part of town with kids only a few years younger than their team sitting bored in their science or social studies classes. Others were passing balls to each other in the adjoining gymnasium and the intense awkwardness of pubescent tweens and teens was easiest to see in the middle of health classes where they squirmed and watched decades old films on human reproduction. Yet there was a different kind of tension in the air that day. Across the road on a public lot, a tech crew had assembled together the kind of outdoor platform used for stage plays and political addresses. But today there was a different event happening altogether.
A large gathering of mostly men had shown up, many wearing white polo shirts and tan slacks as a type of uniform, holding up signs in protest. Some read slogans like 'DON'T REPLACE MY PRESIDENT WITH YOUR SOCIAL JUSTICE', 'AFFIRMATIVE ACTION NEED NOT APPLY', 'GOD HATES LIBERALS', among others that were far more nasty and provocative. There were others in camo jackets, chatting with each other and looking ready for a fight, their rifles slung by straps across their shoulders. Plenty of others were also open carrying handguns in holsters. The sea of angry male protesters was still dotted in a few places with women as well, waving their own protest signs - one who was holding up a large picture of Andrew Jackson assaulting another politician with his cane.
Standing on the road between the protest and the school grounds themselves was at least two dozen officers, in their black and blue uniforms. They had set up wooden barricades to ensure that they understood where they were allowed to actually go, preventing them from stepping onto the school grounds proper. Several police cars were set up on opposite ends of the streets in order to cordon off traffic. A couple officers, darker in complexion than the rest, stood facing away from the protest and tried to ignore any jeering coming their way.
Shin was on a rooftop a block away, looking at all of this with incredulity. There was definitely a lot of people. It seemed impossible that there was this many that were willing to openly endorse such a ridiculous protest. Yet in his heart, he understood that there were probably even more who were rooting for this silently. Not the majority, but enough to thumb the scales so that this could happen.
He waited, hoping everyone would show up. The main speech was scheduled in just a few minutes. If they got through that to noon without incident, then they could all release the breath that was being collectively held by everyone. He hoped that he wouldn't be doing this all on his own.
Kayla shows up alongside Rory, the pair coming onto the roof from the stairwell. Kayla was in casual clothes, torn jeans and a white tank top. She walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned on it with her elbows, looking down at the rally with disgust. ”This is just...pathetic. That people still are this hateful.”
"Probably wise to not be too obvious. We seem to have a knack for attracting trouble recently."
----
Isaiah/Inqiury were aware of Psyche's return to Blockbuster base. How best to chat with her? Probably was best to just call her phone, though He had other methods if she didn't pick up.
Psyche's phone rang.
----
Isaiah watched the rally with a slight frown, while Inqiury hid down on the streets below.
"Unfortunately, it's a bit of a statistics thing. Any time you have a lot of people, you're sure to end up with at least some that hold just about any opinion, regardless of how foolish, hypocritical, or misdirected."
Kayla shrugs, turning her back to the scene below, and turns to try to find her a clean spot to sit. Not finding any really suitable ones, she settles on a spot near the guys and conjures her armor over her clothes before sitting down and resting her back against the wall. She takes her iPhone and starts flipping through various news alerts being sent her way. Most of them involve derogatory comments about her and her companions dress and their behavior. There was even a picture of Kayla sitting at the bar in her costume drinking a glass of wine!
I don’t even remember that...Oh god soon as the Fam finds this one, I’m in for it...
She sighs and leans her head back against the wall with her eyes closed a moment before sitting back up and closing the browser and going to her texts. She considers sending one to Kylie, but her thumbs stop short of tapping the keyboard. She backs out and instead scrolls to Mattie in her contact list.
Hey. Hope you are doing okay. I’m worried about you. We are out with Shin watching over some white supremacy rally. It’s sickening.
She looks up to Rory and pats the section of wall beside her for him to join her.
Shin’s all about this and has his eyes on that scene like a hawk. And Isaiah’s ship has enough scanners to hopefully warn us of anything coming.
When you provoke someone, tell the GM what you’re trying to get them to do. This is crucial! What you say in character to provoke them is about pushing their buttons—but what you actually want them to do might be totally different from what you say out loud. You might provoke an adult hero, pushing them, getting in their face, as if you were provoking them to a violent confrontation. Except you really want them to back down and leave, and you’re counting on them being an adult and a hero to get them to do what you actually want. Every time you provoke someone, you must say exactly what you want them to do out of character, no matter what you’re saying in character.
She really didn't want to hear the buzz of her phone. There weren't any calls she was hoping to take. But she wasn't so far gone as to entirely ignore it.
Her phone floated up before her eyes. Isaiah? Well at least I know he's not calling to tell me to be more human.
"Hello?"
"Hey, this is Isaiah. Me and a bunch of the rest of the team are going to go off and watch a potentially dangerous situation where we might end up in a fight with Dusk. Wondering if you want to come along. Or if you just need someone to talk to; I can hold down a conversation while doing other things if you want."
Dusk. He was dangerous enough they might really need me. Even if they don't want to see me, I should stay close.
"Okay. I'll be nearby."
The phone was silent for a long beat.
"What did Shin tell you? Is Mattie okay?"
Freddie Taylor's face turns into a very intriguing shade of purple and several veins pulse in his neck and temple.
He shoves a meaty finger in Frostbite's face. "Seeing as how you're just a kid, I'm gonna let that slide. For nonce. Now. Once." He shakes his head with a growl and stomps away, giving a reinforced doorframe a slam as he passes through it, causing it to buckle and the whole floor of the Tower to shudder.
Frostbite turns and walks away with his arm around Kayla, "You know, it is really going to hurt when he finally hits me... Ha Ha." Rory chuckles very pleased with himself.
”You have no idea...” Kayla mutters nervously as she looks back over her shoulder at Freddie as he storms off.
Rory sits next to Kayla and clicks his tongue, "Hopefully this is much ado about nothing. At the very least I would like to not take anymore hits to the face, thank God I dont swell like normal people."
Kayla lays her phone in her lap and asks ”What happened there, by the way? Something from the bombs hit you last night?” with guilt heavy in her voice.
Mattie listens carefully. "So its because I went to a party and wore a costume? Really? So, can you stop it? Can you stop me from having the mood swings, or get rid of these scales? It won't get worse will it?" She asks, shooting a nervous glance at Silver Shield.
Howard Dawkins shakes his head. "I cannot stop it; this is your power, your genetic code. Most metahuman powers comes with inherent safeguards that protect you, and frequently allow for some measure of control. While I cannot promise this for you, I believe you can train yourself to control the rate and type of absorption of foreign genomes. I have observed that your genome has the capacity to retain what appears 'useful' and destroy unfavorable or irrelevant material."
He pulls a computer touch screen towards him and starts tapping on it. "A containment suit could be effective in preventing the unwanted absorption of genetic material, but it will not help in training.
"And as for your mood swings, they will likely continue without training in psychic blocking techniques. Or medication."
"Oh yeah. So Horizon and I watched another movie after ya'll left. When the movies finished we parted ways and I headed for the rhino to head back to Blockbuster. Now me and Scorch aren't Shield's first students, some moved on to other cities,some retired. Well her previous protege was Nadia, she was there when me and Scorch moved in, and wasn't pleased sharing the spotlight or something because one day poof she was gone. So Silver Shield had us on a stakeout the other day where an old power suit of her's was up for auction but we stopped it and I secured the armor in th he rhino. Well last night when leaving Nadia jumped me in the parking lot and stole the armor and disabled the car, and just beat the piss outta me. The bombs had gone off or were just going off when I came to, then I spent the rest of the night trying to help with the fires and such..." Rory finishes by just kind of trailing of at the end.
”Oh gosh! Baby!” Kayla says quietly but concerned as she puts a hand on Rory’s arm. ”I...I didn’t know! I thought it was my fault! Are...are you okay? Does Silver Shield know?”
Shin peered as close as he could to the action, frowning as he tapped his side. "I don't get how people can still be so open about this. In front of a school." The chilling thing for him though wasn't that it was in front of a school. It was that he saw a couple of kids watching from interest from the school grounds. He shook his head, getting himself back into a proper mindset for this stakeout.
Soon enough, the crowd started cheering, as a man in similar attire to those in their white shirts and slacks appeared on stage, miked and with a megaphone in hand. He was balding, pot-bellied and with a thick salt and pepper mustache. "That's Gregory Stone," Shin pointed him out, furrowing his brow as he noticed another odd figure. Decked out like some kind of riot control officer, he was standing off to the side on stage, his full-faced helmet printed with the image of an eight-legged horse. "Don't know who that is, though. Might be trouble."
As Stone starts to rile up his followers as he starts to shout in anger about people spitting on American history, three figures appeared suddenly on stage with him, shocking the man into silence as the horse helmeted guard reflexively holds up a strange looking firearm at them.
A Hispanic woman, curvy and with her dark hair pinned up in a bun as she wore fashionably athletic clothing, waves her hands out towards the police line. The officers all yell in surprise and confusion, looking around and chattering into their walkies.
Next to her is a tall black male, head shaved and wearing sunglasses and a long black coat, his gaze directed at Stone himself. He doesn't approach him, instead lifting up what appears to be a black umbrella and opening it up over himself.
The final figure has stepped between his allies and the guard, a shirtless muscled man whose whole body is covered with dark, intricate tattoos, from his face to even the bare feet that he was walking on. He grinned white teeth at the man, as if daring him to shoot.
Stone finally recovered enough to start yelling again. "D-D-Duskguard! You aren't welcome here! This is none of y-your business!" He says. "W-We will defend ourselves if we need to do so!" He says. Those protesters who were carrying rifles and guns are drawing them, but this prompts a reaction from police as they also go for their firearms, but aren't all looking at the crowd.
What do you do??
"So i'm stuck with these scales then? Mattie says "I don't much like the sound of medication, but I guess it wouldn't be too bad? But a containment suit? I wouldn't be able to use my powers in something like that, would I?"
Hearing the commotion, Kayla stands up and looks down at the supers who had appeared, studying their demeanors and stances, and likely power sets...
"Why would it be your fault, and no I haven't... I should do that soon huh?"
Isaiah/Inqiury looked down below, keeping an eye on the unfolding events.
They needed to remember, they were here mainly to observe and be ready, not to barge in right away.
But still, something felt a little fishy about this whole thing. Like it was too well choreographed, too predictable, too convenient. That might just be paranoia, but good spies trusted their paranoia.
"Be careful, maybe get down out of sight. I don't like the look of this. Something feels off."
Isaiah/Inquiry sent out messages to the Alliance, letting them know that yes, the Duskguard had shown up, and while it hadn't gotten ugly yet, it probably would soon enough.
And at the same time, Isaiah lay down on the roof, doing his best to be concealed as he carefully eyed the Duskguard down below, trying to determine their intentions.
But they were too far away for him to get a good read on any subtle cues in movement and bearing.
"Shin hasn't said too much, but I can infer that there was some sort of argument or other distressing occurrence, based on behavior. Mattie should be fine; I'm pretty sure they're looking her over at the research facility. I won't worry unless I don't hear anything for a day or so, at which point I'll probably try something sneaky. And as regarding the first matter, I haven't heard much one way or the other, so if you need an unbiased ear, I'm happy to listen."
Shin had been expecting to see the Duskguard coming from the outside. He hadn't thought that they'd been able to teleport right in the middle of the stage like that. He recognized the faces as well from the files he'd perused. There wasn't enough time to get into the details with the team.
"We've got them down there. Something's up and there's a lot of armed people. If anyone starts shooting it's going to cause a bloodbath," Shin says to the group. "Everyone be ready for a fight here. But we have prioritize keeping people alive and safe. Let's get going," He tells them, flying forward.
Praetoria feels that her experience over the past few fights in her life are preparing her for this, and that she can do a lot to help everyone.
Isaiah's not just too far away to figure out the intentions of the Duskguard, but they haven't actually made any moves on the crowds or Stone yet.
As the group moves in, Stone stares at his bodyguard in anticipation and fear. "I'm paying you a lot to keep me safe, s-so they better not come near me!" He hisses, only to step back as the large black man with the umbrella steps closer to him, until they're both at the edge of the stage.
"You're a bully and a thug. The world has no need of you," The Duskguard said, peering down at him. The tension is rising, and the team can see that there are plenty of itchy trigger fingers, both for the protesters and for the police. Getting closer, it seems that they think there's a massive wall between them and the protest now!
Just as the group gets close enough to start intervening, a pair of hands reach up out through the stage without breaking it, grabbing onto the Maori Duskguard's ankles and making him shout in surprise. The horse marked guard fires an electric arc from his gun, but it simply bounces off of the man's skin!
Just as things seemed dicey before, the Hispanic Duskguard shifts her hands and suddenly, several of the protesters with rifles are shouting in fear, dropping the weapons and trying to wipe something they can only see from their arms!
”Horizon! Wait!” Kayla calls out in futility as Shin flies off to the fight zealously.
”Damnit! Now we gotta back him up! Let’s go, boys!” she says before darting off through the air like a shot! She quickly closes the distance and puts herself between the speaker and the Duskguard. ”Alright, enough of this. I may not agree with a single word this guy is ranting, but we do still have freedom of speech in this country,” she says as she stares the Duskguard members down as a pair of golden fighting batons formed of pure energy materialize in her hands.
"Shin hasn't said too much, but I can infer that there was some sort of argument or other distressing occurrence, based on behavior. Mattie should be fine; I'm pretty sure they're looking her over at the research facility. I won't worry unless I don't hear anything for a day or so, at which point I'll probably try something sneaky. And as regarding the first matter, I haven't heard much one way or the other, so if you need an unbiased ear, I'm happy to listen."
"I really hope she's okay. I don't want to think about what would happen if we had to rescue her... They're all afraid of me Isaiah. I frighten them so much that they hate me; when I came to them asking for help, they shot me and Shin, and Mattie for all I know, because they were afraid of me. I didn't help things, I know; I didn't stop to look, so I opened their front door before I realized it was meant to be secure. Then they shot us while I asked for help. I stopped flying, I withdrew from their minds, I didn't put up any shields, or take their guns. And they shot us because I didn't just drop Mattie on her head. They collared me, Isaiah. They let me out until my trial, but that's all.
"They're probably going to take me away, and Shin thought they were right."
"So i'm stuck with these scales then? Mattie says "I don't much like the sound of medication, but I guess it wouldn't be too bad? But a containment suit? I wouldn't be able to use my powers in something like that, would I?"
Dawkins thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "It's possible that the introduction of a new genetic code could result in a hybrid genome that will overwrite your current one, and undo the scales. Though whether you would return to original skin or some other morphological exterior, it entirely depends on the newly introduced genetics.
"As for the containment suit, with all the talented techs out there, I'm sure someone could put together something that would allow your fire powers to be used. But yes, the idea is to prevent the use of your true power, which is morphological genetic absorption and adaptation."
Mattie gaze darts between the Silver Shield and the doctor's face on the monitor, her eyes wide. "But surely,... surgery or,.. something? There must be some way of getting rid of them? I can't be stuck like this?" she says, tears beginning to form in her eyes. " What do you mean introduction of a new genetic code? You mean I try to assimilate someone else's DNA? Some other morphological exterior? You mean it could make this worse?Is there any way to be sure that I'd go back to normal?"
Answers to Mattie's questions:
* Surgery unlikely to be effective, may even cause further physical effects as her body heals according to new genetics.
* The physical effects of the DNA she's currently assimilating are likely to continue - the assimilation process is ongoing.
* (If its OK with you),... The containment suit will prevent permanent assimilation of new genetic material but will allow her to temporarily copy powers without the risk of permanent assimilation.
* (if it's OK with you?) He can also provide a serum (injected daily) that won't halt the assimilation process that's already happening (i.e., the scales) but may slow it. However, long-term use may have side effects that are impossible to predict. (PM coming for you about this).
Shin hovers in the air above the protest, panic rising up in him as he looks at how things are going. He's so worried about making a mistake. For now he sets himself up to help everyone when they need it. "Isaiah, we need to disarm as many people as possible before someone gets shot! Rory, help Prae with the Duskguard!" Shin shouts out from above - and makes himself a target, the bodyguard on the stage aiming and firing off two rockets that start to chase him around in the air!
Praetoria finds herself the subject of interest for both Stone and the crowd, as the man gets a burst of courage from her presence. [B]"See that people! Even the best of our heroes are trying to protect what we're trying to accomplish! Don't hold back and defend us from these monsters!" He shouts, drawing a cheer from the protestors close by.
”No,” Kayla says loudly. ”I’m trying to get two groups of morons from getting themselves or others hurt!” she retorts.
When the bodyguard fired rockets at Horizon, she turns and yells ”Hey! Knock it off!” she says as she lunges at the man to try to take the weapon...
__________
Praetoria doesn't make it to the bodyguard, as he was on the opposite end of the stage. But taking advantage of her distraction is the tall black Duskguard. The shades wearing, umbrella wielding man grabs her by the back of her hair, and bares a mouthful of fangs to attempt to bite her!
"Shin? What happened to waiting until backup arri--- What!? Are you TRYING to get shot here!?"
Isaiah is cut off by the bodyguard's suspiciously quick rocket-launch. While he is able to pop off a couple shots and destroys one of the rockets in midair, he misses the other; Isaiah quickly darts in and shoulders Shin out of the way, before preparing to take the remaining rocket as best he can.
Fortunately, this turned out to be a lower-end enough rocket that Isaiah is able to disable it simply extruding a blade and cutting the rocket in two, separating the trigger on the tip from the actual explosives.
"Horizon, GET DOWN! They've got heavy weapons down there, and are a bit too quick on the draw. I think this might be a trap."
With that said, and a mildly exasperated message sent off to the Alliance about their having entered engagement, Isaiah needed to consider what to do about this mess. With a disgruntled sigh, he ultimately decided it was probably best to just flashbang the lot.
"Close your eyes and cover your ears."
With a quick motion, Isaiah slid in a flashbang crystal and fired it into the middle of the mob, briefly deactivating his own optical and auditory sensors in time with the detonation.
Praetoria anticipates the attack from behind and with a clever application, grabs the dark Duskguard and pushes him to crash into the hispanic woman. She falters and loses concentration, and Praetoria can see that the people who'd dropped their guns were now looking confused, before going to grab them again.
Isaiah manages to protect Shin from the rockets, but as he cuts through the one heading for him, it occurs to him the explosive payload was barely strong enough to crack its shell, and two halves of a wire net fly by him on either side.
Meanwhile, the Maori appears to be entangled with someone else, in a skull mask and hoodie, leaping up through the stage floor to try and tag the shirtless Duskguard with a stun gun, only for it have no effect, and vanishing under the stage before the Maori has a chance to react. He's kept from assisting his fellow members also by the bodyguard in his combat armor, who has switched from his electric gun to something with a large dish on the front, pulsing a sonic blast at him.
As the disorientated protesters grab onto their rifles, others hold their handguns fearfully, and the police on the other side of an invisible wall are still trying to figure out what what going on. And then the flashbang goes off.
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG-
People below are screaming now. When Isaiah returns his sight, he sees people panicking, the police scrambling for cover behind their vehicles, and some protesters have started firing their weapons up at him and Shin and the stage! Bullets ping off of both the Maori and Praetoria's Regalia. Worse still, some of them ricochet back into the crowd, people stumbling blind trying to get away desperately.
Stone is terrified as well, leaping behind Praetoria and clutching onto her shoulders. "Save me! I'll pay you whatever you want! You can have an exclusive interview with my show!" He pleads. But she also finds that the tall Duskguard isn't done with her yet, baring claws and fangs at her now and coming after the Legacy!
Shin flies down into the crowd, desperately trying to grab and throw away as many of the guns that he can see. Several try to draw on him, but up on stage the Hispanic woman raises her hand at them and they drop their guns and start stomping on them!
Isaiah finds himself suddenly assaulted as well, as he is hit with a sonic blast from the bodyguard's gun!
What do you do???
”Ugh! Hands off, buddy!” Kayla grunts as she shrugs off the man’s clutching hands. ”I don’t want your money or to be on your show! In fact, don’t even mention me or the team on it unless you want legal action ta-“ she stops as she sees the man with fangs moving to attack her again.
She attempts to parry his claws aside and swat him a couple of times with super strength hits from her batons in places that wouldn’t kill, but would hurt like hell if they struck!
__________
The sound of gunshots and a more ringing boom were enough to make Psyche stir on her bench.
Damn. Well. Here I come to save the day.
She was still at a reasonable distance, so as her sundress dissolved into her webs, she sent her mind racing ahead of herself. By the time she arrived, she'd know what she had to do.
Right before she linked up with her friends though, she thought, But they don't want me in their heads. Even for this? If they don't trust me in there for dancing, why would they feel differently about it when it's important.
Guess I'll just be 'human.'
Mattie gaze darts between the Silver Shield and the doctor's face on the monitor, her eyes wide. "But surely,... surgery or,.. something? There must be some way of getting rid of them? I can't be stuck like this?" she says, tears beginning to form in her eyes. " What do you mean introduction of a new genetic code? You mean I try to assimilate someone else's DNA? Some other morphological exterior? You mean it could make this worse?Is there any way to be sure that I'd go back to normal?"
The 'Gene'ius shakes his head. "Surgery would cause damage, requiring your body to heal itself. That would only hasten the scaling. This process is ongoing. I could perhaps design an inhibitor to slow, and maybe even arrest the process. But you must understand my reluctance. This is your power. Sometimes fighting against it can lead to... adverse reactions."
Well, that hadn't worked the way he'd hoped. In hindsight, he should have known it wouldn't. File that away for later; use something else next time. At least the damage was minimal, so far. The psychic Duskguard actually seemed to be helping the situation via disarming the protesters, but the chompy guy going after Praetoria might be an issue. Of course, the real problem was the shooting. At least he was resilient enough that small-arms fire wasn't going to hurt him, and the sonic blast from the trigger-happy bodyguard didn't do much either. But what to do? He apparently wasn't much good at handling crowds. So he decided to focus on the toothy Duskguard.
With all the moving around, and the distraction of incoming fire, Isaiah fails to accomplish much of anything, unable to line up a clean shot free of potential for hitting the wrong target.
Inquiry slides closer through side alleys, aiming to work its way around the invisible barrier before joining in. They at least remembered to brief Psyche as she came in.
"Three Duskguard. One's a psychic, the other two seem to be more of bruisers. Psychic is blocking off the police and disarming protesters. Protesters are in a panic; a bit of that is my fault, actually, but they were trigger-happy to begin with. Bodyguard dude seems to like shooting everyone, but is using non-lethal weapons; he's at least a professional."
As Inquiry and Psyche both make their way towards the chaos, they both sense through sight or powers what appears to be the anti-powers task force, police equipped with the latest in cutting tech counter technology for the various powered villains in Halcyon. But their progress is suddenly stopped as a garbage truck blocks them off at a choke point, delaying them!
At the rally proper, as Shin is weaving through the crowds and disarming as many people as he can, some of the protesters start to flee towards the police, only to encounter officers already on edge shouting loudly at those who seem to be walking through a wall only they can see, firearms at the ready. Horizon looks up, concern on his face, before he attempts to defend the fleeing protesters from the cops. He manages to get their focus off of them - only to find himself their focus now, shouting at him to get on the ground. He complies, hands up as half a dozen officers slowly surround him with guns drawn.
Praetoria is keeping up with the fanged Duskguard as he is battered by her assault, only to find himself unable to trade in kind with her. He glances back, whistling at the Maori. "Yankee swap," He says, before they leap back at each other, and in a clearly practiced move, spin around so that the Maori is now coming at Praetoria with a wide grin and a big fist. She finds herself still being clung to by Stone, unwilling to leave her side in this fight!
Isaiah finds himself unable to find a clean shot. The bodyguard on the other hand, takes out another weapon. One that would still his heart if it beat.
A jury-rigged Iron Federation magicaster.
The guard fires it, and a massive cloud of stinging, corrosive dust sprays out and takes the drone by surprise! But the guard isn't paying enough attention, as the fanged Duskguard comes after him - and the mystery phaser goes after the Duskguard, a three on one battle.
As Rory shows up, the hispanic woman smirks at him, and holds her hand out to him. He's suddenly surrounded by a blinding snowstorm, though can feel no cold and hears the chaos around him still!
As Psyche finally arrives, she sees Shin surrounded by police, Praetoria fighting a Maori warrior while trying to get rid of a civilian clinging to her, a Rory fighting an invisible blizzard and Isaiah reeling from a surprise attack.
WHAT DO YOU DO??
Psychic'll be mine in a moment, but as long as they're on crowd control and not crowd Control, they're probably doing more good than harm. She was about to dismiss the gun-toting bodyguard and concentrate on the bruiser, when she felt an unfamiliar sensation from Isaiah. Pain.
Guess who just moved to the top of the list. She was already reaching out to assault his mind, when she remembered. Telepathy scares people.
Instead, a flick of his ankles sent him slamming to the ground before he even realized Psyche was there.
Kayla spins around, moving the handsy stone out of the way as well as she grips the Maori man's arm and directs the attack at the man with the fangs who seems to be running this band of villains for the moment.
She then continues to pummel the big tattooed man, giving him some super-strength swats to the back of the head with her golden batons.
__________
"Ongoing?It's going to get worse? The scales are going to spread? Even with a suit or whatever? How bad is it going to get? I'm not going to end up like,.. like those people who've had the wyvern serum or the mongrels or something? It won't be that bad. Will it?" Mattie replied, her shock and fear evident on her face. "What kind of 'adverse reactions' could be worse than that?"
Isaiah freezes for a moment on seeing the weapon. Not just because it was dangerous, though certainly that, but also because it was clearly jury-rigged and likely terribly unsafe, even to its user. The main conduit was held on with DUCT TAPE, for crying out loud!
Then it hit, and Isaiah cried out loud, as damage control sensors screamed, and his form blurred and even dripped a little as it desperately tried to purge the corrosive substance. Isaiah dropped out of the sky and landed heavily, taking precious seconds to reform and recover.
Inquiry was not happy.
The vessel surged from the sidelines, and whipped out one long tendril, which slapped against the bodyguard before wrenching the magi-caster from his hands, unwilling to leave such a dangerous weapon in the playing field. The tendril then retracted, and Inquiry kept a cautious distance.
"Ongoing?It's going to get worse? The scales are going to spread? Even with a suit or whatever? How bad is it going to get? I'm not going to end up like,.. like those people who've had the wyvern serum or the mongrels or something? It won't be that bad. Will it?" Mattie replied, her shock and fear evident on her face. "What kind of 'adverse reactions' could be worse than that?"
Silver Shield steps in. "Mattie, calm down. You've got options, and time. Working yourself up won't help. Remember your training. This is as good a time as any to work on controlling your emotions."
Dr. Dawkins glances down at his screen, tapping away, making notes. "I'll work up a serum. It seems the best solution, considering the subject's trepidation regarding her genetic assimilation abilities."
Mattie's mentor nods in agreement, then turns to her. "I've got some old encounter suits. A few of them are pretty sleek, and resistant to fire. I'll pull one out of storage and we can check the fit. Okay?"
Shin is ironically reminded of what happened with him and Psyche last night as he holds his hands up, trying to ease the tension of the police. At least as long as they were focused on him, then the protesters could disperse without incident. He kneels down and puts his hands on his head, as a trio of officers come over to him, all of them grabbing him at once, tackling him. He struggles for a moment, trying to stay calm. Don't resist or you'll make it worse for everyone.
Then he was shoved down hard against the pavement. Someone's arm was pressing on the back of his neck. He struggled to breathe, gasping and wriggling as officers shouted for him to stay still.
He was terrified. These men were also terrified. They were going to kill him because of it.
And he'd never gotten to apologize to Kylie.
As Prae tries and deals with both heavy hitting Duskguard on her own, the Maori gets angry as Praetoria smacks him around, his arms up to defend himself. In his anger, he kicks out at the stage scaffolding, lights held up snapping from their precarious positions, and Stone frozen underneath them as they start to fall!
The bodyguard trips thanks to a surprise telekinetic attack, and is then smacked so hard by Inquiry's tendril that they fly off out of the battle proper. But Isaiah, down and melted in the middle of the crowd, finds himself subject to the disgust and fear of xenophobes, some of them reaching down to restrain him. "I got him," A voice calls out, walking through several people at once quite literally - the strange phaser that had been involved in the stage battle, face obscured by a skull mask from a costume shop. "What kind of sick twisted thing are you? A broken, useless one at the least." He jeers.
Psyche finds the Hispanic woman (Twilight, she gleans from the surface) focusing her attention on her now. But she's distracted by the police commotion, and her face goes pale. "SHADE!" She shouts, as the tall black Duskguard halts and looks too.
Then he's leaping through the air towards the men piled on top of Horizon, roaring and tossing people away to get at him. Twilight glares at Psyche, as if daring her to interfere. She raises her hands at Psyche-
What do you do??
”Really? That’s the best you can do?” Praetoria boasts as the big man kicks the structure. As she hears the lights snap free and begin to fall, she mumbles ”Of course..”
She quickly flies up and batters each light, her batons merging into anmace as she gains altitude. The lighting fixtures fracture into small, harmless shards that clatter noisily to the ground. Praetoria hovers just above Stone, remaining between him and the Duskguard, and adds, ”You know, this would be a lot easier if you would have listened to me at the beginning and gotten out of here!”
__________
He's Dying!
You can't give them the excuse.
It's just an illusion
What if it's a vision?
No one else can see the explosion
They're all blind and deaf, of course they can't.
They can't see anything.
He's so Afraid
If you shield him they'll know
If you shield him, he'll know
You're too scattered Kylie. You can't do it all when you're like this.
You can't keep her out of your head if you're being sneaky.
At least if she gets you, they might be sad.
If the police know it was you, they'll use the drone while you sleep.
They'll tell everyone how dangerous you are.
They'll tell everyone how dangerous you all are.
Their fists still hit, they still held him still. But it was her they hit not him. A thin, flexible sheathe of force, whose every bend and flex bowed her mind beneath the pressure. She still had just enough to pull Shade back too.
They don't care who I save.
But I do.