Her watch had shown her the videos from that afternoon. It hadn't been Fleet, just Survey and the cat, but everyone had been able to see that dynamic. To Joe's team, that fight between the Empire and the Teeth was like watching a bunch of puppies play fighting, and about as difficult for them to stop.
Apathy seems to be an excellent defense to Tybalt's Stranger power. She doesn't judge him for being a cat, so she can acknowledge that he's a cat.
Kataklyzein didn't really have anything that stood out, but Joe had said he was strong enough to handle Lung on his own.
It still
affects her, but it doesn't actually
do much.
"Isn't that what an alpha is?" She asked. "Someone has to be in charge to make sure things get done. It's how packs work."
"No."
Fleet spoke with such direct and simple confidence that it took Rachel a moment to register what he had said. But there was no challenge in his tone, just absolute certainty. Just like when he had explained things about riding form or navigating buildings. Like he saw it as a chance for her to learn, rather than a way to point out how stupid she was.
"What do you mean?" She asked. "Everyone knows that's how packs work."
"Everyone's wrong. Just because lots of people believe something it doesn't mean it's right." He said.
Rachel could definitely understand that. She didn't see how it applied to this, but she could definitely understand everyone being wrong. She forced herself to nod and Fleet continued.
"Someone studied captive wolves in a zoo and described how they behaved. Rudolf Schenkel, nineteen forty-seven." He added.
Excellent use of injecting the more positive
real life reality into Wildbow's grimdark bullshit. And yes, Rachel's mentality is obviously the same as a caged canine, because
trigger. So let's go fix that. And there ain't many people more eager to fix the conditions of abuse than victims who've endured it.
Then there was a roar of sound that might have made her jump and fall off the roof if she hadn't had Brutus to hold onto. She spun towards the north end of the city where it looked like an entire city block was rising into the air.
"What the fuck?" She exclaimed. The huge structure looked ramshackle, at least what she could see though the darkness. She could see exposed and twisted metal spread across the wide platform. Some parts were sending jets of flame towards the ground while others were glowing with neon lights.
There was a lurch and a roar of engines as the entire structure began to drift across the city.
...Aaand Squealer's built a U.F.O. in the style of District 9. Never seen
that before in a fanfic. She's turned the Merchant party zone into a ripoff of the
Rig, by building
underground.
Rather than use any of the complicated fields that Skidmark had been setting up, a blob of wet looking material began to sag from the bottom of the platform. It slowly separated from the flying structure and dropped straight down, landing on one of the more active points between the Empire and the Teeth. Tons of what looked like wet garbage plunged onto the cluster of Teeth forces and swept the fighters away. The mass reformed into a giant shambling mound of trash that parted as Mush released a man in bulky metal armor and a boy with glowing hair and eyes. Trainwreck and Scrub.
Oh, right. I'd forgotten that the Merchants have gotten big. Their entire canon roster all at once, plus Slush. Seven capes, most of them shakers, blasters, brutes and tinkers. Even druggies can fight if it comes down to MMORPG mechanics.
"Seeing the present and considering the future." He explained, gesturing to the chaos of the fight. "Or considering a specific future. In any system you have components, responses, and results. Technically there are unlimited results, but only so many paths make sense. The more you know, the better you can understand the landscape and the paths people will take. You have to know what to focus on and what to ignore."
Quatre Raberba Winner and Heero Yui can tell you
all about
that.
And now for a bit of spectacle:
"You can't get through." She said, "There's no way."
She watched him grow tense as he focused on the fight. In the dark of the night and the mix of lighting from Squealer's platform and the clash of powers he stood out clearly. It almost looked like there was a blue glow outlining his body.
Biotics? Yes, but also something
more. Bind the body to the open mind...
And Fleet MOVED. Blue light flared around him and he was gone, but also not gone. The air where he had been standing was bent, like looking through a curved piece of glass. It was warped and skewed and hard to look at, but through the effect she could see Fleet grab Scrub's hand. It shifted things just enough to send the flung sparks of his power off target. They launched up into the air, with one passing close enough to nearly graze the Butcher's mask.
Rachel struggled to see through the effect that apparently put their rooftop right next to the heart of the battle. From one angle it looked big enough to drive a truck through, but from the other it was nothing but a distorted stretch in the air. It was some kind of bent passage that had bypassed all the chaos between them and Scrub, letting Fleet step right next to the Merchant cape despite there not being anywhere close to enough space for his arrival.
Fleet used Biotic Charge! But with Aura!
Bypass - Simplicity is versatility.
And it was in the possession of someone who had been on a tremendous amount of drugs. Those scans had included medical information and it was clear Scrub had been on a Merchant fueled bender that seemed to extend all the way back to the Ungodly Hour. No one would be comfortable leaving a power like that in the hands of someone in that state.
So Fleet hadn't. That was something that could have been seen as more questionable, but I was ready to accept Fleet's call on the matter. And the Matrix's.
I didn't expect some of my A.I.s to team up and decide to induce nanite assisted detox without considering informed consent on the part of the patient, but given the circumstances, I couldn't really fault their judgment on the matter.
Detoxing Scrub effectively means removing Skidmark's hold on him. Let's hope the Cussing Crackhead tries to stop his pet S-class Blaster from walking away.
