“-just saying, you should at least check it out. Hell, might just be you’ll get some Tinker inspiration out of it.” Two capes appear around the corner, Cavalier trying to convince Doc Pulsar to read something or other. They're moving through a slightly dilapidated area, but one that was judged quiet enough for a Ward to safely patrol through.

Doc hums to himself, striding along in his costume and fiddling with his visor. “You really think so? I reckon maybe I’ll give it a shot. Though I’m also thinking I might branch into electromagnetism some more - might be able to rig some kind of propulsion unit.”

He checks over his gear again, making sure he’s not missing his things. Zipcuffs, check. NERV, check. A few of his Chainvolt grenades, check. Freyr stun pistol, check. Mag Glove, check. Finally, his medkit; check. Honestly, he might need to try and relax this habit a bit.

He turns back to Cavalier and gives him a curious look. “So, uh, how’s your power work, anyways? I thought it was something like fireballs at one point, but then another time it was some kind of freeze beam? What’s up with that?”

"You mean I wasn't covered in the briefing?"

He suddenly begins flying upside down in a seated pose, crossing his arms and looking vaguely disappointed.

"I don't know how to feel about that, I'm almost insulted. But basically the answer is: my power is whatever I want it to be. I can change what I fire, and how I fire it, with just a few seconds of focus."

To demonstrate he creates a glowing white orb in one hand, before it turns into a ball of fire, then a ball of tightly compressed crackling lightning, and then back to the white energy.

“I mean.. I’m not sure? I’ve only been a Ward for a couple of weeks so far, and I’m not entirely sure that they bring things up like that. Besides, I’m still trying to get the hang of what my teammates’ powers are.”

He pays attention to the demonstration, humming in thought as he briefly wonders about something, which he asks out loud. “So, can you control the intensity of your projectiles? Like, adjusting the temperature of fire, or the voltage of electricity?”

He looks around as they’re patrolling, taking in the run-down area. He knows it was cleared for him to come along, but he can’t help this feeling of.. foreboding? He can’t exactly put words to it. Oh well.

"Ah, I get that. Trying to understand new powers can be very fun. You, for example. File says you're a Tinker specialized in electricity? That's gotta be one of the broadest specialties I've heard of."

He nods at Doc's question. "Everything is a tradeoff. I can make the projectiles stronger, yeah, but at the cost of something else, usually fire rate. I can influence the trade a little though, for example when I increase the fire rate I can choose if the bolts get weaker or less accurate, or a mix of both."

“Yeah, I remember reading comics and seeing Static Shock move stuff around with electricity, and thinking ‘what if I could do that without the electricity?’ It’s what led to me making the Mag Glove. And my specialty is pretty broad, yeah, but I struggle with making bigger stuff. I’d like to maybe get a battlesuit or two for fights against Brutes and whatnot, but those will take AGES to troubleshoot and design and whatnot.”

After he’s done rambling, he listens avidly to Cavalier as he describes the mechanics of his power, soaking in the details like a sponge. He’s about to ask how the flight factors in when he gets a ping from his NERV, causing him to stop for a moment.

“Huh? What’s this..?”

"Get off your lazy asses! I want this equipment in the van before we get snapped on some fuckers smartphone!"

Standing in front of a group of people is Dominion, a blatantly obvious cape if ever there was one, wafts of smoke puffing from her mouth like she's been sucking on a joint, despite the lack of any actual drugs near her.

Moving around are five men, all lightly armed, rushing back and forth to pole boxes up into a beat up red pickup truck with obscured plates

As the heroes turn the corner, Dominion let's out a long, frustrated sigh.

"All right, leave the rest. I want everyone out within a minute, don't get tagged." She calls out as she pops a molotov off of the metal chest piece she wears, tossing it and catching it idly in one hand.

"How can I help you officers?"

Cavalier spins around again, landing on the ground as he focuses on his power, changing the Element to ice.

"Dominion... that's a problem..." he mutters under his breath, before calling out: "Help? Well. It would be a big help if you turned yourself in, but somehow I don't see that happening. Other than that, I'm afraid there's not much I can think of."

Doc realizes that the NERV had picked up on the nervous systems of half a dozen people, one of which was a lot bigger than the others in proportions. And sure enough, as they round the corner, right there is none other than Dominion. Doc is nearly able to suppress his jolt of fear at the large woman before him - he’s fairly certain she could snap him in half like a twig.

As Cavalier speaks with her, the Ward prepares for the worst, bringing one hand near his stun pistol in order to draw it if it came to it, and the other - wearing his Mag Glove - readied as a more subtle means of combat.

If at any point the molotov gets thrown, Doc will use his Mag Glove to grab it with magnetic TK and reel it in to him, so as to prevent a fire.

"My friends and I are just helping a buddy move." She lies blatantly, with a toothy smile and humor in her tone.

"Tell you what though, how about we skedaddle, and you can have whatever's left?" She offers, tapping the unlit molotov against the strike pad on her forearm, casually.

"These old meth labs go up like tinder, and if this comes to a fight we're gonna lose most of the neighborhood, plus you've got a kid with you. Call this one a wash and give it a shot another day?'

The standoff continues for a few moments as Cavalier tries to think of the best way to handle this. Then, he sighs and lowers his hands.

"Damn it, but fine. I'm not paid to put this kid in danger, so get out. Though I would suggest you move fast."

He then opens the comms to Console. "Cavalier here. I've encountered the villain Dominion, but I'm not opening hostilities while I've got a Ward with me. If someone else wants to come over though, you might still be able to catch her."

Doc isn’t exactly happy about the fact that they’re letting a villain - and a gang leader, from the looks of it - get away from them. But then again, he can understand why. Heroes wouldn’t exactly be looked upon kindly if they actively threatened the well-being of civilians.

Reluctantly, he takes his hand away from his holstered stun pistol and stops having the Mag Glove readied. His mouth curls into a scowl though, as he musters up whatever courage he has to give what is, to him, a heroic statement. “Next time, you won’t be able to just get away with stuff like this.”

And he means it, too. Already, his mind is whirring with ideas for extra-durable magnetic restraints, capable of locking onto a target and snapping shut on them. Next time he crosses paths with someone like Dominion with those things, they’re not getting away.

"Kid, I will always be able to get away with this. Every single time. Because your organization lacks direction, it lacks purpose. It lashes itself to an outdated system and feeds on compromise and failure. You can do better. Be a real hero. ACAB."

She hops up onto the back of the pickup truck as everyone finishes piling in, and bangs the side twice.

"Ciao, fuckers. Hope you've got a mover up your ass somewhere."

The driver peels out with the sound of shrieking rubber, and the music begins to audibly thunk, growing ever more distant.