Blocks knives and battery swings

A woman hucked a brick-sized package of batteries at my head. My forcefield caught it, knocking it aside. Heads turned to look at her.

I could remember the movie scenes where the mob of criminals went after the cape or hero, shot, saw they were invincible, and then kept shooting despite the futility of it. I was suspicious the PRT had used leverage over the media to encourage those scenes, with the follow-up of the mob getting taken to pieces. A way of affecting the public's approach to capes and the willingness to go all-out.

"Oh. I am really, really sorry," she said.

There it was.

"Get down on the ground," I said. "Hands on your heads."

Some started to obey, the woman foremost among them. A group of others at the periphery and around the first truck dropped their stuff and bolted. They all ran as a group at first, and then, as I took off and one saw me on the approach, the idea went out. They scattered.

*****

I went after the ones who were running. I started at the far left.

No forcefield, no super strength. I flew to catch up and I caught the first one mid-run. Because I could maneuver in the air at the same time I caught up, it was relatively trivial to get in a position to stick my leg between his knees and trip him.

I left him behind, relatively sure I could catch a second one before he picked himself up and got far enough away.

The second went roughly the same way.

The third one I caught up to had a knife that was made for the kitchen, not for fighting. She disarmed herself swiping at my forcefield, and promptly surrendered.

- Torch 7.3