āOf course..?ā Fivemind wasnāt entirely sure why the mayor would question this. It was only natural for a superhero to come running when there is a hostage.Ā
The compliment was met with a simpleĀ āthank youā. The machine did appreciate it but right now itās priorities lay in making sure they were getting out of this in one piece. Or at least the mayor does. According to their databanks, and also past experience, humans were generally much harder to fix when broken.
āOne of the other rangers is ahead of us.ā Turning the corner, they would find the pink unit haphazardly shoving something (or someone) into a broom closet. There was blood on her sharp tipped hands.Ā āCoast is clear for now.āĀ
āI am afraid we do not know much of what we up againstā¦we were hoping you might know.ā Through the units the AI had heard little odds and ends from the guards and hired thugs here - something about a boss. Quite possibly there was a lab around here? Or was this the lab?Ā
āI do not think it is simply a reenactment though. Considering that the footsoldiers - for lack of a better term- are actually armed.ā
Red Cage got up from his creaky little office chair as Piter directed his attention to what was happening out there in the hallways.Ā The supervillain , although at this point he supposed it was a bit early to call himself that, couldnāt say he was surprised. But he wasnāt really expecting them to go through their base this fast.Ā
He was only really half listening to other man talk about -wait since when did this conversation become about tv shows and books? He didnāt even get a word in. He was just going to have to get used to this until he finds a better option, wasnāt he?Ā
āOh, and Piter?ā What was it the other requested? Killing the rest of the staff?Ā āDo keep in mind we are working with a limited number of hands and an even more limited hiring pool. Kill if they are beyond saving butā¦ I would prefer at least some of us come out of this still ..functional.āĀ
āThat includes you.ā He pulled out a ziplock bag containing a N95 respirator and a pair of safety goggles from a drawer. Standard laboratory PPE. He went over to the other man and tossed the bag into his hands.Ā āHere. In case you need to detonate the spore bombs in close range. Or we cross paths in action. We can talk about an actual costume later.ā
While the strain of mold they would be using was cultivated to thrive in machines and electronics, probably better not inhale any of that. Cage hadnāt really gotten around to testing it on humans anyways. He was lowkey hoping he could use the mayor for that once all this was done with.Ā
āAnd Iād rather we get rid of the robots before the mayor.āĀ
Comet feels faint. āWell, if they have real guns, I could... really die if we make a run for it,ā he protests weakly. The magnitude of what he has to communicate does not compare well to the vanishing brain space he has to say it with. Fear shrinks everything down.
He looks back at his empty cell, and his hand moves nearly involuntarily to touch the note in his pocket. Not only did he fail to explain everything in just the right way that would tell everyone heās a good person who handles situations smartly. What he did write is unfinished, and obviously so. Someone would find it on his body, and they would see, not some confident statement, but the embarrassment of a half-baked thought. He wants more time to write. There may not even be time to run.
āHow about, for this one,ā he offers, putting the thoughts together determinedly, like beads on a string. āInstead of doing the thing that matches a superhero story the most. Why donāt you do the thing thatās the most likely to keep us all alive? Can we do it that way until weāre back home?ā
Piter flinches and catches the bag in a defensive clap. āWell, you are not listening to me very much,ā he complains, ābut thank you for at least not wanting me dead. I think Iāll take the win.ā
Heās still testing the waters with Cage. There are some in this organization who would have no trouble solving personal disagreements with unmarked graves, staff shortages or no. Of course there are; Piter, himself, could be pressed to such an extreme. Heās sure heās too useful to kill carelessly, but he imagines that a truer safety can be found in not inspiring that level of ire in the first place.
It bruises his ego, though, how little Cage was paying attention! He didnāt suggest killing their own men to save on medical bills, he had a very valid concern about giving them over to the enemy for questioning. And his concerns about his own costume, or lack of costume, are very immediate! If he is recognized, his undercover presence in the city as Simeon van der Poel will crumble in an instant, and theyāll have to send someone else. For all of his smarts (and he was at the top of his class, in the cult that raised him), he doesnāt quite connect that his chattiness may have suggested to Cage that he wasnāt saying much of anything that was on topic.
Piter quietly decides not to actively hunt down their own wounded, as Cageās point about shortages is sensible. But as far as individual fallen guards he might come across... well, heāll use his own judgment. The costume, though. Thatās mandatory.
āWell, hmm,ā he says, pulling a plastic orange jack-o-lantern bucket from a pile of junk in the corner. āI suppose I can use this to hide my face until I have a real costume.ā He is already cutting out eye holes. Since when was he holding a knife? It almost seems to manifest like a part of him.
āThe superhero is an American tradition, after all,ā he muses, more quietly, mostly to himself (Cage did not seem interested last time). āI do not have a modern look ready, no; but it is not entirely dodging the prompt to reach back to reference a masked vigilante from the American canon; a sort of proto-supervillain, if you will.ā
There are a number of bulky brown jackets available to personnel, hanging from hooks on the wall. These jackets would be insufficient gear to brave the Martian deserts in, but they are useful for dusty indoor workshops and lab spaces. Piter goes over to them to take his down. āAnd besides,ā he continues to himself as he reaches for it and puts it on. āIt doesnāt entirely make sense to me, that a vigilanteās costume should be a kind of playful self-expression, when the prompt is to obscure oneās identity. I have nothing at all in common with Irvingās Brom Bones. Much more in common with the ill-fated schoolmaster, as a matter of fact, who Bones made it his mission to mock and destroy.ā
These last few words are muffled, as he puts on the breathing mask. āWell. Bonesā family was Dutch, I suppose,ā he says, muffled even more as he fits the pumpkin bucket over the breathing mask and goggles.
He turns to Cage and spreads out his hands to show off the costume. The pumpkin bucket opens at the top, so the grinning face is upside-down. āDonāt tell me - I look ridiculous,ā he complains.
