CHAPTER 23
The next couple of days passed as near copies of the Cait's first day as a Guardian. She even got eaten again, this time by a fuck-huge Altered earthworm. Gwyn's upgrades meant getting out this time took roughly 3 seconds, and Cait ended up having Breastman toss her so she could punch her way back in. She didn't even lose her clothes, to the great disappointment of the gathered media.
The mornings were spent with Chance, who, true to his word, had made up a striking heavy MMA style for Cait to use. He slowed himself down enough that they could actually practice, and while a few days did not a skilled fighter make, it helped a lot that they could pretty much ignore blocking entirely. After a little work, Cait felt a lot more steady about handling herself in a brawl.
Patrols passed largely without incident, save for the earthworm. Eyebite had okayed the team for solo work, and Bubb-Bill directed them around a less populous route in the suburbs. Their job out there was less to keep an eye on every street, and more to have a presence on hand when situations like the earthworm popped up, and they found themselves helping with more non-Altered incidents like car accidents or fires than any garden-variety super villainy.
The way people reacted to seeing their team on patrol seemed to change with each passing day. She'd brought it up to Eyebite, and he assured them it was normal. Basically, people were getting used to the new Guardians on the scene. This manifested in a lot of different ways. Lots more people looked at them in awe once the Titanocarp and giant worm incidents had gotten air time. The folks who looked at Breastman in fear had dropped sharply after that broadcast, as well.
Pete called it the "Godzilla effect". Once folks saw the thing that scared them fight off something that scared them worse, they loved it even with the fear.
In a similar fashion, once Cait's image, nude or otherwise, had been splashed across every TV in the NAAC for a few days, there were a hell of a lot of people actively trying to get a look at her. Those looks varied wildly, from hero worship, to lust, and a decent spattering of disapproval. Society as a whole had gotten less prudish since the Waves changed everyone's priorities, but puritanism was baked into the area's DNA.
The only consistent looks of distaste or outright hostility they received were from groups of people wearing the silver up arrow pins of the Elevated Race. They seemed to travel in packs, since the general public had as much distaste for them as the fanatics seemed to have for Guardians, so it was never a sure thing if each meeting would end peacefully. People were stupid when they were in groups.
"Why don't we, like, do anything about those guys?" Cait whispered to Kennedy after a tense encounter with a group of around 20. One had actually looked like they were about to make a move before Breastman let out a spine-chilling warning hiss, and he lost his nerve.
Kennedy sighed, answering, "Because Mom is, and I agree with her, against the idea of 'thought crimes'. Yeah, those people suck, but until they actually attack us or someone else, they get left alone. The difference between us and old world justice is the second they step out of line, we usually put them down hard. So fingers crossed they get brave, I guess."
The goth's bloodthirst made Cait smile, especially as Kennedy's own wicked grin turned her way.
Evenings were spent doing the basic team building that consisted of meals together, and forcing your new friends to consume your particular brand of pop-culture. Kennedy clearly got a kick out of the stupidly supernatural while Cait's preferences leaned toward high body count action. Dawn, surprisingly, loved nature documentaries, particularly Attenborough classics. Honestly, Cait had thought she'd find them insulting, but instead she seemed to find them closer to reality TV. She kept up her own running narration alongside the Knight of the Realm's, giving flavor commentary on what was actually going on inside the animals' minds.
Breastman took time to open up. He'd yet to request the remote, and while the team tried their best, they hadn't quite gotten the hang of speaking with him that had come so naturally to Cait. He pulled his weight during patrols though, being sort of a swiss-army monster with all the things his tentacles proved capable of. It turned out they could thin or flatten out, and with focus he had excellent fine control over the tips. He'd actually been able to help an old lady who'd locked herself out of her house on one patrol, using the dexterous tips as lock picks.
Cait and Lira seemed to have formed an actual physical dependence on one another, and it was rare a 12 hour period passed without the two cumming in, on, or around each other. Cait was growing much more certain of the flashes of gold she was seeing in Lira's eyes during trysts, but had resolved not to bring it up with Kennedy, not yet anyway.
Friday afternoon rolled around in this fashion, and the team found themselves in costume outside the Coliseum, waiting on Warhawk. They would have seen her coming faster if they'd been looking up, as the winged Guardian slammed into the ground in a perfect superhero pose, one fist embedded in the pavement. With her gleaming wings splayed out and in full costume, she made quite the impression. She looked up at them, a predatory smile on her face framed by the rampant bronze feathers that flared behind her ears. She rose to beyond Cait's height, her muscular frame clad in ornate bronze legionary style armor.
"Hope y'all are ready new blood," she said, malicious excitement audible alongside the southern drawl in her voice. "We got one helluva experience cooked up for ya."
She led the newly trepidatious team into a back area of the Coliseum, the colorful group drawing stares even from the AEGIS crowd using the gym. Cait expected another multi-purpose reinforced room like she'd used with Lira or Chance. Instead, they entered a room with soft lighting and comfortable loungers arranged around a central podium. 3 of these were already occupied, as Bullrush, Hotglue, and Fingerguns chatted amiably amongst each other. The sight of the rest of Warhawk's team sent Cait's stomach plummeting, even as her heart rate spiked in excitement.
"Freeflow initially just booked me for y'all," Warhawk said with evil glee, "But I figure ain't no better way to introduce you to tactics than to show you a team what knows em."
Bullrush gave an amiable wave to Cait and Kennedy, undercutting Warhawk's intimidation attempt somewhat. The morning before had been particularly busy near the cafe, and they'd shared a table with the Minotaur, finding his erudite charm to be a delight. Cait and Kennedy returned the wave as Warhawk shot him a glare.
"Believe me," She continued, turning the glare on Cait. "Y'all ain't gonna find him so' charming when a metric ton of ragin' bull shoves a horn through your gut."
The threat sobered the room until Bullrush snorted and grinned, giving his horns a cute little wiggle.
"GODDammit Claudio!" Warhawk yelled, undercut for the second time in less than a minute. Bullrush just laughed.
"Sandra," Bullrush chided, his deep, smooth voice calming the room as it flowed out from his enormous frame. "No point in spooking them out here. Once we're in with Dreamboat they're gonna go through enough. I, for one, would prefer not to breed animosity in the real world."
Warhawk kept her glare on him for a moment longer, but eventually sighed. She folded her wings around her and took a seat in one of the loungers.
"Y'all take seats." She instructed. "We're gonna bring in Dreamboat to pull us all into a Dreamscape. Rules will be the same as they are out here, power levels and all. We will be going full lethality. Don't worry, ain't true that you die in a dream you die in real life, and iff'n it looks like you're gonna eat it for sure, Dreamboat will drop you out just before. I want y'all to give it all you can to try and kill us, cuz you better believe we'll be doin' the same."
What the fuck is it with Guardians and trials by fire? Cait wondered, hopping into one of the plush loungers and getting comfortable. A side door opened, and a short, fat, balding man walked out. He couldn't have looked any less like someone named Dreamboat, although he did exude a greasy sort of confidence. Around his neck, he wore an ornate, chintzy looking dreamcatcher on a thick gold chain. He took up position on the center podium and looked at Warhawk.
"Ain't got all day toots," he said, whirling his finger in a circle.
"Keep it real simple for round 1," she instructed, "Big ol' field. We'll get more complicated later."
"Oh, call me toots one more time, and see what happens," she added, before laying back and closing her eyes.
Dreamboat waved her threat off, and began a droning chant as the shitty dreamcatcher around his neck began to levitate. When it had floated above his head, a web of soft blue light erupted from it, and Cait's vision went gently dark.
She awoke an instant later in a field of trimmed green grass, blinking at the sudden sunlight. Her teammates stood around her, similarly disoriented. It was only a few seconds before rapid cracks of gunfire sounded from across the field and bullets began to pepper the ground around them. Dawn reacted first, summoning a barrier of tightly woven vine for the bullets to slam into.
The temporary reprieve let Cait get her bearings, and she took account of the team across the field. They were about a hundred yards away, and the gunfire came from Warhawk, automatic pistols blazing as she took to the sky towards them. Bullrush stood guard in front of Fingerguns and Hotglue was nowhere to be seen. A flash erupted from behind Bullrush as Fingerguns made his namesake gesture, and high intensity lasers tore across the field towards Cait's team.
Dawn's barrier did an excellent job of stopping Warhawks small arms fire, quickly regrowing where the enhanced rounds burned holes. Fingerguns' laser however, punched straight through it, taking a big chunk of her shoulder along with it. She let out a strange keening wail and fell back, holding the cauterized wound.
Fuck that, Cait thought, catching Kennedy's eye as she began to charge towards the other group. She felt the gentle touch of her emotional link as Kennedy's body took on more of Cait's bulk and she charged alongside her. Cait quickly took the lead, making use of an idea Freeflow had tossed her. As she pumped her arms, she'd activate the tech Gwyn had installed, turning her sprint into great strides at speed as the momentum pulled her along. She closed the distance in seconds, fully planning on using her rocket punches to go straight through Bullrush and put the hurt on Fingerguns.
Just before she impacted, Bullrush spun aside like a matador, his size belying an impressive speed. He grabbed Cait's outstretched fist as he did, pulling her around with her and turning her momentum into a thunderous slam into the ground. Before Cait, still unhurt, could even struggle against his arm holding her down, Hotglue popped up from where he'd been holding onto Bullrush's back. His trademark steaming adhesive poured out of his hand, hardening instantly as it stuck Cait to the ground. Bullrush kept her held down until Hotglue had her covered liberally, finishing off with a heavy spray over her face immobilizing her completely.
Apparently realizing she'd been taken out of the fight, Dreamboat shifted her viewpoint to an aerial one and the view wasn't pretty. She hadn't even seen it happen, but apparently the toughness Kennedy got from Cait wasn't enough to stand up to Fingerguns' lasers, since her smoking body lay at where the 20 yard line would be if the field had a gridiron. No longer needing cover, Fingerguns had opened up on Wilds Witch and BREAST MAN. They'd survived by keeping themselves moving behind the cover Dawn summoned, but that ended when Warhawk swooped in close from behind and executed her with a bullet to the skull.
BREAST MAN got in the only hit their side landed that round when he slung himself after her as she swooped away. He speared a tentacle through one of her thighs, a hit that might have proven to be fatal, but he quickly disintegrated under a hail of bullets and they all crashed out of the dream.
"Yeeeesh," Kennedy groaned as she shook awake. "Guess the watered down durability I get from Amaranthine just makes your beams kill me slow instead of fast, Guns."
Pretty casual from someone who basically just got burned alive, Cait thought.
"Payback for you kneecapping me last time," Fingerguns shot back, his cyberpunk cowboy look really toeing the line between cringe and cool.
"Speaking of that," Warhawk interjected, "where the fuck are your guns Kenn?"
Kennedy sheepishly looked away, patting at where her holsters usually sat.
"I just thought I'd use Dawn and Ca-"
"I jUsT tHoUgt I'd-" Warhawk mocked, cutting her off. "Have you suddenly mastered keeping two links up in a fight?"
".....no."
"Then your plan was 'Fuck it, and charge' with zero ranged capability when you're using Amaranthine's powers?" Warhawk admonished, raising a hand to cut off Kennedy's excuse. "Which, I gotta add, you clearly had no fuckin' idea the extent of? Sure, Guns' lasers burned you instead of cutting straight through you, but you just ended up a smokin' corpse instead of one in pieces. I get that you're tryin' to use your powers more, but you've got one of the best combat instructors in the word in Director Swan. Use that. Grab a gun from the armory before round 2, and make a fuckin' plan for zeroing in your capabilities using your links."
Warhawk turned on Dawn next.
"Wilds Witch, not a bad job given what you had to work with. You got more experience than this lot and it shows, if you hadn't gotten that barrier up right quick I woulda had the lot of ya, save Amaranthine I guess, dead before the fight started." She nodded in approval before continuing. "You learned your lesson about staying moving behind cover right quick too, but best you go into it already learned next time, woulda saved you a chunk of venison."
She clapped Dawn on the shoulder, and the deer woman winced like it was still in pain, despite there not being any physical damage.
"You made a big mistake losing track of me too," Warhawk continued. "But we didn't give you a whole hell of a lot of room to focus. Ain't no one worth fighting that will though, so make sure you know where your enemy is at all times. Last thing is to work on making your defense offensive, I know you can make them barriers shoot thorns and shit, I've seen the footage. Only way to deal with someone like Guns is to take him out before he gets a lucky shot off through your cover and your head.
She continued around the circle to Breastman.
"BREAST MAN!" She actually held out a hand, which Breastman slapped for a high tentacle. "Given how light headed I was gettin' before the dream ended, I reckon you killed me. Kudos for that! Not a whole lot of notes for you with what you have, but that don't mean you can't improve. You gotta get range, boy. You point 13 guns at anybody and they're gonna start thinkin' twice, and I refuse to believe our Meta-brains can't cook nothin' up for you. Other thing is ground mobility. Given your place on the leaderboard I know your purple ass is zippy, but I know the metrics on them tentacles, and you should be fast as fuck on ground too with the power they can put out. That's definitely a bit on Counterweight and Metric for focusing on aerials, but I'll be settin' em straight."
Warhawk walked around to Cait, folding her arms and glaring at her.
"Amaranthine, I ain't sugarcoating it, you fucked up the worst." She looked thoughtful for a second. "'Cept maybe Sonder, but I saw you encourage that charge, so I'm blamin' you. You did see Guns' beam go straight the fuck through that barrier right?"
Cait nodded, feeling her ears heat up.
"So, seein' your only ranged damage dealer had no defense against ours, you decided the best thing you could do with your own invulnerable brick-wall of a body was fuckin' charge?" Warhawk's eyes had fire in them with that, and Cait felt that heat in her cheeks now too. Warhawk was right. "I mean shit, new blood. You even had Bullrush giving you an example of fuckin' tanking. I'll admit you surprised us all with that punch-run trick, but even with that extra speed, Sonder was dead before you made it to Bullrush. If your goal was to draw fire, make damn fuckin' sure whoever you're charging doesn't know it won't do a damn thing, cuz Guns' knew, and he weren't gonna waste his fuckin' time."
She sighed then, looking legitimately disappointed.
"Maybe worst, you just thought, what, that you'd beat one of the best close combat specialists in AEGIS in a straight up fistfight?" She jerked her head at Bullrush. "Claudio's been beating the asses of people bigger, stronger, and faster than him for years. Don't take on fights you can't win, especially when the other team has an asset perfectly suited to dealing with you and you didn't know where the fuck it was."
Cait winced, the memory of how easily Hotglue had taken her out of the fight fresh in her mind. Warhawk just shook her head and took up a central position.
"All in all, piss poor showin' folks. Imma have Dreamboat drop us back in, but it'll be an interior, close quarters environment this time. Shouldn't put you at quite so big a disadvantage. Y'all best remember the shit I said here, or I'll have Bullrush break your legs before Dreamboat drops you out next time." With a single perfectly measured flap of her wings, Warhawk propelled herself back into her lounger as Dreamboat started another chant.