"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."
"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."
"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."
The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.
...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.
[note: halfway through this thread I created a unique account for Grendyne. Do not be alarmed by the change in account. -Rockeye]
She keeps staring at him. "It's tricky, though, I'll probably lose my hold on your power before I have a charge unless you stay near me for the twenty hours. I'm gonna try my damnedest to keep this power, but it doesn't always work. It'd help if we patrolled together or something."
He's started to get unnerved by the staring. (Not daunted, of course. Never that.) "They can probably arrange that."
"I would be stronger for it, I'd appreciate it a whole lot. Sorry about the staring. It helps with the copying. I can give it a rest if you want."
Shadow Stalker will wake up about halfway there, faster than Gren was expecting.
You! Who even are you, and why am I the one in handcuffs?" She moves her wrists through them, having gotten the point.
Pause. "You recovered from the stun faster than I was expecting. Probably 'cause you're a cape. I'll have to keep that in mind in the future."
"You had crossbow bolts," Dauntless comments. "Sharp ones. Even aside from what Citrine Mage says, deadly weapons are a serious violation."
"She probably planted them. I didn't have any before she knocked me out."
"It's not strictly impossible that I framed you. But I wasn't expecting you to be on patrol, I'd barely even heard of you... This reminds me of that time with Sparky and Opera. Your word against mine. I'll shut up and let someone else decide."
"Shadow Stalker. You know the stakes, so I'd highly recommend that you start with the truth. Start."
"I was out doing an extra patrol, and saw three people in ABB colors attacking a civilian. And then this bi– this presumably well-intentioned hero stuns me."
"And the darts?"
"OK, I had darts. But I never used them, for anything."
"Citrine Mage, does this mesh with what you observed?"
"She didn't use the sharp darts. When I attacked her with stunbolts, which I admit may have been slightly hasty and she had no way of knowing they were nonlethal, she still didn't use the sharp ones. I think it's a grand misunderstanding."
You told Dauntless it looked like a cape overseeing a crime. What gave that impression?"
"It took me some twenty seconds to approach close enough to get them all before they had time to react by, say, trying to use their victim as a human shield. She was standing on a nearby roof during this time. It felt like she was waiting for something. I'm not sure how reliable my intuition is here, though."
Misunderstanding is one thing, but I'm supposed to be on a team with someone who attacked me?"
She turns to Gren, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, especially if it turns out not to be a mere misunderstanding. Dismissed."
She more or less ignores Shadow Stalker as she walks back to the Wards area to put her purchases away unless the latter re-initiates conversation.
She runs into another Ward or two on the way. "What was that about with Stalker?"
"I was out shopping, ran into some thugs. She was on a nearby roof. I shot stunbolts at her 'cause I didn't recognize her and thought she was a villain at first and we had a little fight. No lasting harm, I hope."
"They wouldn't let me wear purple 'cause she's already got dark-and-broody covered. But all's well that ends well."
Except, you don't just attack everyone who looks villainous, do you? I hope?"
"I will probably still attack people who look villainous and watch a crime unfolding without doing jack about it. The stunbolts are nonlethal, you know."
Stalker does that sometimes, she likes to see if the victim is going to fight back. It's messed up. She does go in eventually either way, though. At least every time I've seen."
"Well. Yeah, that's messed up. This is faint praise, but at least she doesn't go around attacking people to see if they fight back, just failing to rescue them. Still. Even if nobody got hurt because she waited, probably dozens of them had a traumatic event last longer than it needed to."