Switching his Element to fire, Cavalier flies in front of Maiden and fires a sustained blast of flame at her, hoping the flames manage to get through the gaps in her armour.

With her hopefully preoccupied, or at least blinded for a bit, he rushes over to Doc and starts picking him up.

"We should probably get out of here. The gangsters we wanted to save are gone, and maybe someone who can actually deal with her shows up fast enough."

Assuming he doesn't get interrupted, he then starts to fly up while carrying Doc Pulsar.

A quick glance shows that all the goons have gotten to safety, so that's one objective completed at least. Now if only the other one could go as easily, but the problem with Brutes is that they just won't go down.

He's about to switch his Element to something else, maybe try to burn her if that can get through her armour, when he sees Doc's newest gambit.

Ambitious, kid. I like it.

Well he can't exactly leave that opening hanging, can he? Especially since freezing her in place doesn't seem to be working.

With a snap of his fingers his Element changes to electricity, and he hits Maiden in the back with a sustained lightning bolt.

Cavalier races after Maiden, firing his laser to try and slow her down, but his flight speed can't quite catch up to a charging Brute. The best he can do is try to punish her for taking her attention off him.

Cav flies circles around Maiden, firing his ice beam all the while, frost creeping up everywhere it hits.

"Hey, you really think I'm not having fun here? If I was a stick in the mud only focused on efficiency I'd go out in riot gear, not-" he gestures to himself "-whatever this is supposed to be."

He smiles at Pulsar's antics, letting his attacks up for a moment to see how Iron Maiden reacts.

Cavalier darts to the side to dodge Maiden's sword, and fires another ice ball straight in her face. While she's hopefully blinded he launches a literal flying roundhouse kick at her head, then backs off while changing his power's Output to a beam.

"Dance the dance of death? Really? I know you're a villain, but do you have to be so melodramatic about it?"

"Yeah, I agree. I couldn't call myself a hero if I just left here, and she's not interested in de-escalation. If you've got something that can immobilize her, use it. If you've got something that might hurt her, use it. Otherwise, stay back and try to get those gangers safe."

He sends a quick report to the console, before floating up and firing two ice balls at Iron Maiden's feet.

Iron Maiden. One of the toughest Brutes around, and highly dangerous.

This might be a problem.

Cavalier sighs, then calls out to the gathered group.

"Hey! Any chance you'll resolve this peacefully? Treat others as you wish to be treated and all that?"

"Adding a gimmick doesn't automatically mean it'll be good, just look at the live-action crap Disney is shoveling out. What you need for a good reboot, or any good adaptation really, is creators who are also fans of the original. Just look at-"

A scream suddenly fills the air, interrupting this fascinating discussion.

"Oh, hell. That sounds like trouble. Follow me, kid."

He flies up several meters, heading towards the source of the screaming with Pulsar following close by.

We've seen this one before: a Protectorate hero and Ward on patrol, Cavalier floating next to Doc Pulsar while chatting, and occasionally flying up high to keep an eye out for threats. Let's hope this patrol is less eventful than the last one...

The Roses are a long-running semi-mercenary gang in Denver. They are unusual as a gang in that they don’t hold any territory, nor do they want to. Instead, they have a stranglehold on the illegal and semi-legal arms business in the city, enforced by strong Parahumans and well-trained normals. Even other gangs have to go through them to get weapons, past efforts to push them out all having ended in failure.

[END THREAD]

Cavalier smiles at Doc's enthusiasm, before moving to continue the patrol.

"That's what being a Tinker is for. Whenever you fail, you can build a solution for the next time you face the problem. Though if you're set specifically on beating Dominion, I would advise building something that'll stop fires from spreading."

He turns to Doc.

"I understand you're pissed that we're letting her get away. Believe me, I am too. But a fight wouldn't go well. I might be able to stop any fires she starts, but that would occupy me completely, and leave you to fight her by yourself."

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."

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."

"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."

"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.

“-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.