Scrap Metal Philosophy 1 (Patreon)

Commissioned by Definitely not Dio

-VB-

Scrap Metal Philosophy

Chapter 1

-VB-

“You realize that I’m not a villain, right?”

Armsmaster remained at ready to pounce should it be needed. Across the street and standing casually as if he was not a threat was the main aggressor behind today’s fiasco.

What else would he call seven dead, fifty-two injured, a prominent PRT consultant targetted and murdered, and potential gang war at hand?

All because the Tinker in front of him thought he was better than everyone else? That he knew what was best for the city when hundreds of people working for the same goal couldn’t achieve it?

How would this carnage improve the condition Brockton Bay now found itself in with all three of its criminal parahuman gangs pissed off and out for blood?

‘Not to mention ruining my record,’ Armsmaster thought while restraining any emotional reaction even underneath his prisitine blue armor.

In a way, he was truly the opposite. A true hero and a protector of the people.

Standing across from him, the perpetrating Tinker walked around in rusting scrap metal power armor. There was no finesse in its construction. It took one look at brutalism and said “hold my beer.” Sharp edges, grey edging on black underneath the rust, and weapons designed to make death as painful and brutal as possible.

Why else would a gun use shrapnel as its main source of ammunition?

“You have killed over half a dozen people, caused collateral damage in the upper millions, and directly murdered a PRT associate.”

“He was also Coil.”

Armsmaster’s eyes narrowed behind his visor. He disregarded that tidbit for a more relevant and actionable admission of guilt. “You admit to attacking a cape in their civilian identity, thus causing this disaster."

Fires burned around them, and the cape sighed.

Sighed.

He sighed as if he hadn’t just detonated a literal ton of TNT across the city. As if he was the victim when his cleaver was still dripping with blood.

“Techscav, you are hereby under arrest for first degree homicide, property damage, and more. Put your weapons down on the ground and put your hands behind your head.”

“... You realize that you can’t win against me, right?” Techscav asked as he held his weapons up. “If you wanna be like that, man, then I’m not afraid to beat the living daylight out of you. Maybe cracking open your power armor will put it into your head that there are more things than bureaucratic procedures.”

Armsmaster gritted his teeth. “Resisting arrest it is.”

And then he launched himself.

But his visor and armor’s sensors screamed at him to duck just as Techscav disappeared from his view.

He ducked, and his armor screamed physically, not digitally, as something heavy and fast scraped at the top of his helmet where his upper back used to be mere second ago. He quickly rolled out of the way and saw with disbelieving eyes at Techscav somehow standing left of where he had been three steps into his lunge.

“How?” he muttered to himself.

The irreverent Tinker hummed as he rolled his cleaver up and over his shoulder. “Damn. I didn’t think you’d be able to dodge that. Are you sure you don’t have neural upgrades on you? I mean, it would be efficient, right?”

Though the idea popped up into his head at the moment like a beacon, he stowed it. “Is that what you did?” he asked.

“Kind of,” his opponent shrugged, making his “rustic” and “brutal” armor hiss from the sliding of metal on metal.

‘Need to reevaluate his tech. It only looks low tech; it allows Techscav to move at speeds faster than human thought can perceive if only for a second,’ he noted.

And something inside of him screamed that he wanted it. It would make his rise in the Protectorate ranks that much faster and better.

But before he could re-engage Techscav, his backup arrived.

Three PRT trucks skidded around the corner, spun, and then the backdoors flew open. Battery, Assault, and Miss Militia jumped out and immedaitely locked onto Techscav while Dauntless and Triumph came down from above.

“Six against one?” Techscav drawled. “You shouldn’t have!”

And then there was a crack as his back armor, which Armsmaster had assumed to be protection for some kind of dual energy units, moved on its own to give Techscav two more arms. Each of those arms came with … Were those HMG?

Those were heavily modified Browning M2’s. Where did he even get those?

Since when did Browning M2’s require an external cooling mechanism?

“It means I can test out my AMP-Iron Man armor to its fullest without having to worry about not getting enough data!”

And then the crazy bastard opened fire at them.

-VB-

PRT After-Action Report

File #: ENE20110402-5

Incident Location: Downtown Brockton, Brockton Bay

Summary:

PRT and Protectorate ENE responded to the 911 calls originating from Downtown Brockton Bay, all of which were claiming that there was a violent gunman attacking the Fortress Constructions main office here in Brockton Bay. The responders and heroes encountered the gunman, and instantly identified him as Techscav, a Tinker (most likely a recent trigger) who set up within Brockton Bay as an independent rogue. This attack was highly uncharacteristic of the normally genial rogue, and the man claimed that Coil had instigated the fight and he was finishing it.

Techscav resisted arrest, and in the ensuing fight between him, six Protectorate heroes, and a dozen PRT field agents, Techscav left after disabling all but three PRT field agents and one hero.

Prelude:

Techscav …

-VB-

wormlewdmod.neocities.org/spark/index.html

Z5f2,e1rx,xvbn,tygg,zn1m,s0wg,3k3d,fyvi,6m69,m87a,5bq9,dgrh,xpst,hnen,9uz6,37as,8k2k,nzaz,61x5,ev7d,d6pa,jnrq,s1b8,zea7,l5ny

Power Types, World, World Changes, Appearance, Perks, Drawbacks, Items, Companions, Magic, Psychic, Elemental Magic, Machinery, Advanced Machinery, Master of Machinery, Any Fiction World, Young Adult, Male, Average, Mind Defense, Body Control Defense, Invisible Presence, Ageless, Crystalized energy, Recycler, Taylor Hebert