Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 44

Civil action

Following their fight with Tundrake, Rue and Blue briefly separate and the former has to contend with a situation wholly new to them.

The world starts to close in around them and Rue can't help but think that maybe this was always their destiny. Another evil man gets away and they are, once again, discarded like some broken toy. Their last few thoughts wonder if some people truly are meant to live and die for the benefit of others. They're not even sure they're still alive when they see a vaguely humanoid shape dive into the water above them, arms stretching down and around to cradle their boneless form and rapidly drag them up to the surface.   Light and sounds overwhelm them as they are pulled out of the water and gently put down on the docks, the humanoid shape working quickly to remove the mask from their face. It takes their body a second to catch up, but then they quickly start to cough up the murky water, the shape next to them carefully rolling them onto their side as they greedily gasp for air. Despite the burning sensation in their throat and lungs, Rue begins to shiver, their senses gradually returning to normal. “D-did I mention…” They rasp out between coughs, turning their head slightly to look at Blue, “I d-don’t know how to swim?”   "You know, I don't think it came up," Alec says as his amorphous form undulates around them, forming a makeshift wall to protect their identity, "Just take a moment. Our frosty friend over there isn't going anywhere fast." He looks over at Tundrake gently smouldering on the concrete. His burns are certainly going to need treatment, but that doesn't mean he can't be helpful to them in the meantime. Alec grabs Rue's mask and unclips the bottom half, offering it to them, "Think you can stand up?"   “Y-yeah, I think so.” Rue nods, sitting upright and putting the mask back on. Steam starts to rise from their clothes as they use their powers to dry themself quicker, pulling the hood back up as they slowly pick themself off the ground.   They glance over at the man they unceremoniously threw onto the docks moments before, the smell of charred flesh quickly reaches their nostrils again and, for a second, they look like they might hurl up more than water. “I d-didn’t mean to…” They stammer, only partially relieved to see the Tundrake still breathing. They wrap their arms around themself, whether for warmth or for comfort they’re not entirely sure.   "It's alright, Rue," he says, examining the man's injuries. Blisters and bubbled patches have formed where the skin burned and the fabric of his suit has fused to him, "Nothing a decent plastic surgeon can't fix, but he certainly won't be touching any more kids anytime soon..."   “And what about the kids on the yacht?” they ask.   He looks over to the crowd of people near the ruined yacht, some staring in disbelief at the wreckage and others trying to make other arrangements, among which stand a small assortment of confused children. One of the party goers, a young woman in a golden cocktail dress, seems to be talking to them, her face shifting from confusion to disgust as she listens to a young girl, "I may need to slip off and make an appearance as a concerned off-duty officer. Think you can get Tundrake here to an ambulance as they arrive?"   “Yeah, okay…” Rue mumbles, following his gaze towards the group of children and the woman speaking with them. Their eyes are drawn further into the crowd as their hearing picks up on one half of a phone conversation, the familiar voice of the Spider grumbling something about ‘another one’. They urge themself to turn away, to stand guard near the injured man on the ground. They crouch down beside him, keeping a close eye on his breathing but otherwise leaving him as he is, not wanting to aggravate any of his wounds. Wounds they caused. Another shiver runs up their spine, and they mutter a quiet apology at the Tundrake as the sound of sirens in the distance gradually gets louder.   "I'll catch up with you in a little bit," Alec says as he straightens up and ducks away from the scene, "You've got my number if you need anything, just keep your ears open for any more mentions of that Hightower guy."   They do as they’re told, waiting impatiently as the ambulance rushes over to the scene. There are more sirens now, and they can just about focus on the conversations happening nearby. Detective Upton has appeared just before some of the patrol cars arrive and is making a beeline for the woman in the golden cocktail dress. Their attention is briefly pulled away as the Tundrake lets out a pained groan, one of his hands twitching painfully. “Stay still,” Rue instructs softly, though they’re not entirely sure if he can hear them, “Help is almost here.”   "Oh, wha-" the man groans, his body shifting slightly in his hazy stupor. A pained hiss escapes his mouth as he tries to move, burned flesh and clothing tugging at his sensitive nerve endings, "Ah! Oh- Oh my God. It hurts! What have you done to me!?   Relieved to see the ambulance pulling up, they allow a little of their anger to resurface, their disgust with the Tundrake’s actions absolving some of their guilt at injuring him. “I did warn you,” Rue says, waving down the EMTs, “burnt flesh stinks - now stay still.”   "Fuck you!" the man growls, his voice cracking from the pain as the paramedic jogs over, "Help! Someone help me!"   "What's happened here?" The paramedic asks, looking over at Rue briefly before making his way over to the patient.   "This psychopath set me on fire!" Tundrake shouts, "Get them away from me!"   “Better a psychopath than a paedophile,” Rue scowls, continuing upon seeing the shocked look the EMTs exchange, “This man had a bit of an altercation with myself and Blue after we found him and a group of others involved in the trafficking of children. I’m sure the police will want to speak to him at the hospital.”   "Oh," the EMT's voice becomes grave and he seems to almost flinch away from Tundrake before turning his head to the carnage of the pier and the small gaggle of children thereupon, "Alright, hero. We'll take it from here," he says as another colleague arrives with a stretcher and IV kit. He waits for his colleague to settle beside him and begins to work, "Alright, then. Well, my name's Andy and this is Luca. We're going to take care of you..." Relieved to finally be free of Tundrake, Rue is able to begin walking away, overhearing the continued conversation as they go, "Unfortunately, due to the burns, we're not going to be able to administer any pain relief. So sorry about that..." They pause for a moment once they’re clear of the paramedics, taking a deep breath, and immediately regretting it as it triggers another coughing fit.   Hero.   The paramedic had called them a hero. Despite the costume, despite helping out Blue by fighting the monsters that kept children captive, they felt so far from the term that it left them with a strange knot in their stomach. Catching their breath, Rue pulls their phone from their pocket to message Detective Upton that they’ll keep their distance from the crowd whilst keeping an ear out for any word on Hightower, that they’ll meet him at the van, but after their unplanned dip in the sea, the screen doesn’t switch on, “Ahh… Fuck.”   Meanwhile, Alec arrives on the scene with his usual innocent bystander routine, quickly seeking out the woman in the golden dress and approaching her, badge in hand, "Excuse me, Miss. Alec Upton, BCPD, can you tell me what's going on here?"   "Oh, thank God you're here, Officer," the woman exclaims, quickly looking between him and the gaggle of children that had gathered around her, "We were at this stuffy boat party with a bunch of weird, old guys and then some sort of superhero battle broke out on the lower decks!"   "That's quite the story, Miss...?" he coaxes, taking out his notebook and letting her continue, choosing to avoid making eye contact with any of the familiar faces around lest the situation get out of hand.   "Evangeline Nichols," she says between breaths, "Well, that's not it either! That superhero, Blue, started scooping people onto the pier as the yacht went down, and when we got here, there were all these kids! They say they were on the boat, kept below decks for God knows what!" Evangeline becomes positively frantic at the idea, "Officer, you've got to do an investigation or something! This can't be-"   "It's okay, Miss Nichols," Alec says with a practiced, soothing cadence, "Relax. The authorities are on the way. They'll make sure no-one leaves before giving a statement and we'll get to the bottom of this. You have my word. Now, can you tell me who's boat this is?"   "I'm not really sure," she says, dumbfounded, "It's a friend of my Dad's. I just came for the booze and free food."   "And who's your father?"   "David Nichols Sr.," she replies, looking around herself for any sign of the man, "He was just here..." Alec knows the name. Owner of the local nuclear power plant and something of a high roller within the city, Nichols isn't one of the men he'd seen below deck, but Alec has no doubt that if anyone knows who this Mr Hightower really is, it'd be him.   Despite Alec’s assurance to Miss Nichols that no one will be leaving without giving a statement first, one individual seems to slither away from the crowd almost entirely unnoticed. Rue easily recognises the man’s gait even with his back being turned towards them, and they watch from afar as Creel somehow manages to separate from the other partygoers, heading towards an unmarked car that parked not far away. A vaguely familiar henchman steps out of the vehicle to open the passenger door for the Spider.   As Creel slinks into the car, they catch a brief glimpse of his clearly soured expression. They hesitate, but with no way to communicate with Alec, and with the detective in the midst of questioning the woman, they decide to stay put, watching the car drive off into the night. They stay close to the side of one of the warehouses, not only to avoid drawing attention to themself, but to stay out of the wind. Despite their continued use to warm the air around them, they’re starting to feel the effects of overusing their fire powers (and quite possibly the aftermath of fighting someone with ice powers… and the swim that followed…), a chill settling deep within their bones. Once the detective moves to speak to one of the officers on scene, seemingly to report in on the situation and instruct him to take statements of those still around, they start to move in the shadows, shivers racking their body as they walk back towards the van.   The cab of the van isn't especially warm either but protecting themself from the cold chill of the harbour wind is all Rue is hoping for as they clamber into the passenger side seat. If anyone were to ask them at that point, they'd tell them that there's no way they could settle down after all that, but as their shivering slowed and the adrenaline from the fight ebbed away, they soon found their eyes closing and their head resting in the crook of their seat.   To be continued...