“Battery!” Legend called out, “Stop him!”

Wait.

Why are Battery and Legend both here – and apparently Assault too, judging by my accident earlier? Where is here? Is Madcap so much of a priority that they called in capes from multiple local teams, including one of the Triumvirate?

She held on, concentrating.  She let a deep breath pass through her lips.

Sticking one foot out in front of him, Madcap changed directions, heading straight through the wall.  Plaster exploded around him.

Hey, Madcap, did you hear about this cool new invention the tinkers made? It’s called a “door”.

She released her power, and for just seconds, she was strong, she was almost invincible, and above all else, she was fast.  She ran forward, plunging through two walls in her pursuit.  Emerging from the second wall, she came within a few feet of Madcap.

Hey, Jamie, did you hear about this cool new inv

Calm.  She had to be calm, concentrate.  Even as she flew through the air, she let her power build up inside her, then released it.  With the half second of effect it gave her, she contorted herself to touch the wall with one foot, then lightly kicked it to turn herself toward the ground.

Ahh, so it operates in bursts, just like when she fell off the chair – each time she uses it she gets an effectively extended time within half a second or so, which amounts to increased movement speed and expanded perception of time. Whether it’s that or time actually extends from her perspective is just about impossible to tell.

She landed in a crouch, sliding from the inertia, and began charging up for another go.

How long does it take to charge? Seems like a few seconds at most.

Legend’s lasers tore into the spot where Madcap had been a half second ago.  The villain sprinted toward Jamie, moving faster with each step.

These powers are really quite well suited for a nemesis relationship. That’s probably not a coincidence.

She opened her eyes to see two villains, a male and a female standing nearby, with Madcap standing between her and them..

“She looks like a right morsel,” the man commented.

I hope he means that metaphorically.

“Not saying she doesn’t,” Madcap said, “But hands off.  You paid me to free you, and I can’t do that if you’re fucking around.”

That’s fair.

“Spoilsport,” the woman said, teasing.  “Come on.”

Then they were gone, and Jamie let her head rest on the pavement.

■

Better luck next time.

“My power didn’t work.  I was strong, and then I wasn’t.”

I assume this is still Jamie?

Did she think her power was plain super strength?

“There are going to be nuances,” the Doctor said.  “We could help you investigate the intricacies of your ability.  But that would cost you.”

Of course it would.

“Everything costs something, here.”

“I have another idea in mind.”

“Another idea?”

“Consider this your first favor to us.  Cauldron would be much obliged if you could join the ranks of the Wards, and then graduate to the Protectorate as soon as possible.”

Ooh, a bit of undercover work?

I guess this would be the NYC Wards and Protectorate, not Brockton Bay, so it’d take a while for Jamie to become relevant again, if she does.

He blocked it with one hand, and the scrap of metal slipped from her hand and went sailing into the nearby cornfield.

The true origin of corn circles: Cape battles.

Then he slid forward and tapped the flat of one hand against her chest.  

Uh oh.

Striker abilities, this might be bad.

She bounced off of the ground and fell in a heap.  It took her one attempt at standing before she realized it was futile.

Well, shit.

Two PRT soldiers stepped forward to try to spray him with foam, but he dispatched both with a throw of something that looked like a thick frisbee.  With nobody left to stop him, Madcap proceeded to tear doors off the containment vans until he found the prisoners.

So far, it seems Jamie has failed.

Jamie tried to move again.  Everything hurt too much.

“No,” Madcap said.  “Leave her be.”

What?

Is he making sure the other villains spare Jamie because he’d like to fight her some other time?

Madcap, by contrast, was wearing a customized costume that had cost no small amount of money.  A faceguard covered the lower half of his face, and was imprinted with the image of a wide grin.  Black facepaint surrounded his dark eyes, accentuating the whites, and a pointed black leather cap connected to the mask and his costume.

Not bad.

His armor was more aesthetic than functional, and featured broad, spike-studded pads.

I suppose if his power already protects him, he can get away with that.

“I hit pretty hard myself,” Jamie replied.  A glance over her shoulder revealed that the two men who’d been driving the containment van nearest her were running.

I suppose there’s not much else they can do, so fair enough.

She knew it was empty, a decoy.

Ahh, that explains it.

Are all of them empty? Did Jamie get the PRT to set up a fake transport? Except Madcap is a mercenary, so he probably primarily attacks transports people pay him to attack.

She wrested the bumper free with a tug and then swung it at Madcap like an oversized bat.

Heh, nice.

Use the bumper to bump him!

Which left only the task of freeing his clients.

Ah, okay, we’ve switched perspectives entirely, it seems.

Let’s see what Jamie’s like in costume!

“Stop!”

Right on cue.

Madcap turned.  Jamie stood in the middle of the street, opposing him.  

Ah, never mind – Madcap wouldn’t know about the name Jamie, unless she’s using that as her cape name for some reason.

Her low-budget costume consisted of a black bodysuit and a domino mask.

How classic! I like it.

“You’re cute.  Nice body, and the costume is a nice mix of pathetic and adorable in a three-legged-puppy kind of way.   But you don’t want to try to stop me.  I hit pretty damn hard.”

…well, he’s proven that much.

The mention of her costume embarrassed her.  She hadn’t had the money after buying her powers.  Still, three legged puppy?

No appreciation for the classics, these days…

“Seems you have something.  Congratulations,” the Doctor said.

Good job, Doctor.

■

Another one of these? I suppose it’s possible that the last section too was in the past relative to Interlude 10.5.

Madcap hit one of the armored PRT vans hard enough to make it roll.  The driver of the second tried to steer clear, but Madcap stepped into the path of the incoming vehicle.

Oh hey, looks like we’re really seeing this through!

So Madcap is clearly strong. I doubt that’s the extent of a Striker 7 power, though.

It struck him and the vehicle virtually bounced off of him, the hood crumpling as though it had hit a telephone pole.

Wow. Can he fly too?

He rolled his shoulders, and then kicked the vehicle.  It skidded along the road and collided with the third truck, which had already pulled to a stop.

Ouch. So are these vans carrying people sentenced to the Birdcage?

Hey, why do the PRT use vans for that, anyway? They’ve got people who can teleport others en masse. Are they worried about the Birdcage candidates’ powers interfering with the teleportation? Or maybe the taxiporters don’t have enough range?