Lag 6.4b

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

As Assault's chuckles faded away under Battery's continued glare, Greg simply stared at both of the older 'professional' capes with a slowly-fading smile on his face. A small part of him was actually excited to see his heroes in the flesh — one more so than the other if he was being honest — while the rest of him…

I wonder how long they're gonna keep this up, he wondered to himself, one eyebrow raised behind his skull mask. Any longer and they have to realize that they're being crazy obvious with it.

The teenager knew what stalling looked like, of course. Assault was good at it, though, with the way he stretched out words and even over-exaggerated simple things as long looks just to seem playful and fun. There was no doubt that a good chunk of it was just the man being himself or at least playing the same part he did for the camera, but Hardkour knew he was still milking it for what it was worth.

The good-cop, bad-cop routine Battery was obviously trying to pull was obvious as day as well, mostly for how forced it was to make Assault look like the friendly nice guy. It took all his effort not to sigh as Assault stepped closer to stand right beside his wife just a few seconds later and the two seemed to engage in some sort of conversation, Battery actually sounding like she was nagging him as the man nodded along with a patronizing smile on his face. No way they actually got together if she's got that much of a stick up her ass, Greg's fading smile revived itself slightly with a smirk at that thought. Not likely. How is that hot?

All jokes aside, this was starting to get pathetically obvious, and that was coming from him. Greg knew that he was never the most observant person, even with a skill that let him do just exactly that to a superhuman degree, but still… Just put a little more effort into it, whydoncha? It certainly didn't help the supposed image that the two were just being casual and not at all worried or threatened by him when Battery continued to give her husband several playful punches in the arm over his behavior. Oh, come on already, I know how his powers work.

Greg bit back a groan at the sight, shoulders simply slumping they weren't contained in his skull, the blond was sure his eyes would have rolled right out of their sockets. Take some acting classes or something. It would have helped the whole ruse if the both of them managed to do a better job to pretend like they weren't keeping one eye on him the whole time, both of them clearly prepped to launch into action at any moment.

You know what? [Analyze.] [Analyze.]

Assault Lvl 45

Hero - Protectorate

Title: The Rebound Guy

HP: 400/400

Status: Amused, Curious

Traits: Tactile Kinetic Redistributor

A strong cape with a habit for mischief that years in the Protectorate have only slightly curtailed, Assault is almost as dedicated to hero work as his wife, in spite of his personality and past. While he somewhat resents the limits both his workplace and his partner try to place on his freedom and behavior, respectively, he manages to remain as free-spirited as possible, not quite the type to hold a grudge.

Battery Lvl 37

Hero - Protectorate

Title: Woman In Charge

HP: 320/320

Status: Cautious, Wary

Traits: Electro-Magnetic Charger (100%)

Driven by her father's career and tired of seeing him struggle, the goal of becoming a hero has driven Battery to make some unsavory deals. Due to that, Battery has remained a dedicated part of the Protectorate since her days as a young Ward. Partnered with the hero, Assault, despite her initial chagrin with the naming scheme, she remains a very diligent and hard-working cape who often goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Interesting… but yeah, I'm done waiting. With that thought, Greg decided to simply cut the charade short the simplest way he knew how. "So…" the blond tilted his head to the side as he called out loudly, "you guys do know I can tell you're stalling, right?"

Both Assault and Battery paused their conversation, not quite freezing in place but oddly still as their heads turned fully to focus on him in near-perfect unison. Standing just under twenty-five feet away from him, just in front of the car Greg had put work into denting, he had no doubt that both of them heard him loud and clear. Neither said a word at first until Assault let out a loud cough, the sound quickly transitioning into actual laughter as the Protectorate cape didn't even try to fake his composure this time.

Huh. Greg raised an eyebrow as Battery's shoulders slumped, the woman letting out an exasperated sigh as her partner held his stomach amid actual belly laughs.

The blond blinked at both of them, not even bothering to fake a smile that he didn't feel right now. They really think I'm stupid, huh? He let out a sigh through his nose, eyes narrowed to slits behind the eyeholes of his mask as he glared at the two Protectorate capes. "So, I tell you that I know you're stalling for reinforcements and all you do…" He shook his head at the ridiculousness of it. "All you do is stall some more." Neither of them bothered to actually say anything in response as they simply shared a look, something Greg felt told him all he needed to know. "Yeah," Hardkour snorted loudly. "You guys need to work on your acting skills, but still, kudos for sticking to your guns."

Assault shared another look with his partner before turning back to Hardkour. He moved a bit nearer towards where Greg stood, only a few feet closer but close enough to make the teenager tense, before coming to a stop as he let out another long sigh. "Kid…"

"The name's Hardkour," said kid interrupted, one finger rising to his temple as he bent forward slightly at the waist. "Got it memorized?"

The red-clad cape let out another chuckle, one that didn't sound quite so sincere this time as he simply raised his arms in implied defeat and gestured toward his partner. Letting out a sigh, Battery took a few more steps forward to match Assault's position and spoke up, circuit patterns on her suit still shining a bright white. "Alright, let me just be clear with you… Hardkour. I'm not sure what you mean by st-"

"Oh, come on," Greg couldn't help but scoff, once again interrupting the capes as he shook his head in actual annoyance at Battery's continued attempt to lie to him. At least Assault could admit I was right, even if he didn't say it straight up. "You know what really wrinkles my ballsack, lady?"

Assault's hands rose to grip the sides of his head, his mouth mimicking the words despite making no sound.

"When adults try to treat me like that," Greg continued. "I know you have a job to do but try not to patronize me, okay? I'm a teenager, not a fucking retard." The blond took a step forward of his own, folding his arms as he spoke. "It's the only thing that makes sense, y'know, and that's why I said it. Either you have some kind of sedative, I'm guessing you don't cuz you'd have used it instead of tackling me — thanks for that — or you have backup on the way with an easy way to haul me in."

A smile sprung back to life on his face, Greg unable to help the expression as he simply let his mouth splurt out what his brain saw as obvious. "I don't see any containment foam on the two of you and I doubt your whole plan was to beat me bloody and unconscious and drag me in, right? The only answer that makes sense is that you gotta have some sort of backup coming. Probably a PRT truck full of troopers and that oh-so-special foam you actually need to haul capes in? No?"

His smirk transformed into a grin as he caught Battery's flinch. "No, please, tell me I'm wrong. I wanna hear you say it."

"Wow, dude, you're a smart one," Assault replied after a few moments of extended, pregnant silence. He inched toward the sidewalk again, taking two quick steps before coming to another stop. "Like, smart smart."

Hardkour nodded in the hero's direction. "Good to see that it's not just me saying what we both already know. I was feeling kinda self-conscious there for a second."

Assault let out another low chuckle, one that sounded oddly sincere, given the situation and shot Hardkour a grin to match his own. "You're funny, not gonna lie there. Quick on your feet too."

"Quicker than you," the teenager shot back.

"Ooh, burn," Assault replied, a hint of friendly snark in his tone. Obviously intent on saying more, the man made to move forward again.

However, Battery didn't seem to appreciate that, as the woman stuck her arm out to bar her partner's movement. In his place, she stepped forward and ahead of him until she stood barely twelve feet away from Hardkour's position. "Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, Hardkour, we just wanna talk to you. You've gotten into a bit of trouble here but you're a kid. They will go easy on you. You really don't wanna make this a fight, though."

Eyes narrowed despite his still-present grin, Greg shot back, "Listen, I know they'll go easy on me. I was taking down literal terrorists while you PR-pirates were probably sitting on your asses somewhere. Thanks for your service, though." The mocking salute may have been a bit too much but he did it anyway, heels snapping together and all.

"I'm sure people will be glad to know their heroes care more about chasing down a high-schooler than saving their lives. Really putting those tax dollars to work..." Okay, now you're just making stuff up. I don't even think the PRT gets tax money, do they?

"Hold up!" Battery took another couple of steps forward, almost edging on to the sidewalk as Hardkour remained standing against the wall of the boarded-up convenience store. "You don't get to say anything like that! I'm not gonna let you insult the work we d-"

"Gonna stop you right there," Greg interjected, barely holding back a grin as he held a finger up in the air. Battery visibly bristled at both the action and the interruption, her wariness seeming to have shifted into outright annoyance. "I don't really care about what you do. I'm talking about what you don't. If you got a problem, take it up with the people the Empire killed these last couple weeks. Maybe Dauntless was too busy saving cats from trees. Or Triumph had to do another photo op with the mayor." The teenager clicked his tongue, an insincere on his face. "I knew there was a reason that I thought Armsmaster was the coolest one on your team."

The blond let out a loud snort, shifting into a loud and mocking laugh a moment later after he gave up on holding it in. "No offense, of course."

"Some taken," Assault replied, more than a little bit of hurt clear in his tone that Greg wasn't entirely sure was fake.

"Eh," Hardkour shrugged. "I also don't really care."

"And why do you care so much?" Battery shot back at him, body language primed again as her circuit-patterned suit continued to glow. "About the violence? You clearly don't have a problem with killing people… from these neighborhoods."

…The hell is that supposed to mean? Greg's smile disappeared again, eyes narrowed to slits as he stared down Battery. "What…" He let out a scoff before he spoke again. "What, you think 'cause of that mess a few weeks ago, that…"

Greg stared at the Protectorate capes, actually incredulous at what she was implying. "What? I hate all Asians? That's what you actually think?" He let out another unbelieving scoff, hands dropping down to his sides as they tightened into fists. "Jesus Christ, looks like I'm not the one who's the fuckin' retard here."

The teenager blinked a moment later as Battery almost immediately stood up straighter at his words, confused as to why both she and Assault suddenly seemed a good deal more tense.

Oh.

Greg's eyes widened slightly as he replayed what he just said and realized that his words had come out in a vicious growl as opposed to his intended mocking tone. Whoa, pull it back. The unexpected anger struck him hard and the blond eased back against the wall with his hands raised, a slight awkward laugh leaving him as he did so."You know what? This was a fun talk… but I got an appointment I don't wanna be late to."

"Hardkour," Assault called out with a hand up, stopping Greg before the teenager could even so much as take a single step. "You don't wanna run. Take it from me."

Battery nodded, once again looking ready to leap into action. "I'd listen to him."

Greg paused for a moment, a finger tapping his chin as an errant idea popped into his thoughts. After a moment, he gave a mental shrug and decided to give voice to it. "You guys are supposed to take me in… whether or not I come willingly… right?"

He shook his head a moment later, waving away any attempt either of them could make to sugarcoat the response. "Don't answer that. We know that's a big yes, so… you know what?"

"What?" Battery replied rather tersely.

"See," Greg snorted, brushing off the last of his irritation. "I figure, it's like 2 AM, and we all don't wanna get bruised up. So, how 'bout I make you an offer you can't refuse? I won't struggle. I won't fight. None of that. All you gotta do… is catch me."

"Catch you?" Battery asked back incredulously. "You're joking, right?"

"Serious as an Endbringer attack," Hardkour answered back. "Hand to God."

"You can put the hand down because that's not happening." Despite the fact that Greg couldn't see her eyes, he knew for a fact that the woman was glaring at him with all the force she could muster. "That. Is. Not. Happening," she repeated, punctuating each word forcefully. "Just come quietly."

Assault shrugged, smile still on his face. "I'd listen to her."

Hardkour laughed to himself, shaking his head as he realized that the heroes didn't seem to catch on to his point. "You don't really have a say in this. Here's the thing, lady... I. Can. Run. Any. Time. I. Want. To," he shot back, in blatant mockery of Battery's tone.

The blond flashed them both a grin as he took a step forward, both Assault and Battery doing the same until there were barely nine feet of distance between the three of them. "You're the heroes here. I'm the dastardly vigilante. You don't chase me down, you're not doing your job. You gotta do it. At least this way, you're guaranteed not to get a ninja sword to the gut."

"Look," Assault began, scratching the back of his head as he spoke. "Look, I'd be down for a good race anytime, but if you run, right now… then that escalates this. I don't want that. You don't want that."

Hardkour said nothing, his grin only widening.

Battery's expression shifted, moving from a scowl to an open grimace as she glared at Hardkour with her teeth grit. She bounced on the soles of her feet again, already aching to make a move if her body language could be trusted. "So, high-stakes tag, is that it?" she finally asked after a moment of silence.

"Look who's been paying attention. Gold star, lady. A-plus."

"You're only hurting yourself right now." Battery snapped back at him, hands tightening into fists yet again. Her body was tensed, every part of her screaming that she was ready to pounce at any moment. "This isn't some kind of game, you know!"

The teenager tilted his head, eyes narrowed just slightly. "To you."

Hardkour laughed out loud as Battery visibly bristled again at those two words, the female cape edging a few steps to the side but not taking a single step closer. "But yeah… no tricks. None of that. All you have to do is keep up and tag me. That's it." Greg answered, arms spread out at his sides like he was presenting on a stage.

Finally, he turned his attention to Assault. "That's all I want."

Taunt Lvl Up!

18→19

Taunt? That was a taunt?! The blond's eyebrows rose behind his mask. Did that really count?

Assault's expression shifted a bit, almost matching his wife as his cocky smile grew brittle to the point that it somewhat appeared like a grimace. "This isn't gonna end well for you, you know?" He asked after a few seconds of silence, his smile returning to normal. "You think you're really faster than the two of us, though?"

Greg grinned, showing far too many blood-stained teeth as he did so. "Wanna find out?"

Quest Gained!

Need for Speed: Protectorate Pursuit

It's a superpowered game of tag with high-stakes.

High-speed pursuit along the streets of Brockton Bay, only with no cars.

Avoid two of Brockton Bay's "top" Movers as best you can.

Objectives:

- Outpace Assault [ ]

- Outpace Battery [ ]

Rewards:

+ 5000 XP

+ 5 SPD

+ 2 SP

+ 1 PP

Bonus Objective:

- Avoid every attack from Battery

- ?

Bonus Rewards:

+ Electrokinesis (Minor)

+ Magnetism (Minor)

+ 5000 XP

+ 7 SP

+ 2 PP

"So, how's about i-"

The words died mid-sentence as Battery's figure blurred toward him.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Part of her wanted to say she had a plan.

Rushing the kid while he was unprepared and goofing off sounded as good as any other. He clearly wasn't going to come along quietly and honestly, Battery didn't feel the need to humor the high-schooler by engaging in some pointless chase around Chinatown.

She was a Protectorate cape, after all, not some underpaid truant officer.

And yet…

The rest of her just felt livid.

She wasn't quite sure why, exactly, but something about the kid standing on the sidewalk just rubbed her the wrong way. Whether it was the way his eyes seemed to mock her, or possibly the complete nonchalance that oozed from him, or maybe it might just have been the simple snarky remarks that made her want to grab him by the collar and slam him up against that wall-

It certainly didn't help matters that the little brat felt so smug about openly admitting to murder, throwing around hypotheticals like she had to worry about police standards.

Whatever it was about him that got her so riled up, it didn't really matter.

She had enough.

As the kid began to yammer on again, she tensed.

The same instant Hardkour turned his attention away from both her and Assault, Battery forced herself into high gear, the circuit detailing on her suit glowing a bright white as she went from zero to European highway speeds in under a second.

Blue eyes snapped back down and for an instant, their eyes met.

She blinked, mid-step, eyes suddenly widening as the boy vanished.

What the- Before she could even process that, Battery let out a sudden cry as something struck the back of her ankles from behind, knocking her off balance and unable to halt her forward motion. Half an instant later, the cape winced - not from pain, but surprise - as her back impacted the brick wall of the shuttered convenience store.

She was back on her feet in a literal second, only to let out a sudden shout as her husband's body slammed into hers at high speed. Battery fell hard to the ground, catching herself with a grunt on her hands and knees, while Assault simply recovered in the air and rebounded — the way he almost always did — feet meeting the wall first as he bounded off it and back to the ground like a circus performer on steroids.

"I could have sworn I said tag, but two-hand touch works just fine for me, too."

The female cape bit back a growl as she jumped back to her feet again, not even paying Assault a glance as she brushed off his helping hand. Hard eyes flicked over to the teenage vigilante as he bounced on the balls of his feet almost halfway down the alley, several meters from where they stood at the entrance. Alright, then. We'll play it your way.

"He's playing us," Battery hissed through gritted teeth.

"Correction!" the vigilante shouted back, both hands cupped around his mouth. "I've been playing you."

The heroine bit down the urge to curse at the taunt, frustration spiking in a way she hadn't dealt with for quite some time. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper as she hissed out instructions. "He's too slippery. Cornering him isn't enough. We gotta do this hard, fast and dirty."

"Really? Reminiscing about our wedding night right now?" Assault replied back, voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, if you want to…"

"I swear to God..." She punctuated that last word with a punch to her partner's shoulder that would have sent a car skidding out of control like an icy road in the dead of winter, one Assault didn't even seem to recognize as he smiled back at her.

"I kid. I kid."

Assault shot her another grin and a wink before they both darted off again in unison, Battery just keeping pace with Assault before she punched his side again. This time, he let himself move with the blow, shooting toward the alley wall at an angle as Battery charged forward toward the awaiting teenager.

Her fist came up and she neared him in a little more than a second.

It took a fraction of that for the boy to almost disappear in front of her, the image of him blurring with movement even from her accelerated perspective.

Another fraction later and her super-durable fist slammed into nothing but simple red brick.

The force of her strike sent bits of brick and dust flying, her vision almost obscured if not for her visor. With the sound of laughter, her head whipped to the right and she saw her target.

Even further down the alley, he stood with his hands in his pockets, casually bouncing on the balls of his feet as he laughed at her attempt.

She didn't waste another moment.

Unfortunately, neither did the kid.

Hardkour's entire body burst into motion to sidestep Battery's third lunge. This time, though, she caught his movements perfectly, eyes wide and open as she took in the slow-motion world her powers granted her when charged. Two simple steps was all it took to carry him several meters away from the female Mover, her hand still stretched out toward him.

Before either of them could draw breath, her red-suited partner rushed him from the opposite direction, moving only half as fast as Battery had. The blond glanced up as Assault's arm arced towards him in what would seem like most to be an impossibly fast series of swipes.

Cackling at the top of his lungs, Hardkour dove to one side as he avoided Assault's hands, weaving out of the way of each at the very last second. "What's the Japanese word for slow again?" Battery rushed at the vigilante again, interrupting his line of thought only for the kid to flip back and bounce from wall to wall before dropping back to the alley floor in a move worthy of her husband. "Oh, yeah, I remember now. Osoi, oso sugiru, omae wa toroi na."

The kid's laughter devolved into puerile giggles, only intensifying further as Hardkour caught the Assault's second swing only to duck yet another rush from Battery from behind at the same time, as he pulled the red-suited kinetic forward in his place.

For the second time in half as many minutes, Battery found herself meeting her husband's body as they tumbled out of the alleyway in an uncoordinated sprawl of limbs. Her throat clenched as she bit down a curse, jumping back to her feet as quickly as she could. This is what I get for going for the hard sell, she groused to herself, You would think most kids would back down with murder charges thrown in their face.

To most, Battery was quickly coming to realize didn't seem to apply much to the kid they were trying to corral.

Her eyes flicked from side to side, trying to catch where the kid could have gone to, only for her eyes to widen a second later in sync with her husband. Both of them quickly locked on to the teenager at the other end of the street as he flipped backwards up into the air and slammed down onto the roof of an abandoned car. The top of the clunker buckled under the force of his impact, Hardkour clearly not trying to be gentle.

As he landed feet first, the teenage vigilante threw his head back and let out a villain-worthy cackle at the two confused and surprised professional heroes. Grinning back at the both of them, the vigilante leaned back, hands curled like claws at his sides to strike a back-breaking pose and let out some weird screeching noise at the top of his lungs.

"...what." Her husband vocalized what both of them were thinking but Battery knew for a fact that Assault couldn't help but be legitimately interested as to what the kid was actually doing. He was curious that way and she loved him for it.

Assault shot a quick look at his partner, "I have no idea what's going on but I kinda like it."

Sometimes. She loved him for it sometimes.

"Stop. Encouraging. Him," Battery hissed at her partner, throat full of gravel as the circuit lines of her suit pulsed white. "If you're not gonna focus, I'll do this by myself."

"Battery," Assault whispered back.

She ignored his voice, focusing her attention on both her power as she charged to her maximum and the teenage cape still mocking them with every moment he spent free.

"Battery."

Not this time, brat. She tensed.

"Puppy." A hand on her shoulder held Battery back before she could rush off again and she almost whirled on Assault in her anger, blood pumping in her ears as she glared at her husband.

"What?"

He stayed silent and serious, a rarity for him, and gave her a steady once-over. What is he… After a moment, Battery glanced down at herself as well, suddenly aware of just how tightly her fists were clenched as her body continued to tremble from… Rage? Anticipation?

Battery felt her heart drop into her stomach as she realized she wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling, only that whatever it was had her attention laser focused on that goddamn br- She shook her head and took another moment to unclench her fists again.

Both her and Assault met eyes from behind their visors as they came to an immediate realization that neither of them had to voice. Master.

Battery held back another curse as she nodded her head, the cape doing her best to keep her mind clear as she released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Shoulders squared, she turned back to face the vigilante with Assault by her side.

Without another word, both capes dashed forward again.

Hardkour reacted before they could even get halfway across the asphalt; the teenager flipping backwards off the car the instant they moved. His feet barely touched ground for a single moment before he spun around in a blur of motion and was already pounding pavement down the currently empty side street.

Battery clenched her teeth as she outpaced her husband, super-strong feet slamming the asphalt as she sped up to make sure they didn't lose the kid. A part of her almost felt thankful that he was largely just running in one direction, the drain on her power lessened by the simple movement pattern. Don't have too long before I have to charge up again though, she frowned to herself. Gotta make sure I'm close before that.

It didn't actually take long, a few seconds at most after she made a sharp left at the corner, before she began to catch up with Hardkour. His scarf trailing behind him as he ran got her attention immediately, the tattered red cloth like a matador's cape.

And I suppose that'd make me the bull. She frowned at that thought, only to let out a relieved sigh of barely concealed relief moments later as she noticed Assault nearing her, the pace of his steps quickening with every passing second. Another sharp turn, this time left, and he was there at her side, his stride longer and less labored than her more aggressive running style.

Good, Battery thought with a mental nod. The only thing the kid had on them was how quickly he could accelerate, she was sure of it. At this pace, they were bound to catch up to him in no time. If not her, then definitely Assault.

And if both of them couldn't manage it, well…

The thought evaporated from her mind as something else caught her attention, the distance between both of them and the kid decreasing with every single step. "We're catching up," she said with a smirk. She glanced at Assault, expecting to see the same on his face, only to be met with a serious grimace.

"No, kid's slowing down," he answered back, with a slight shake of his head. "On purpose."

What. Battery's smirk vanished as she tried to refute him only for her to realize that he was right. The way her perception accelerated while she ran often made it hard for her to judge motion from other Movers but Assault was all about motion. If he said it, it wasn't likely that he was off the mark.

"Why?" she bit back as she glanced at him, barely tamping down her annoyance. It was much easier this time around, she noted to herself. The blood pumping in her ears had calmed and her mood felt much more level despite the physical exertion. Whatever Master effect the kid had at his disposal was likely wearing off. Maybe the distance.

"Why do you think?" He edged his head in the kid's direction and Battery turned her gaze back to see the kid actually running backwards almost at the same speed from before, this time with a phone to the side of his head. "Either he's actually having a conversation right now, which I doubt, or he's just having fun with this."

A moment passed and the kid put the phone away before he flipped the bird at both of them, one finger for each cape, and turned his back to them before speeding up again.

Battery narrowed her eyes. "...I think I hate this kid?"

This time, Assault did smile at her. "Is that a question?"

"...Maybe!" Battery shouted back as they rounded another corner out of the mostly empty areas of Chinatown and traffic began to fill the streets again. She had to yell as she darted out of the way of a rapidly honking car, one that was going a bit too fast for these neighborhood streets for that matter, and landed right by Assault's side again.

Both of them stayed hot on the kid's tail, Battery remaining on as straight a path as she could manage down the busying street while Assault weaved in and out of traffic to match the kid as he began bounding the street. "A better one question would be, 'where the hell is he taking us?'"

"What?!" Assault's voice came through her earpiece as he was forced to make distance between her and some oncoming cars, Battery wincing slightly at his volume. "What do you mean?"

"Look at him," she answered back, both of them easily able to spot Hardkour as he jumped up every few seconds, head flicking from side to side. "He's on the lookout for something."

Assault shot her a glance. "Maybe that phone call was re-"

A barrage of gun shots sounded off, loud and strong, as they completely drowned out the rest of his words. Both Assault and Battery snapped to attention, both at the sudden sound of pistol fire as well as screams.

"Where is that coming from?!"

Battery's shout didn't go ignored by her husband, the red-clad cape jerking a thumb in the direction of the vigilante they had been chasing. "I think he's got an idea!"

Hardkour leapt into the air, suddenly unburdened by gravity as he cleared several stories in a second and alighted on a rooftop only to dart away in what Battery had to assume was the direction of the gunfire.

"After him!"

"No, I was just gonna stay here and take in the nightlife," Assault answered back sarcastically, already in motion. Battery shot him an annoyed glare, only to flinch mid-motion as several more bursts of gunfire rang out, followed by a sound of screeching tires and a squeal of crumpled metal erupted. "Goddamnit, I'll call it in, just move!"

They both turned a corner, sprinting as fast as they could in pursuit of the kid, Assault rattling off code words to police and emergency services as they moved. For a moment, they were lost for direction until a bright gout of flame caught their attention from half a block away. If that wasn't enough, then the sight and sound of people screaming as they ran away certainly gave them an idea of where to go.

Turning another corner, Battery leapt forward without a word, clearing several dozen meters of fencing to land on another street entirely, her fist striking the asphalt at the same time as her bent legs to support her impact. Several yards in front of her, her husband landed with much more grace than she could ever manage.

Normally, he would rib her for her somewhat unsteady landings but the two Protectorate capes remained absolutely silent as they took in the street in front of them.

An overturned SUV sat there in the middle of a half-empty street, it's tires melted into slag as the wheels turned listlessly. Shattered windows showed off the unmoving, blood-covered passengers inside, some still in their seats as they hung upside down by the grace of their seatbelts and one slumped on the upside-down roof of the vehicle. Empire tattoos were visible on at least two shaved heads and what were certainly illegal guns on the asphalt, scattered on the asphalt around the car.

Fuck. Battery's eyes flicked to the top of the vehicle where a familiar vigilante crouched with bent knees, still smiling like nothing at all had happened. Her heart beat loud in her ears again as they locked eyes, her attention suddenly focused on him as she felt that familiar annoyance(?) rise up from nowhere. Fuck.

"Man, you guys sure took your time."

"... Are they alive?" Battery asked quickly, not willing to give him a chance to work whatever Master effect he had. "Answer."

"Yeah…" His smile widened as he rose to a standing position. "For now, at least."

Hardkour made to jump down from the overturned vehicle, humming some pointless tune as he did so. Before his feet could hit the ground, both Battery and Assault burst forward, both of them moving as fast as they could to neutralize the kid before he could escape again.

He opened his mouth wide and Battery's eyes widened in shock as a burst of flame leapt from the depths of his throat, long and thin but dangerous all the same. She moved quickly, slamming her husband to the side with a shove and darting to the side herself.

To her surprise, the fire died out before it neared where both she and Assault had stood, but she didn't allow herself to freeze. She lunged at the kid once more, bursting forward as she spent several seconds of her charge to electromagnetically tear the bumper of the car off as the kid stood in front of it, hoping to trap him in between her and it.

She wasn't prepared as Hardkour threw himself backwards and over the bumper like an Olympic jumper from a standstill. In the same moment, he lashed out with an upside-down bicycle kick, striking the bumper perfectly and sent it hurtling directly toward a surprised Battery still in motion.

Battery slapped aside the front guard away with a grunt and continued her charge. Time slowed down even further for her as the kid side-stepped, moving even faster than normal as he bounced on the balls of his feet like a trained boxer.

She swung.

Two blows.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Delivered in the blink of an eye.

He ducked each one like it was child's play.

"Battery." Assault's voice came in through her headpiece. "I circled around. Pincer move on my signal. Three…"

She kept swinging at the kid, changing the rhythm and speed of her blows as she attempted to trip him up with a change in tempo. Thinker, maybe?

"Two…"

Each blow was dodged with the same ease, the kid not even trying to escape her reach as he avoided each punch. Accelerated perception, definitely.

"Now!"

Pushing down the rising frustration she felt, she charged forward again as Assault burst out from behind the SUV like a rocket, intent on spearing the kid with a tackle.

Hardkour's fist lashed out for the first time, driving itself into her gut and slamming all the air out of her lungs and forcing bile up her throat as she nearly fell to her knees, only for him to duck aside at the very last instant. For the third time that night, Battery found herself in a head-on collision with her husband.

She stumbled back as Assault rebounded off her body and towards Hardkour again.

Their target leapt aside to avoid the kinetic's second lunge, body on a straight shot toward the wall of some random building. Sneakered feet met brick wall in a sudden leap and Hardkour slammed off it, forcing himself into the air as Assault slid to a halt on the ground below.

Hardkour dropped to the ground as Battery steadied herself and Assault came to a stop, still grinning at the both of them. "Assault."

He glanced in her direction for a second, not keeping his gaze off the kid quite yet. "Yeah?"

"Call... call Velocity."

The kid let out a laugh at that. "And, that's my cue. This was kinda-sorta-maybe fun. You guys coulda tried harder and I'd love to give you pointers, but now I gotta split."

"As if we'd let you," Battery spat. "You're not getting away if we can help it."

"That's the thing." Hardkour shook his head. "You can't."

Before either her or Assault could make a move, the teenager suddenly spun on his feet, both arms thrown back behind him as he leaned forward.

Battery's eyes widened as the kid suddenly took off down the street, bursting away at a speed that had to be at least double what she could manage at her very best.

Assault blinked as Hardkour vanished around the corner. "...Huh."

He glanced back at Battery, hand on his chin. "Huh."

Battery lifted a hand under her visor, pinching the bridge of her nose tight. "Please don't say it."

"Honey, how do you feel about kids?"

"... I said please."