Apprentice 2.6

Thomas Wolf was wearing the disguise of Blackjack, as he had chosen to name the persona he was currently using, standing ready for the arrival of the thugs he was expecting to see. Whispered words formed a shield in the air in addition to the mage armor, the twin layers of protection both fading away unseen until called upon, facing the staircase to the first floor.

Shadow Stalker was probably either calling in their situation or possibly moving the vials to a hidden location. That or she might have disregarded his words and used her ability to scout the enemies and start taking shots at them given a chance to strike. She did not seem like someone who would take orders too well from one she didn't really have to, and she was likely only here because she wanted to see him in action after what she'd witnessed before.

Gathering heat in the palm of his hand with a mere thought, he began to prepare the fireball spell, holding it at ready when he heard steps approaching the staircase. A touch of meta-magic meant the fireball was supposed to be non-lethal, but that only seemed to mean that the damage wouldn't be quite as severe as it could be, if the magic missile spell was to be used as an example. Then again, the guy had already taken a shot from Shadow Stalker's tranquilizer bolts so he didn't have a good baseline to work with.

Seeing a group of half a dozen thugs, at least four of them skinheads, rushing into the staircase he smirked and shoved his hand forth while releasing the fireball spell he'd been holding. "Burn!"

The thugs barely had time to realize something headed right for them before yelling and then enveloped in a blast of heat and concussive force, throwing them down with smoldering clothes, minor burns all over but he saw no black charred flesh or burnt to skeletal state bodies, so he could call it a relative success at least.

"The fuck!?" He heard a yell from below before a slashing storm of spinning blades rushed towards the stairs, and above the group of men charging right up at him. He was already preparing his counter-strike for this eventuality, having chosen fireball for area of effect strikes, and another third level spell for single targets, or direct lines at least.

The sparkling lightning at his fingertips seemed to catch the metal wolf by surprise even before he thrust his hand forward, actually pushing it inside the whirling mass of blades given how close Hookwolf had got.

"Eat it!" He yelled, and watched in delight as the blast of lightning struck through Hookwolf's figure the lightning jumping from one piece to another in rapid succession given his metal nature, but also scorching through the core within the changed physiology of Hookwolf, causing the storm of living metal to jerk back and tremble before shifting back into a man, just in time to receive a tranquilizer bolt right in its chest and send the man tumbling down the staircase.

"Thanks!" Blackjack yelled to Shadow Stalker he saw momentarily before she flashed into a nearby wall out of sight.

Just seconds later four thugs appeared at the edge of the staircase raising up their guns and opening fire. Four pistols and two submachine guns, they'd not come here loaded with heavy assault weapons at least, but the flashing shield and the cracks against his mage armor did give him a warning to back away a few steps and out of the line of fire at least.

Just then the window besides him shattered as the woman with a gymnastic physique seemed to leap in and land on her open palms only to spring right into a kick into his face. Angled out of the shield's direction, his mage armor barely caught it enough to slow it, but the impact still hit and sent him cheek first into a wall letting out a groan, even as she flipped back on her feet and withdrew a pair of sharp kamas from behind her.

Cricket. He had not paid too much attention to her, but the gymnastic build combined with the scars and those reflexes certainly made her a dangerous contender, and there was still Stormtiger on his way up as well and several more thugs with guns as well. Not to even mention the fact that he didn't know if Hookwolf would stay down, shocked and tranquilized or not.

He raised his hand to begin to cast only for Cricket to interrupt him with a slash at the wrist. Instead of chopping his hand off the blade left a nasty cut and caused her to have to yank the blade downwards in a slash rather than a sideway chop she had intended to carry through, leaving her momentarily out of position.

"Fuck!" Blackjack cursed loudly at the slash and moved back down the hallway, further off from the stairs while Cricket moved to follow him in a swift step taking another running start. He turned to face her properly and casting again, her kamas swung ahead in a dual strike.

Only for them both to slam into the invisible barrier of his shield this time, piercing through but hitting the mage armor again. They resisted damage he took but up close and personal her strikes were still dangerous, especially the further he reached from his own torso, which had also been evidenced in how Hookwolf's blades had cut into his hand and arm earlier, though thankfully not too badly in the short moment.

"Fry and cry!" He let out the few words as the bolt of lightning struck out of his fingers, slamming the window and shattering it going ahead at the distance before hitting a sign-board on a rooftop and causing it to spark a few flames at the spot he'd hit. The woman he'd tried to hit point blank having dropped flat just in time, and slashing at his leg causing him to yell as he stumbled back.

"Little fly is going to die, playing with the big leagues!" Her voice came out rough, but the cut on her throat gave him a good idea why, but as her arms pulled back to slash at him there was something that made her swiftly jump to the side even as a bolt flashed by the two of them where she'd stood just a moment earlier.

"Oh you'll pay for that-" She had started to say when Thomas reached out and grasped the blade of the kama, cutting his fingers, but releasing a new burst of lightning right through it. His hand felt like it was burning and cut at the same time, a very nasty sensation, but watching Cricket tense and tremble as if electrocuted made it worthwhile. Shadow Stalker took that moment to yank something off her belt and throwing it down the staircase, only for it to get flung back up and explode near the top of the stairs expanding to a big ball of containment foam, almost catching her in its grasp.

"You okay?" He yelled at her only to see her move over and reload to then put another Tranquilizer bolt into Cricket briefly, before reloading her crossbow once more.

"Just peachy. Hookwolf is still down and out cold and I got three more of their thugs with a foam grenade but I only had two, and the second one was wasted trying to hit Stormtiger. At least it should hold the staircase and the downed Hookwolf for a while unless Stormtiger is capable of cutting through." She frowned.

"Could he?" Blackjack asked to check only to be met with a glare. Before she could answer there were blasts sounding out against the containment foam, causing it to shake slightly on top of the staircase.

"It is possible since he's not trapped inside, but chances are that it would take them too long to do so with the authorities on their way." She smirked slightly.

"Then I suppose we remain vigilant for any other surprises and if we're lucky, hand over Cricket and Hookwolf to the PRT troopers and Protectorate soon enough." He glanced outside, and at the cars. "Might also make retreat a tougher job for them." He felt a tad tired of throwing higher level spells though, and took a minute to calm his breath a bit. Finally, he reached out, and unleashed a fireball amidst the cars. The blast shook them but unlike the movies, it didn't cause them to explode with ruptured fuel tanks or anything. Another blast spread nasty scorch marks all around, and the car he'd specifically targeted had its windows blown and the interior caught on fire.

"That is pretty strong for a Grab-bag you know. Lightning, fireballs, causing people to fall asleep, some sort of shielding, and enhanced leaping abilities? It seems like you didn't just go for seconds but third and fourths as well." She smirked slightly but then frowned. "The Protectorate would love to have you but then neuter you into a showpiece." Her tone was more than a little aggravated at the last bit.

"Well sharing credit with a Ward for capture of at least one Empire cape and quite possibly two if they can't get Hookwolf out in time, I think the first impressions would be better than some that have gone around." His reply was amused and his tone seemed to convey the message through well enough if her own short chuckle was to be accepted as evidence.

"She got you with a couple of nasty hits. You alright?" She asked glancing at his leg and his arm, while he waved her off.

"I'm fine, I felt the impact but I think she intended to chop things off rather than leave me with nicks and cuts." He felt her grab his hand though, and turning his palm up, showing the cut open palm of his glove and the red line on his palm.

"Bullshit, you're a brute on top of all the other shit? What the fuck, seriously?" Her tone was annoyed but she looked at him seriously while holding said hand.

"Not a proper brute actually, a mild healing factor, other than that, it is the shield power. It takes most of the punishment but it can't stop it all, especially when it builds up." He left unsaid a few of the bullets shot at him had gone through, but thankfully missing him. The shield and mage armor kept diverting the shots that were essentially blind-fire after his earlier blast had scared the thugs somewhat.

"Any other surprises I can expect you to just pull out of your ass that I should know about?" She asked him in a serious fashion while he smirked slightly behind his mask.

"Not at the moment, I'll tell you if things change." He glanced out of the window, seeing a number of cars rushing in from the distance. The blasts against the containment foam in the staircase had stopped too, and he saw a group of thugs heading out towards their cars, only to pause at the sight of the burnt stage they were in.

Not wasting an opportunity, he dropped one more merciful fireball at the doorway, since he'd already broken the window earlier anyway. The blast caught them off guard once more, but Stormtiger was rushing off unharmed. Shadow Stalker shot at him only for her bolt to stop and get flung away in midair, and Stormtiger turning momentarily to gesture at the two of them. The next moment, the glass exploded and Thomas yelled with glass shards in his eyes as he stumbled back, and he could hear Shadow Stalker cursing loudly as well.

"Fucking.... fuck!" He groaned and winced while reaching up to yank shards of glass out of his ruined eyes while shuddering at how it felt, but removing them swiftly even as he heard Shadow Stalker get up and then hearing her footsteps vanish.

He emptied out the worst of his eyesockets, before pressing a hand on his chest and muttering a healing spell on himself, feeling the energy rushing through his own body. The cuts and slashes he'd taken earlier having already turned into bruises, but now washed away entirely. His eyes had began to recover after he had got most of the glass out, the spell only seeming to accelerate that by actually purging the glass from his previously ruined eyes. The sensation was about as gentle as someone running sandpaper over his face, and he screamed momentarily and clutched his hands together before his chest.

"Motherfucker... fucking shit.. Oh damn I'm going to really need to get myself a mask with some proper protective lenses." He shivered but blinked, finding his vision clearing up once more. The cars had stopped below, and the PRT markings on them showed, with troopers moving in to secure the thugs on the ground.

He glanced at the downed Cricket and leaned against a wall nearby, waiting a moment. He heard some hissing noise and noted the staircase's containment foam being melted away by something the troopers brought, and a shout. "It's Hookwolf sir!"

Two Empire capes down, not bad. He smirked slightly while getting up, seeing Armsmaster heading up the stairs before he paused seeing him and Cricket nearby. As Thomas opened his mouth Armsmaster's halberd was already up, and before Thomas could really speak a dart shot out of its end slamming into his chest.

Staggering back, he glanced down at the said dart and then at Armsmaster, and growled. "Fucking traitor! I'm a her-oo..." He felt himself shiver and fall back, slamming on the ground and passing out.

"Armsmaster, Shadow Stalker reported she had happened on a crime in progress with the vigilante Blackjack, who this masked man likely was given he showed no signs of hostility and sat near the downed figure of Cricket." The admonishing voice from Dragon sounded out inside Armsmaster's helmet as he oversaw the three capes captured at the scene being loaded into PRT van.

"The man is a potential threat, and the burns on these victims suggest he might be related to Firestarter. I would rather check and verify than to allow him to walk away after such a show." His voice brooked no argument on the issue, as he glanced at the gang members who had mild burns all over their figures and clothes that seemed to have been touched by a flame far hotter than the burns on their skins suggested.

"Firestarter has been spreading panic near Boston area but there's no evidence of him having arrived here, and Blackjack has already been reported to have taken down foes non-lethally before, and while the gang members are injured, none of them are dead. Even their burns are such that they should be able to heal over time, and Panacea or Miracle should be able to clear it up in minutes." Dragon wasn't going to just let things rest it seemed.

"I am not going to allow some psycho going around with powers like this to corrupt one of the wards and this was not a scheduled patrol night for Shadow Stalker either, I have good reason to suspect this man may be up to no good and I want him securely contained for the interrogation."

"All you are doing is alienating a potential ally, one who has shown themselves capable of facing up to Empire Capes and assisting in their capture, as well as staying behind on the scene rather than fleeing from the scene."

"Given the blood on his leg it is quite possible he was unable to run away after being wounded in the fights that took place earlier. No matter he will be treated and brought out of sedation in a cell at the PRT HQ later." Armsmaster said seriously before heading over to squad leader among the troopers.

"Send a message back to Miracle we may be in need of his services shortly, bringing in some wounded gang members, two Empire Capes and one unregistered and potentially hostile vigilante. Cricket and Hookwolf both display electrical burns through their bodies."

The trooper nod and moved to relay the message ahead, while Dragon was quietly trying to find out what she could about the site in question. It had apparently been more or less abandoned for a short while after downsizing of a company producing some medical goods locally. The security system was more or less shot, the cameras on site were not working properly. She suspected Shadow Stalker may have had a hand in that, but it could also potentially be a fault caused by the electrical attacks unleashed by the vigilante cape.

What did concern was the fact that six minutes later, a message arrived noting that Shadow Stalker had been tracking down Stormtiger and returning to the site after Stormtiger had managed to slip away from her.

More to the point, she noted that Director Piggot had left her with a request to try and bring the man in for a debriefing and a power testing as well as a recruitment attempt. An attempt that was more or less doomed to fail now thanks to Armsmaster. Dragon couldn't help but wonder what had resulted in Armsmaster taking up such an immediate dislike on the cape and resulted in him shooting the man with the tinker-drugs that were still being prepared for taking down brutes of the same class as Lung.

This had the potential to cause a major bit of damage. She swiftly moved to examine a few internal messages to check and see if Armsmaster had been informed of Director Piggot's directions, only to be surprised to find a message stating that the ward Shadow Stalker had been spotted spending time around a dangerous vigilante of unknown allegiance recently and had been suspected of flirting with the young woman and potentially trying to draw her back away from the Wards and back into Vigilantism, along with a few more scandalous remarks noted.

If Armsmaster had read that message instead of the one others had received then his hostility was easier to understand but checking back on it, she found that for whatever reason the original message had either not reached Armsmaster or had been immediately deleted, replaced by another that should not have been in the system in the first place.

Which meant that Armsmaster was being manipulated as well, but it would probably be best to let him hear things from Director Piggot directly later, seeing as they had already made the mistake of tranquilizing the man and taking him back to PRT might just aggravate things further but hopefully cooler heads would prevail in the end. Regardless, she had to recommend Armsmaster be denied any interaction with this man again if she could prevent that, at least until the mistake had been fully cleared up with both parties.

Back at PRT HQ, Miracle received a message on his new tinker tech phone listing out the information about the soon to arrive captives, their general condition and a request for him to confirm they were not in any immediate danger as well as to provide healing to at least alleviate the worst of what they had suffered.

When he noted the name Blackjack that did not belong to any of the known players in the city he smirked slightly. Would it really be this easy? Would PRT bring in the prey all secured and ready for execution? He'd need to find a way to make 'fixing' the man kill him without arousing suspicion, merely stating there had been something wrong that interfered with his power when he touched the man or something similar.

He might put himself under a microscope if he couldn't come up with a good reasoning for his actions and an excuse that managed to slip through, but if it secured his end-goal it would be worth it. Smirking to himself, he got up to head on over to the infirmary to wait for the arrivals.

Author's Note: Armsmaster is getting a rather alarming image of a man spending time with one of the Wards he is supposed to be overseeing and one that he could easily see as a bad influence in a number of ways, and he acts on that information in a hurry confident that the circumstances warrant such actions. Had to do a last moment edit to switch Miracle's point into He, despite the female mind inside the body is a male one and she is adapting to thinking as a he, and constant use of she/her felt out of place.[/hr][/hr][/hr]