[ ] Stay back and watch. They aren't hurting anyone at the moment, so best to see what they can do.
-[ ] Remember Samantha's comments after the Tattletale debacle. Acknowledge that there may be more to be learned from a subtle approach this time.
-[ ] Use WAS to gather information. Attempt to use your searchers without attracting the notice of the slime creatures.
-[ ] Notify Vista and Bouncer of your intent to fight if you're noticed or human lives become endangered so they can make their decisions accordingly.
Emigration 4.4
"I think you both might be getting just a little ahead of yourselves," you tell the Wards after a moment's thought. "We know nothing about them, and while they are committing a crime, it looks like they're just stealing food. If they're that hard up, I have a hard time accepting we need to blast them from the word 'go'. We should at least see what they're actually up to before we make any moves."
Bouncer glares at you. "Weren't you listening? We're leaving. This is not your precious gang land. Fighting is not our job."
You look him up and down, your expression proof of just how little you think of him. "If Chevalier really told you to ignore a crime going on right in front of you, I will eat my hat." Bouncer is either a coward or an asshole or both if he really thinks he can get away with something like that. And for him to order you around? Oh, hell no. It's time to make your older appearance work for you. "Besides, kid, I'm not part of your little club. I'm sticking around. I'll smooth things out with Militia if you want to join me, Vista."
"There's no way I'm leaving now."
Facing a united front, you expect Bouncer to fold. What he does instead surprises you. "Your funerals." He turns away and slings himself into the air, crossing several rooftops in a single bound.
"This is what you've had to deal with since you got here?" you ask the younger heroine. "You have my sympathies."
She shrugs. "It's not that bad. Bouncer is… Bouncer, but Cherry Bomb and Flambé have both been really nice. They're the same age as me, too, and they've been capes for a lot less time. It's nice not having the entire team treat me like the baby of the group."
You shrug at that and look down to make sure the Slimes hadn't heard your whispered argument. They don't seem to be paying any attention, to your great relief. "Just so you know, if they wind up posing a threat to anybody—"
"I'll be right behind you."
Giving Vista a small smile, you settle in to watch and wait.
«Being more cautious, are we?» Samantha asks in your head. «Not that I disapprove, but what made you decide to take a wait and see approach?»
«A bit of this, a bit of that.» Your Guardian Beast shoots you a raised eyebrow. «We don't know exactly what they're doing or what they're thinking. If they're villains, we can't leave them be, but if they're just trying to survive, it wouldn't be right to shoot first and ask questions later. It's like the thing with Tattletale,» you add with a sheepish expression. «A little bit of restraint goes a long way.»
She nods in understanding and returns her attention to the Case 53s. The Rats seem to be wrapping things up, several of them climbing out the broken window with distended bellies and arms full of food. They will probably head towards their lair soon, wherever that may be.
Thinking for a moment, you hold your staff out and cast Wide Area Search. You don't know for sure that the lair will be close by, but if it is, you'd like to know who and what is hanging around before you wander in and get caught by any guards.
The sparks zip off in all directions, and the glowing streaks catch the Rats' attention. Several of them snarl at the spell, but to your surprise, they are more focused on where the sparks are going, not where they came from. That should be common sense any time powers are concerned. "You've been a cape for a while," you say to Vista. "Do Case 53s normally act this… animal-ish?"
"…No. All the ones I've met are normal people, just with weird bodies. They don't act like this."
Before you can think too hard on that, a holographic screen pops up to your left. Vista watches with undisguised curiosity while you tap part of the display to take a closer look at just what it is that's rapidly approaching you. You groan when you see the white car and the flashing blue lights on top. "Cops incoming. I guess the window had a silent alarm on it or something."
"That could be a problem." You look at Vista in confusion, and she explains, "Depending on how trigger-happy the cops are, they might set these guys off or they might not. There's no way to tell."
The police car swerves around a corner and slows to a stop, and the two officers inside step out. Both have their hands on their guns, but neither has drawn it yet. That's a good sign. "Everyone stop and stay where you are! Nice and easy now—"
The car vanishes, and in its place are the Rats. Clawed arms swing out, and even with the cops' screams drowned out by the car landing heavily on the asphalt, the sprays of blood are still far too visible.
Your view of the scene distorts, and your Flare Shooters cross the space in an instant to slam into the Rats' chests. Samantha jumps through the warped space and slams her fist into bellies and heads, and then you're there yourself. A Rat snarls and catches a blast of fire in his mouth. You shoot upwards, fireballs forming in a circle around you—
The ground is suddenly right below you again, and a set of claws slices at your face. Your Barrier Jacket withstands the attack. You fire two of the Flare bullets, and they swing to the sides when Samantha replaces the Rat. She jumps up and kicks you in the stomach, but your feelings of betrayal are cut off when you slam into something big and broad. The remaining Flare Shooters hammer whatever it is. Even without sight, the smell of burnt hair gives you a clue.
A nearby Rat jumps at you and is replaced by one of the injured cops, and you catch him before he can hit the ground only to wrap your arms around matted black fur. Sharp teeth clamp around your head, and you gag at the foul breath that washes over your face. Being so close, you hit it again and again with Flare Shooters. The heat from the blasts do nothing to you, but after the fifth or sixth one, the Rat rears back with a screech that gives you the perfect chance to shove a brace of bullets into its mouth. They don't blow up until they reach where you expect the Rat's stomach to be.
Swinging your staff like a club, you divert it upwards when the next Rat you aim at turns into Vista. Samantha reaches out and tosses the Ward away from the fray, and then the raccoon woman vanishes in a flash of golden light that is echoed from farther up the street. You are too concerned with flying up to catch Vista to wonder how many hits Samantha had to withstand to cast that spell in the middle of a fight.
You and Vista go high above the battle and, finally getting a minute to breathe, look around. Samantha has teleported behind the Slimes, and now she is a blur of motion as she hits them hard enough to throw them into each other and the brick wall nearby. The Rats stop jumping up to try to grab you when one of the Slimes lets out a warbling screech, but none of them are fast enough to reach Samantha before she swings the last one around and splatters its head against the wall.
You grimace at the violent and lethal display. Samantha made it clear after your chat with Tattletale that she would kill if she thought it necessary to protect you, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier or less disturbing to watch.
Motion on your search screen finally catches your attention, and then one of the Rats staggers backwards with blood spurting from its chest. It falls, followed by the one to its left. A black SUV, the PRT's emblem pained on its hood and Miss Militia standing halfway out the sunroof, squeals to a stop. The assault rifle in the heroine's hands barks in a harsh staccato, and another Rat dies. This would be the best time for the rest of the duplicates to run, but that isn't what they do. Like rabid animals, they rush the car.
And like rabid animals, they are put down without mercy.
Miss Militia's rifle collapses into a black and green smear that reforms as a large hunting knife. She wiggles out of the roof and waves you and Vista over. "Are you two okay?"
"We're okay," Vista says when you land. She is quiet, though, and you catch her giving the older hero a few cautious glances. It looks like she is just as unnerved by the unexpected viciousness as you are. "How did you know where to find us?"
"Bouncer called the console and told us. Where is he?" she asks with a puzzled look around.
You scoff. Bouncer calling this in helped you, no mistake about that, but it sounds like he hadn't told them the whole story. "He's gone. As soon as we said we were staying here and keeping an eye on things, he hopped off without looking back."
A deep breath through her nose is the only hint you get of Miss Militia's anger. "I see. Thank you for keeping Vista safe. If you'll excuse us, though, we need to get back to base."
"What about the bodies?"
"Uh, Calamity?" Samantha says. "You might want to look again."
Wondering what in the world she's talking about, you do just that and stare at what you find. The bodies of the Slimes are little more than puddles of yellow goop, a bubble popping here and there as their flesh keeps melting. Moving your eyes to the Rats, you see more or less the same thing happening there. The bodies are deflating like balloons, and in some cases the skin of their bellies has sloughed off to reveal partially chewed foodstuffs.
Samantha smiles slightly. "How convenient. They're self-cleaning."
You cancel Wide Area Search with a sigh even as you see more cars enter your field of surveillance, undoubtedly additional PRT agents come to secure the scene. "Are you going to want us to give a statement or something?"
Miss Militia grimaces briefly, the motion so quick that you have to prompt Perfect Storm to replay it in an unobtrusive window to make sure you didn't imagine it. "You can if you want to, but it won't be necessary. We just appreciate the help."
When the pair walk back to the SUV, you and Samantha take to the air. "I don't like this," you say once you're out of earshot. "Something about this doesn't feel right. I think… I think she's hiding something."
Something small and fluffy lands on your hip, and you pick up the raccoon and cradle her to your chest. Whatever this secret is, you know you won't like the truth.
Ouch. That didn't end well, did it? On the plus side, while a couple of cops just died brutal, messy deaths, you get a new spell, so yay? Like I said in the 4.3 vote post, we are still holding a moratorium for this chapter, so talk to each other about what you want to learn but DO NOT VOTE YET.
