“It can be a coffee,” Assault told her.  “Or a beer after a night of patrols.  Nothing fancy, low stress.” 

Wait, is he actually trying to turn it romantic? Is this enemies to to allies to lovers?

But yeah, regardless of whether the in-universe shippers are right or not, I’m sure there’s plenty of out-of-universe shippers too.

“Low stress?  You’re forgetting the part where I’d be spending more time in your company than I have to.”

Heh, nice one.

“Hon, you need to unwind.  Relax.  You’re too rigid, and I know for a fact that you haven’t had a boyfriend or a girlfriend in the two years I’ve worked with you.”

Yep, seems like he’s legitimately trying. In the same creepish way he commented on her looks immediately after she showed up to fight him that first time.

But maybe he’s just trying to get under her skin some more.

“Stop implying I’m into women, Ass.”

I suppose it’s only fair that she can shorten his name like that. :p

It’s appropriate.

“Well, you know, you keep turning me down, so it kind of makes a man wonder.”

Ugh, that old, awful train of thought. I can almost smell the entitlement through my screen.

“I’ve been too busy, and even if I did want to date, rest assured, you would be my last pick for company.”

There are probably fanfics that turn Battery into a tsundere. “No, see, she really does like him, but she refuses to admit that so she puts up this front–”

“The connotations are horrible!  No!  You’re not allowed to change the intent of my name like that!”

And the dual meaning of Battery’s name is explicitly designed to bug her.

This is quite an interesting development, honestly, and I kind of love it. Though I feel so sorry for Battery.

“Fine, fine.  Point taken.  Puppy.”

Battery looked at Legend, “Can I maybe get a raise, for putting up with this?”

Hehe.

Seems fair to me.

The leader of the Protectorate folded his arms.  “Something can be arranged.”

■

I like Legend.

“I already have a name in mind for my goodie-two-shoes costumed self,” Madcap grinned.  “You’re going to like this one, puppy.”

And we’re building up to the confirmation/reveal.

Assault always did seem like an oddly violent name when taken separately from Battery.

“You’re going to have to stop calling me that,” Battery warned him, “Or your identity as Madcap is going to become public knowledge, fast.”

At least she has some leverage on him. As long as Legend doesn’t take issue with that.

Madcap rubbed his chin.  “Maybe.  I’ll agree to stop if you accept my name.”

She sighed.  “I already know I’m going to hate this.”

“You’ll love it.  Assault.  Get it?”

Yep, there it is! Assault and Battery.

(I’d like to think I would’ve caught on to it when I did even without the accident earlier telling me that Assault was in this chapter.)

It took her a second to process.  “No!”

“No?  But it’s perfect.  We’ll be a pair!  People will know from the second they hear it.”

Yeeah, with these names it’s no wonder there’s speculation about them being connected civilianways, even without them working together in fights because their powers go so well with each other.

Battery looked down at Madcap, and the villain offered her an exaggerated pout, his eyes large, his lower lip sticking out.

Pfft.

“Fuck me,” she said.  “You’re going on paper as the one making the call, Legend, and you’re taking the hit if this backfires.”

Heh, alright, fair enough.

“That’s fair.”

“Yes!” Madcap grinned.

“I’ve died and gone to hell,” Battery muttered.  It was everything she’d become a hero to prevent.

No one can resist the puppy eyes.

And here I though Battery was supposed to be the “puppy” out of them.

A villain evading his rightful justice.  But she knew it was for the greater good.  They did need more heroes out there.

Yeah, they really do.

“Boy scout?  You’ll be on your best behavior?”  Legend asked.  “This would be more than even regular probation.”

“No.” Battery said.

This is pretty much Battery’s worst nightmare.

“Yes.”  Madcap answered the man.

“No,” Battery said, stabbing a finger at Legend.  “I’ve been a damn good hero for you guys.  My record is spotless, I’ve put in the hours, I’ve put in the overtime hours.  I’ve done the jobs nobody else wants to do, the unpaid volunteer crap, the patrols at the dead of night when nothing happens.  This is a punishment.”

A pretty tough one too.

It goes against everything Battery stands for and provides her with a constant, sadistic reminder of that, one she’ll have to work with every day. Not to mention she’ll have to endure fan speculation about him being her boyfriend, her brother or both.

“You’re right,” Legend sighed, “It would be a heavy burden for a good heroine.  So it’s up to you.  You decide if Madcap joins the Protectorate or not.  I won’t judge you if you say no.”

Wait, if this is really the case, how the hell did he end up working with her?

“But you think I should say yes.”

“I do, if it makes us stronger in the long run.”

Peer pressure, basically? Did she decide that she couldn’t let her own discomfort with the idea prevent the PRT from getting such a powerful addition?

“That could be arranged.”

“And I want to be on her team,” Madcap said, pointing at Battery.  He smiled.  “Puppy changes to a new city, I go with.”

…oh!

He’s Assault! Kinetic energy manipulation, that’s how everything we’ve seen him do fits together. From launching things, to making things explode, to being unaffected by collisions… Yeah, it all makes sense now.

“Hell no,” Battery said.

“Why?” Legend asked.

I think he’s just taken a perverse liking to her.

“It’s funny,” Madcap said.  “It’s going to irritate the piss out of her, and I’ve got just a little bit of a sadistic streak in me.  If I don’t channel it somehow, this just isn’t going to work out.

Hey, at least he’s honest about it.

Just give me this, and I’ll be a boy scout.”

“I’ll learn knots and everything!”

“Sadly, no.  And he raises an interesting idea.”

“He’s going to run the second he gets a chance.”

Seems likely, yeah.

“There are options.  Tracking devices, or perhaps Myrddin can put some countermeasure in place.”

Why would Myrddin be the one to do it?

“I’m down for any of that stuff,” Madcap said, casting a sidelong glance at Battery.  He grinned, “But I want some concessions.”

Isn’t not going to the Birdcage enough?

“Concessions?  You asshole.  You should be glad that we’re even entertaining this asinine idea.”

“I think you’ll find them pretty reasonable,” Madcap said, more to Legend than Battery.

What is it he has in mind?

“Let’s hear it.”

“I think this would work best if I took on a new identity.  New costume.  My powers are versatile enough that I doubt anyone’s going to draw a connection.  It also means I don’t have any enemies or any paranoid customers from my shady past coming after me.”

Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s done that. He’s right, that seems reasonable enough.

“You’ve spent nearly six years perverting the course of justice for others,” she replied.

True.

“And now I can make amends!” They had removed his mask, but his real smile was almost more mocking than the one that had been styled into the mask.

I guess his costume was appropriate.

“You spent the last five and a half years getting people out of the Birdcage, claiming to be against it and everything it stood for, but now you’re willing to work to put people in there?”

Yeeah. I did say “if he can be trusted”, and I don’t really think he can.

“Maybe you’ve changed me.  Your good looks, your winning personality, and your diehard persistence in the face of so many defeats at my hand.”

Now that’s just taunting her.

Battery looked at Legend, “Don’t suppose we can gag him?”

Heh.

“Finally,” she said.

■

“I really don’t want to go to the Birdcage,” Madcap said.  He was covered in containment foam from shoulder to toe.

I love the irony of this. His entire career is based on others not wanting to go there.

“You’ve committed somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred felonies,” Legend answered him.  “I don’t think you have many options.”

Yeeah.

It’s worth noting that at the present day, he’s either not in the Birdcage yet, or he got there before Interlude 6.

“Felonies, sure, but I haven’t killed anyone, and that’s got to be worth something.  Now, this is just a suggestion, but what if I switched sides?”

I suppose that did work for Shadow Stalker.

“Get real,” Battery replied.

“I’m serious, puppy.  You guys need more bodies on the field, I don’t want to go to the Birdcage, it’s win-win.  I’m strong.”

He has a point, as long as he can be trusted, though if it happens, Battery’s certainly not going to like it. Her entire reason for being a cape was to make Madcap and the people he freed face justice.

He turned on the spot, reaching out to block her strike or grab her.

But she didn’t give him the opportunity to do either.  Instead, she spent the rest of her accumulated power in a single burst, pulling at the metal of a nearby chair.  It fell over, sliding into Madcap’s path.  The metal legs caught on his own legs, one sliding just beneath his descending foot.  He stumbled.

Nice!

He exerted his power, causing the chair to crumple and explode before he stumbled any further and fell.

It’s very unclear to me what exactly Madcap’s power does.

She heard a brief chuckle from the man as he turned to make his escape.

Legend had taken advantage of that momentary delay to get in position.  He caught the villain with a laser blast.

Teamwork!

Madcap tumbled, got his feet under him and darted for cover.  A laser blast turned the corner to follow and smash the villain into the ground.  

Man, I love Legend’s power.

Legend shot him again while he was down, and the man was unconscious.

“Good job, Battery.”

…

Ohhhh.

Well I guess I fuckin’ got my wish! 😀

Took me long enough to catch on to that, but hey. I ain’t complaining.

Legend spoke with a smile.  “Finally, huh?”

VICTORY

So I guess this too is in the past, with Battery moving to Brockton Bay later.