Scrap Metal Philosophy 6 (Patreon)

Scrap Metal Philosophy

Chapter 6

-VB-

Taylor heard the pinging off of Techscav’s armor before she heard the boom of the gunfire. It was a close thing.

That hand had also stretched over her face.

And then she saw and heard the bullet drop from Techscav’s armor hand.

It took her a moment to understand what just happened and for her fight and flight to jump into action.

Someone had just shot at her.

Someone had tried to kill her.

Instead of alarm, Techscav just … sighed.

“I guess it’s time,” he said as he dusted his things.

“What’s the time?” she asked in half-panic and half-curiousity. Techscav had been decked out in his armor lately and refused to take them off. She knew something had been wrong…

But had he been waiting for this?

“It’s time to kill a snake.”

“A snake? Who…?”

“A guy named Coil. You might want to go and hide now.”

And then he lifted one of his new guns - one of many - and shot at something in the distance. There was a shatter of glass and nothing else.

-VB-

Three hours after he left Taylor and ten minutes after chapter 1…

Taylor didn’t understand.

Why would Techscav go and … do that?

She gulped.

She … needed to do something but what?

RIINNNGG!

She jolted on the couch and then turned towards landline phone sitting innocently (but rining) on the end table to her right. She picked up quickly. “Hello?”

“Taylor! Where are you?”

It was dad.

“I’m h-home,” she muttered as she continued to stare at the TV. On it, there were half a dozen heroes fighting against Techscav, who’d been just hailed as a powerful “hero” for helping against the Simurgh and for his impressive tinkertech.

And now, he was using that tinkertech against the Protectorate.

She winced as the camera caught Techscav punching Armsmaster’s halberd and denting it. Armsmaster regularly fought off Hookwolf, whose blades cut into the concrete like a hot knife through butter. For Techscav to do that to Armsmaster’s sturdy halberd…

If anyone squishier than Armsmaster got hit by that, then they wouldn’t have a ribcage left to examine.

She winced as Assault came down from above and crashed into Techscav with his feet. She watched the impact point burst into an explosion of smoke and dust.

He had to have gone down in that. Assault was a powerhouse.

Her eyes widened, however, as the dust settled as the camera crew caught sight of a half-sphere energy shield like that of Shielder of New Wave. It was also apparently strong enough to take on Assault.

The shield dropped and Techscav pulled out-.

“Oh no,” she muttered as she watched Techscav pulling out a bulky pistol he had shown her before.

It was called a plasma pistol.

Plasma was not something Assault should be handle.

“Taylor, stay inside! I’m coming home, alright?”

“Okay, dad,” she replied quietly as Techscav grabbed Assault by his ankles, hung him upside down and shot him in the stomach.

Even though the camera crew was at least half a mile away, she could hear the scream of pain.

Techscav tossed Assault to the side, and Battery blitzed in to catch him and then blitzed away, most likely to Panacea.

Now, all of the heroes grew wary and didn’t attack immediately.

That’s when the camera crew caught sight of Miss Militia changing her power-weapon. The green weapon so ingrained into Taylor’s mind as small rifle or SMG changed into -.

“Oh my God,” she muttered.

Miss Militia just pulled out a giant sniper rifle. It was far longer than she was.

The heroine took aim at Techscav who just caught sight of her and fired.

The air distorted around her with how strong the sniper rifle’s fire was.

And the bullet wheezed in, leaving a trail of superheated gas.

Then …

Techscav’s shield caught it.

The bullet froze mid-air for a split second before dropping down.

The shield didn’t look damaged.

Her lips moved on their own, muttering “what the fuck.”

She didn’t understand how he could do the things he did. She was there with him in the junkyard. She watched him make most of those tinkertech. She’d seen him test them.

Even so, her brain still spazzed at what she saw.

Techscav finally leveled his own guns, which he hadn’t used so far, and fired.

-VB-

“... Are you dead?”

Armsmaster felt like shit.

His armor laid cracked and broken, his halberd bent at 90 degrees, and his physical body laid incapable of supporting him anymore.

He tried to push himself back up but failed against his unpowererd armor’s weight.

“Oh good, you aren't. I aimed for non-fatal locations and peripheral areas, so you shouldn’t even bleed out.”

“W-Why…?” he grunted out.

The entire street was ruined. All of the heroes laid unconscious or moaning in pain, if they had the energy.

And standing above it all was Techscav. His armor was scruffed, the light of one of his helmet’s eyes had gone out, his left helper arm hung uselessly after its internals shattered by Triumph’s roar, and his shielding device - a now exposed half-spherical device underneath his shattered left chest armor - remained lightless and dormant.

“I did what I did because I felt that it was right. Coil died because he tried to kill me. None of you tried to kill me, so I didn’t kill you. You are heroes, not criminals. I treated you with the moderation all of you deserved.”

This was moderation? He turned one of Downtown’s streets into a warzone.

“Y-You…”

It was taking too much out of him to stay awake.

“Now, I’ll be leaving,” Techscav hummed as he turned around. “It looks like they aren’t letting Panacea to treat you because I am still here. Until next time, Colin.”

Armsmaster froze while Techscav walked away. He felt his entire body cold sweating and clammy.

He knew? How did he know?

He couldn’t even call out to the Tinker before he finally felt the darkness overwhelm him.