Wreck's currently floating in midair above a crowd of protesters near a police station, the electrical cables in her hair whipping upwards as the updraft around her holds her aloft, a sign stuck on the end of her rebar staff: Stop Police Brutality! The Law Applies To You!

She's chanting with the protesters, "Stop Police Brutality!", her raspy, grinding tone of voice distinct above the crowd.

Wreck's most noticeable feature is probably the destroyed mechanisms and debris growing from her head, eyes reduced to a smear of green behind cracked lenses and fragments of metal, mouth zig-zagging across her face in a rough pattern of shrapnel and broken glass pushing up from her gums, the pops and snaps of electricity sounding out as small arcs of lightning cascade across nearby objects, tingling across skin without doing any harm. The rest of her aesthetic leans into the junk look, metal plates sewn onto a jacket with wire, a worn pair of jeans, and a set of combat boots.

From her vantage point, Wreck would most likely be able to see what is obviously another cape approaching over the rooftops. Cruach's not flying, but the speed at which she runs, jumps, and generally moves over the rooftops would be impressive regardless. She comes to a stop at the edge of a roof a ways away, such that she can see the protest, but isn't liable to be seen by the protesters unless they're looking up and back. She spends a few moments looking over the situation, just taking it all in, before she looks directly towards Wreck herself and cocks her head to the side.

She cuts a somewhat impressive figure, distance and angles not doing anything to hide the fact that she's rather tall. No skin at all shows through her costume. Her mask resembles the face of an owl, and her costume in general seems thematically matched and well put together. If Wreck were to turn to directly face her, or begin approaching, she would give a small friendly wave.

As soon as Cruach enters the range of her Thinker power, she smoothly turns to face her and begins to fly closer, sparks tingling harmlessly across Cruach's body more and more as the distance between them shrinks. She slows to a stop a certain distance away, and tilts her head.

"Are you going to interfere?" At this distance, the sound of metal and glass scraping together is audible as Wreck speaks, pulling her sign off the staff with one hand as the length of metal droops, losing it's rigidity as it's held like a whip. "I'm here to make sure things don't get violent."

Cruach follows the approach of the other cape, demeanor remaining calm even as the sparks increase in intensity. Her voice projects well, even while sounding like she's speaking at a normal volume. It bears a faint accent, identifiable only as not from somewhere in the US, though beyond that it's impossible to tell. There's a slightly hard edge to it.

"I wasn't planning on it." She pauses, watching the display of power with the staff. "I heard the commotion, though it would be worth checking out." Her stance becomes slightly more combative. "Though I'd appreciate if you would stop using your power on me."

"A deaf man was arrested for 'refusing to comply with an officer's instructions' and 'threatening an officer with the use of gang signs'. ACAB, same as ever." She briefly stretches in midair, her staff snapping back to normal before she affixes the sign back on.

"Three-sixty degree vision doesn't discriminate. I can't shut it off, not without undoing it completely, gotta keep an eye on the protest. It's harmless, though. Couldn't zap someone even if I wanted to. Call me Wreck."

"Goes to show that more people should learn ASL." She sighs and shaker her head, disappointment evident.

"Fair enough." The hard edge to her voice is gone, replaced with understanding. "Useful ability." It sounds as though she's speaking from experience. "Cruach, nice to meet you."

She gestures out over the crowd, at the situation in general. "Is this usual for you, keeping the peace at these sorts of things?" She seems genuinely curious.

"It's useful, yeah. Could do without the glass in my mouth, though."

She scowls. "Cruach, the mercenary? Hm. Fair warning, if things turn nasty and you side with the cops, I'm not going to hesitate to protect these people from you. I don't care how strong you are, I can still hurt you."

She has to consider that question for a few seconds. "Not...in this capacity, but yes. People have grievances. The police are just as beholden to the law as anyone, they should face consequences. They don't. Hence, justified protest."

"That's got to be unpleasant." She seems sympathetic. "You seem to be handling it well though."

"While it's nice to be recognized, there's really no need for that." The combative stance returns, as though her entire body is ready to move in any direction in a split second. Her hands curl, not quite making fists, closer to grabbing something that isn't there. Her tone remains the same. "If I were here on a job, we wouldn't be chatting like this." She snorts. "I don't make a habit of getting involved in politics like this either, bad for maintaining professionalism." She shakes her head briefly. "Noted."

"Fair point, and more power to you. Just don't expect me to join in beyond evacuating the wounded if things go badly." At this point her hands have uncurled, and she's loosened up a bit, though she's still far from relaxed, still ready to move.

"Fair enough. I can understand using your powers for payment. You're a professional, which is good and bad. Good because you don't do anything you're not required to, not gonna disrupt things unless someone has you do it, then it's easy to figure out whoever's at the end of things. Bad, because that might mean I have to kick your teeth in for being a corporate sellout willing to support the wrong side of things. Hope it never comes to that." She kinda shrugs, offering Cruach her hand.

"I'd actually appreciate your assistance, as...a deterrent, and another person trying to minimize harm, if nothing else. Don't gotta join in, just...maybe hang around, let people see that you're watching? I can't pay you much."

She nods in agreement. "The nice thing about this sort of work is I get to choose who I take jobs from, so hopefully it won't come to that."

Cruach seems a little bit suspicious of the handshake, at least for a split second, before she accepts. Like most of what she does, it's professional.

"That shouldn't be a problem, though I can't stay here all day." She glances out over the whole of the protest again, taking in the broad strokes of the situation. "It's better for everyone if this doesn't turn violent. Don't worry too much about money, for something like this, a small favor will do just fine."

Wreck's hand is...strangely inflexible, in Cruach's grip, in a way that doesn't seem to matter regardless of how much strength she puts into the handshake. Something bends slightly in Cruach's arm as Wreck shakes her hand, before it settles back to normal and contact is broken. Doesn't feel like anything was shifted permanently out of place, there wasn't any pain, just discomfort.

Wreck flies backwards a bit, bouncing slightly as the updraft holding her up centers itself beneath her, gusts of hot air blowing around. She's still smiling...or, as close to it as she can manage, considering the current state of her face..

"Do you need a ride over, or are you good?"

Where before her posture indicated calm interest and a general sort of laid back professionalism, now it shifts to something more combative, more angry. Her head follows the flight of the other cape, evaluating angles, motion, and everything she'll need to have at her fingertips if a fight breaks out. A dozen ideas flash past her minds eye. She loosens her hands.

"Neat trick." Her voice is flat and hard, accent gone, tone gone. "You're not the only one who can hurt people regardless of strength." She turns on her heel and begins walking away. Something shifts under her hood. Her posture doesn't relax.