As I use my torch to try and thaw Frozen Dead Guy out, the detective in charge explains to me that he knows about as much as I do about the situation, only in more eloquent words. Until this guy gets unfrozen and identified, there's no way to even venture a guess as to why he was frozen. My guess would be a gambling debt, the worst kind to be in if your bookie is a meta. At any rate, I'm thankful for the opportunity to use my weapon in a non-violent way, after recent events. The detective even says there's a chance this dude's alive, although I don't see how unless he's a resilient meta of some sort.
The ice is mostly melted when I hear something. Friction. Which probably means Will found something, a surmise that is proven accurate when I see a blur--two blurs! Uh oh.
I look to the lead detective. "You might want to clear the area right now, or just get out of the way as fast as possible." I walk off before waiting for him to answer.
Will and the other blur appear to have gone up a level, so I follow them there. They're keeping to a mostly empty area, it seems, as I slowly approach. For a brief second I feel my gun taken from me, only for it to return to my hands a second after that. I might be a little out of my league here, but I should try to do something to give Will an edge...
Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. "It's safer if you don't move," a voice from behind me. Instinctively, I slam my foot down and throw my elbow back, to try to catch whoever on the toes and in the ribs, respectively, only I feel absolutely nothing but air and cement. He must be quick.
I turn around, only to see he's less than a foot from me! I swing the butt of my weapon to his chin--and it connects with nothing. Shit. I immediately jump back. I get a little flame going in case he tries something.
"I'd rather you didn't," the guy says. "Even in this state I can feel the heat a little, and I tend to sweat buckets."
"Screw you!" I say, and my voice sounds very shrill and un-heroic.
"Calm your ass down a little," he says in an oddly friendly tone. "Or I'll calm it for you. There's nothing to worry about."
I don't know why but I seem to be in an argumentative mood with this guy. "Okay, so somebody with super speed appears to be fighting my partner, and you come out of fucking nowhere, I can't even touch you yet I don't get to be a little afraid? How does that work?"
"We're on the same side," he says while stepping forward. I fire at him, and of course it goes right through him again. He sighs a little, as if he's dealing with a spoiled child(granted, I might be acting like one right now), then steps forward and clocks me one. I end up on my back, trying to figure out how I got here.
Oh come on, THAT'S not fair! I can't touch him and he can haul off and deck me? I don't think they taught us how to handle this situation. I struggle to get up when I feel his foot weigh down on my collarbone, keeping me pinned to the ground. Either he's heavy or I'm weak, 'cause suddenly I can't even move an inch. I look back and see two blurs still fighting, although they seem to have slown down. My opponent is watching them, too...maybe he was telling the truth, that he's not trying to hurt me? That'd be good, because I've come to the conclusion that this isn't just another Vertigo Man...I seriously wouldn't stand a chance against this mofo. Wait, 'we're on the same side?'
"Are you...Strikeforce?" I sputter out, still collecting myself. I must have a baseball-sized bruise on my face. Ow ow ow.
"No," he says. "But I'm on good terms with them. Call me Larry." Well, he's the first opponent who's given me his real name, so I guess that means I can trust him.
