(AV) TIMELY INTERRUPTIONS

Taylor dodged the first hard-light blast, not because she was faster than him, but because she was already moving, already reacting before her mind had caught up with what was happening. It wasn’t instinct so much as a desperate awareness of how fragile her position truly was. The next blast struck the rooftop beside her, close enough that she could almost feel its heat as it sent the tar bursting upward in a spray of scraps. Only then did she realize the truth: 

This fight wouldn’t be difficult because she couldn’t take Shielder down. It would be difficult because she wouldn’t.

Unlike Lung, Shielder wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t someone capable of leveling entire blocks in rage or leaving broken, burning bodies in his wake. Shielder was a hero. The real deal. Young, maybe overeager, maybe trying too hard to prove himself, but still someone who genuinely wanted to help people. There was nothing cruel in the way he moved, nothing vindictive in the energy behind his blows. He was fighting to stop her, not destroy her. 

And that, more than the fact that any violence against him would only prove the PRT right about her, was exactly why she couldn’t bring herself to unleash her swarm.

She remembered the feel of it against Lung, how natural it had been to direct the tide of bodies, to smother, to choke, and to sting him until he had gone down beneath its weight. The memory still sat heavy on her chest, both intoxicating and repulsive. And even now, that itch pulsed at the edges of her thoughts, demanding she call her swarm and end this. But she crushed it down. She wouldn't unleash it here and in that manner. Not against Shielder.

And yet, like Lung, words weren’t reaching him either. He wasn’t even listening.

Was it something in the water? Taylor thought bitterly as she ducked behind a vent, another blast scorching the space where her head had been moments before. Do all capes default to violence first and questions never?

She didn’t know. She didn’t know why her brain was even turning over parahuman psychology while she was actively getting shot at, but maybe it was because the alternative—panicking, and spiraling into oh God I’m fucked, oh God I’m going to die—was what the civilian part of her wanted.

The next blast erupted at her feet, pain flaring in her legs as the explosion of force lifted her off the rooftop and flung her back. Taylor hit the ground hard, tumbling over herself until friction dragged her to a stop near the edge. Her palms burned even through her gloves.

She scrambled up with a groan, instinct making her reach for her backpack and for a pepper spray. It might have been a pathetic, civilian weapon, good for nothing more than distraction, but if she could blind him for a second…

Shielder wasn’t stupid. And worse, thanks to her reputation, he wasn’t taking any chances. The moment he saw her movements, he immediately dove in with his fists swinging, cutting her off before she could get the canister clear. 

The punch caught her full in the chest. Air whooshed out of her lungs in a wheeze as she was hurled backwards again, her head clipping the side of the other roof vent. Agony lanced down her body, but she was thankful she remembered to add the extra armor paneling to her costume. 

Without it, she’d be unconscious, or worse. But as it was, she was barely hanging on, vision doubled and swimming with dark motes. Yet, through the haze, she saw him advancing calmly, like he knew the fight was already over. And maybe it was.

But she couldn’t even hate him for it.

If she were in his position—if she thought she was confronting a villain who’d killed Lung—wouldn’t she do the same? Wouldn’t she strike first, subdue, and end the threat before it could even think of escalating?

Of course she would.

Her jaw throbbed, blood tinged the back of her throat, and her head pounded something fierce. Her mind begged her to call her swarm, and every nerve in her body screamed at her to fight back, to lash out with the only weapon she had. 

Her hands trembled, and her heart pounded, but Taylor knew she couldn’t, not against him. So she closed her eyes.

So this is it. This is how it ends. 

She braced herself for the inevitable.

But then, a sound split the air.

It wasn't a normal dog’s bark, or even a roar like Lungs. This was a purely animalistic roar, loud, sudden, and jarring enough to snap her eyes back open.

It was just in time to see Shielder freeze mid-step, caught off guard. 

“What the—?” he started, his words cut short as something slammed into him with bone-rattling force.

The hero went flying the opposite direction, skidding across the rooftop and rolling to a stop in a tangle of limbs.

Taylor blinked, her blurred vision struggling to focus, and her mind too disoriented to fully comprehend the situation at the moment. But one thing she knew, one thing she was sure of, was that the bark and the subsequent impact weren’t random.

Someone else was here. Someone strong enough to control a monster capable of knocking a trained and skilled hero like Shielder clear across a rooftop with a single blow.

Taylor’s stomach lurched with fresh dread.

The fight wasn’t over. It had just spiraled far out of control.