Scourge barely registered Spencer's response, but he had heard her. Chroma replied to his question, and Scourge watched him attempt to catch up to the van in vain. He had obviously wanted this victory pretty badly, and that was justified. This didn't happen in Chicago. Villains didn't get away, the bad guys never won at all, even a little bit. Even with their Protectorate constantly at other cities, Wards like Scourge, Chroma, Scarlet, even Chimera led to flawless victories, but now. Even The Alchemist was a big
"Fuck you" to anyone even attempting anything. Her very name was a crime deterrent, though these days she was doing only high level shit.
The bad guys had gotten away, and were probably not very worse for wear. Drho, as the unconscious bank teller would later report the name of to PRT officials, had robbed two banks in less then a week. Blackout had narrowly escaped capture a number of times, but now he had a team. Then there were the new villains, the stranger and master. They were both pretty new it seemed, and didn't fit the MO's of mercenaries currently active and known about in the United States. Despite this, they wouldn't be given names until it was proven they weren't known villains. Security footage had definitely captured the stranger's face, if Chroma's Tinkerfab hadn't. If she had true invisibility, though. . . God help us all.
Then there was Greed. He was an absolute monster, not being bound by the Manton Effect and all. He was a well known mercenary that had been working around the country for years. His power seemed to be short range teleportation at first glance, but at forty he was well known enough that they knew more about his power then that. His work against Endbringers had netted the PRT the information that he could only teleport so much. The farther he teleported, the larger toll it would take on his body, and enough consecutive teleportation would render him unconscious. Greed didn't seem to be bound by the Manton Effect either, though teleporting his hand into somebody else's leg wasn't a good idea. Upon teleporting again, he would be devoid of the part of his body that he had teleported into the other person,
or sometimes he would just teleport the person with him. Regardless he lost what he teleported inside of others.
Finally the precog. Though he may or may not exist, his hypothetical existence would explain a lot in the way of Blackout's victories. Though a report of a precog that may or may not be present would probably just be seen as an excuse from the Ward's superiors. The question still remained though: How had all of the Protecterates been busy when the situation had started
up till now?
"Chimera, I can help you secure the perimeter, and interview everybody that needs to be." Scourge said, glancing down the street in the direction Chroma had come from. He could see the signature PRT vehicles pulling up, and even thought he saw Chimera climb out of a car as she arrived.
Scourge sighed a bit as he glanced back at Spencer, his face a stern mask. His emotions were a conflicted mess right now, none stronger then the other in any particular sense. He was disappointing, apprehensive, annoyed, and tired.
"Are you a parahuman?" Scourge asked, getting straight to the point as the flames peeled away from his head and shoulders. His hair was completely devoid of fire, as was the rest of the area above his shoulders, though his torso and legs were still engulfed with heavy flames.
His glasses showed the time as 4:26 PM now, and he knew he had to get home sooner rather then later to keep his mom from getting worried. He didn't let his impatience show though, as he knew he had to be nice to her.
Blackout and Seth
In a Fleeing Van
"My angle?" Seth had to pause a bit at that, not expecting Nightfall to ask such a personal question. It was really pointless too, as knowing wouldn't make the situation they were in any better. Then again, pleasantries came before business. He paused for a bit too long, and the driver grumbled a bit on the alternate channel. Nightfall asked a second question right as the driver was ending what he was saying, and Seth smiled a bit at the convenience. He had naturally started the conversation at a moment where everyone would be talking out of unison. It wasn't just a third sense; It was an extension of his will most of the time.
"If you want to know why you should join, you have no reason to ask me. I can see the future, but I could just lie to you every step of the way. You have no reason to trust me. The boss on the other hand, you can talk to him and find out why you should join. You're obviously at least a bit interested, or you wouldn't have helped to begin with." Seth replied, ignoring Nightfall's first question. He changed outgoing channels again and said to the driver this time,
"Right followed by a left on intersection after next. We'll be in the clear, and drop off the recruits. After that we're heading to HQ."As Seth spoke Ryan looked about the van again, and let out a small sigh. He had been half listening to Seth's words, and half not. Ryan enjoyed the feeling of knowing everyone's name though, so he had to smile a bit at that. He would finally be a part of a team, and he would have people to play games against. With a small voice that grew a bit louder as he spoke, he asked,
"Does anyone have a jacket, or. . . Something warm I can put on?" The words left his mouth just as a small clink sounded on the roof. The noise was joined by many duplicates as heavy raindrops started hitting the roof, the sound filling their ears.