The Superhuman Gambit

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Sooner or later, someone will clean up the dead ants in the street where the Mechanist and the AntAgonizer fought. It's not a big priority right now, though. Not with Dominic and Machete getting ready to go out for the day's hunting, and Joe opening up the diner and counting over his available bottles of water, and Derek looking for something to do or someone to talk to. For the moment, at least, it's pretty placid in Canterbury Commons.

We'll just have to see how long that lasts.

Comments

[basic_powers]

"You're a really great mechanic, Mr. Wollinski, you've got a talent for fixing things..." With that Moon Shadow glances up at Night Ghost and disappears with a faint patter of feet.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen tosses a salute in the blinking man's direction, and vanishes as well. When she gets to the elevator she switches off the stealth field, pulls up the headpiece, and hisses, "Tyler?"

[basic_powers]

"'m here." With those words the boy reappears into her line of sight...but not the Mech- ..Not Scott Wollinski's line of sight.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The elevator eases shut and starts to rattle downward. Ellen sags against the back of the elevator and exhales.

"Sorry I wasn't there faster. There were brain bots... They wouldn't let up."

[basic_powers]

"...eiiigh." Tyler's just going to make a face under his helmet. Dogmeat's nose was dead on for that one. "I should've waited for you before trying to fix this elevator."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It's okay," Ellen says. "You were doing pretty well, from what I heard. It's not your fault he's crazy."

[basic_powers]

"I think he really believes heroes have to talk and act like that...that was the scary part." Tyler plunks down. "That he had to act like that...or be nothing at all."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen shakes her head. "I don't know what's up with people sometimes," she says. "Maybe they don't have enough examples or something... I don't know. I don't envy Roe's job, that's for sure."

[basic_powers]

"...me either."

Pause.

Wait a minute.

"Wait, how're we going to take care of the Antagonizer?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen runs her hands over her face as the elevator grinds to a stop. "I don't know," she admits. "I'm hoping Dogmeat can help me find her. Joe couldn't tell me where she is beyond 'somewhere in the rocks north of town' but the rocks just go on and on... You know, if you want, you can Dogmeat! Stop that!"

The change of focus is because Dogmeat, who was pacing in front of the elevator and whining nervously, took off like a rocket the instant the humans arrived.

"Oh God. That dog's going to be the death of me, I just know it."

[basic_powers]

Tyler isn't arguing, he's just running after Dogmeat through the front entrance door. It's just outside the door that something in the air makes it feel like his eardrums are about to pop.

"Ellen...I think Dogmeat has the right idea...."

This is no longer a running-to-catch run, this is a running-to-keep-up run.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen gulps and breaks into a run. None too soon, either, as there's a high-pitched whistling noise overhead, getting closer. She has just enough time to hope it's not Talon Company with access to missiles when the sky lights up with a green flash and a BANG.

"....!"

[basic_powers]

HIT THE DIRT!

...Well in Tyler's case, take a flying dive into the ground is a bit more likely at the noise overhead.

"....what in the name of Tobin's Spirit Guide was THAT?!"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I have no idea," Ellen says slowly; her eyes are recovering from the flash, so she's blinking and trying not to stagger. "Wow. Um. Are you okay?"

[basic_powers]

Tyler's doing that fishy-mouth thing for a bit before he takes stock of everything.

"I'm okay...dirtier...but okay."

Pause.

"Oh no...where's Dogmeat?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, jeez-" Ellen looks around frantically. "Dogmeat? DOGMEAT! Come on, boy, where are you?"

There's a muffled bark from some distance away, in the general direction the green flash overhead had been.

"Hang on, Dogmeat, we're coming-"

Only they're not, because by the time Ellen starts in the dog's direction, he's already trotting back towards them.

[basic_powers]

Tyler's just going to open up a packet of jerky to sweeten the deal for the canine to come back quickly.

"What were you looking for?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thif!" the dog joyfully answers; his mouth is a bit full. With great dignity and care he deposits something at Ellen's feet. She picks it up and stares at it.

"Tyler?" Ellen says. "Is it just me, or does this look like something out of Captain Cosmos?"

"There's shiny things all over the place, too," Dogmeat comments. "They smell just like that thing. I'll go bring you some!"

[basic_powers]

"It's not just you."

Ellen's world is a special brand of messed up.

"...okay, I'll have jerky waiting for you."

"He says there's more like that scattered around over there...he's going to find and bring them back."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen shakes her head slowly and eyes the thing as Dogmeat runs off. "You know," she says, "I wonder..."

There's a fallen lamp-post at the far end of the parking lot. Ellen takes aim at its base, then carefully squeezes the trigger.

... now the lamp-post is on fire.

What's left of it, anyway.

"Bzuh."

[basic_powers]

"eeeeeeeeep."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen eyes the gun, and remembers the Deathclaw in the parking lot outside Super-Duper Mart, and tries to picture it on fire.

... oh, she wishes she hadn't pictured that.

"I think," she says, very carefully, "that as soon as Dogmeat comes back, I'm going to just... take out the ammo on this thing, and I'm going to put it at the bottom of my pack. And then we're going back to town before I go look for the AntAgonizer, and as soon as I can deal with her, we're going to go right back to the Bar."

[basic_powers]

"I have no problems with that plan at all."

Because, seriously? Ellen's world is starting to make Ray Stantz's home verse seem practically tranquil and serene by comparison.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Good."

When they find Dogmeat, he's got a mouthful of glowing blue sticks about the size of Tyler's thumb. Ellen wipes them off and settles the lot of them into a pouch on her belt. "Good boy, Dogmeat," she murmurs. "Good boy."

He wags his tail and gulps down Tyler's jerky. He's a good dog! He did right by his human! Hooray!

[basic_powers]

He's also getting scritches up along his ears and the back of his neck from Tyler.

.........squullorrp....

squullorrp....

squullorrp

Something sludgy and brownish is oozing and dragging it's way towards the group.