Why the smoke?

That really is a good question… is… is Miss Militia trying to hide Taylor from the rest of the Protectorate due to her heroic nature?

No, that seems a bit too treacherous for Miss Militia. Besides, no matter if Dragon thinks she can convince her to change her mind, Skitter has clearly chosen a side at this point, and protecting her from being arrested alongside her team just because she supposedly – according to a man who lost all dignity and credibility (and confirmed by Tattletale, though Miss Militia presumably doesn’t know how Tattle would know) – intended to be a hero when she started out… just doesn’t make much sense.

The bees I had in the smoke were acting funny.  I was surprised to find out why.  I’d known that beekeepers used smoke to pacify the bees before collecting the honey.  

Ahh, yeah, that makes so much more sense.

My assumption had been that it acted as a tranquilizer, putting them to sleep.  In reality, it was forcing them to revert to instinctual behavior.  It made them want to eat and feed and to flee.

Huh. So essentially it’s overriding your power. Good work on Miss Militia’s part! Now I suppose Skitter’s gotta pull in the remaining bugs from elsewhere and try to avoid getting them into the smoke, both parts of which could be an issue.

For those near enclosed spaces or even the corners of walls or the foundations of buildings, it made them adjust their wingbeats to divert the flows of oxygen.

Cool!

“Shit,” she swore, “Hey, listen-”

She didn’t get a chance to finish.  White smoke billowed around us.  My first thought was that our adversaries were using some sort of bug spray.

White smoke? That’s a new one.

Did the Protectorate pick up a new member or two after all?

The way today was going, it would be just my luck.

Heh.

I held my breath and hurried out of the cloud, Tattletale following, and searched for the source.  Assault was taking on Regent and Imp, while Grue and Shadow Stalker were dealing with Battery and Weld.  Bitch and her dogs, on the other hand, were facing down Triumph.  Not the matchup I would have chosen, taking on the guy with the sonic shout using dogs with sensitive hearing.

Ouch, yeah. Poor doggos.

Also, sheesh, Weld just won’t quit, huh.

I almost went after Bitch right then and there, but self-preservation won out over any desire for retribution.  As Tattletale and I made our way around the cloud, I spotted Miss Militia.

Hi! Did you smokebomb Tattle and Skitter?

A black-green energy crackled in her hand, and she lobbed a grenade my way.  I scrambled back, only for it to turn out to be another canister of smoke, billowing out between Miss Militia and me.

Yup. So she did.

Kind of a poor tactic to use against the girl who can sense her surroundings using her bugs. You’d think the PRT would’ve learned by now that Skitter does better than average in blinded combat, especially if the opponent is also blinded.

The residual foam on my glove made my hand sticky as I reached into the compartment at my back and grabbed my baton.

Oh damn, she’s not just going for a punch, she’s getting armed.

It took me two tries to get my thumb onto the button so I could whip it out to its full length.

She’s ready to beat some sense into Bitch.

That said, this is giving the others time to react and possibly step in.

I strode towards Bitch, weapon in hand.  Tattletale hurried to catch up to me, turning to keep an uneasy eye on the ongoing fight with the Protectorate.

And that was when Tattletale knew… something was fucked up.

“Hey, Skitter!” Tattletale grabbed my shoulder.

I wonder to what extent her power has filled her in on what just happened by now.

I whirled to face her, hand clenching my baton.  I could see the change in her expression as some piece fell in place for her.

Ah, there it is.