Scrap Metal Philosophy 11 (Patreon)

Scrap Metal Philosophy

Chapter 11

-VB-

Daniel Hebert did not know how to interact with capes. Sure, there were Protectorate heroes and wards, but they have always been distant from people aside from a select few that Danny knew were great at public relations. He couldn’t remember the last time that a federal hero, adult or not, came over to check up on the Docks before and after Lung’s arrival.

Okay, he was being disingenuous with that thought. He should be thinking that he couldn’t remember the last time the federal heroes, adult or not, came over to check up on the Docks on time before and after Lung’s arrival. What use was a hero fifteen minutes after the matter ended without their involvement?

To Danny, vigilantes were about as useful as heroes. He heard of at least two dozen vigilantes from Brockton Bay, cape or no, over the past decade. Most of them didn’t have an inkling of an idea about the differences in each areas of the city, the actual mood of the people, the level of vigilance many groups held to, the expected reaction of gang members and their leaders, and so on. Shadow Stalker was “meh” among those vigilantes, neither great nor bad, before she got forced into the Wards.

Anyone who’s ever met the girl would know that she got forced into the Wards.

He had to drive her away from killing people - Nazis or no - at gunpoint, after all. Jacob had been trying his goddamn best to turn his life around from his family’s stupid ideology and lifestyle when Shadow Stalker put a bolt to his knee. If Panacea wasn’t a thing, then Jacob would be a cripple for life and incapable of being turned from that toxic path.

So when he heard about Techscav, he thought that the cape was an independent vigilante, just another one to add to the pile of vigilantes who came and went. He didn’t care just as most people didn’t care.

But then he heard from Taylor what really caused Techscav’s Rampage, and he felt … not sure about it all.

That Rampage had been about as destructive to the city as Lung’s debut, but instead of the Docks, Techscav had burned through Downtown, the biggest source of income for the city. Among the leaders of the city, there were talks about Concord abandoning the city. Of course, Danny thought that was a stupid rumor. No state government was going to dissolve a city because of a catastrophic cape rampage every five years or so.

No, what Danny worried about, for the city, was the fact that the mayor and the council will elect to pull away even more money from the outer areas of the city to reinforce Downtown.

It’s happened before.

It can happen again.

Docks, the waterfront, the trainyard, and even suburbia were hanging on by a single thread. What would happen if, for a very good reason, the thread was cut for the sake of the city?

It was questions like these that he struggled with even as he tried his best to keep the few people still employed by the Dockworkers Association because he had been the only one of three leaders of the association still invested in it.

Of course, he normally wouldn’t think of an answer to the questions that plague the city because he had no power, direct or not.

But now Taylor was a cape and someone who saved her was a cape. It would be only a matter of time before someone tried to use them, and he had to know what kind of person Techscav was before he made any decision regarding Taylor.

In the worst-case scenario, he would have to move them out of the city and damn the association.

… That would hurt him a lot, but it wasn’t about him anymore, was it? He’d done enough damage. It was Taylor.

If he were to die tomorrow, then he would die screaming at his incompetence. He was neither a great leader for the association nor a decent father. This was where he was now. He had to choose one to be great at.

And meeting Techscav, as unnerving as that was, was him choosing to be a father. It meant he would scale back his time in the association. He would … not be able to do as much.

But, hey, Danny Hebert would rather fail at one thing than try two and fail them both.

-VB-

Danny didn’t notice Techscav approach. Taylor did, though.

“He’s coming,” Taylor hummed from across the table.

He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

It was time to see Techscav’s worth.

It wasn’t long before he heard a car drive up and park in front of his house on the road. He stood up and walked over to open the door.

And when he did, he saw a man walking out of the car. His hair, strong and young, swayed slightly in the wind, slightly disheveled but not enough so that anyone on the street can say anything about it. He was clean-shaven and business-casually dressed. He was also without a mask.

Techscav was taking this seriously.

The man closed the door to his car and locked it, and looked up. He looked surprised for a second before walking up to him.

And promptly stepped on the broken staircase.

Danny gasped and tried to reach the man before he fell but the man didn’t fall. He just looked down at the staircase he’d stepped through, shrugged, and walked over it.

“Mr. Hebert,” he greeted him with an extended hand.

Danny blinked at Techscav’s ease and nonchalance before taking the offered hand.

“... What should I call you?”

“Call me Alan. That’s my name.”

Danny blinked. “And you’re okay with me knowing it…?”

“You love the government as much as I do, Mr. Hebert,” Techscav smiled sardonically. “And you dislike the gangs.”

“Doesn’t everyone not involved in either?” Danny joked before inviting him in.

“Tech,” Taylor said as she waved.

“Taylor,” he nodded. “So you actually had the guts to ask. I’m impressed.”

She blushed. “It took a few tries.”

“But you succeeded. That’s what matters.”

Already, Danny could tell that Techscav wasn’t a bad person.

The question was if Techscav was a good influence… which was probably the case because he was the one who convinced Taylor to talk to him instead of … whatever it was that she planned to do.

“Coffee?” he asked Alan, and the man nodded in acceptance.

Soon, the three of them sat around the table.

“Alright,” Danny began. “Let’s talk.”