Control my worries, fix my thoughts

[ctu_savior]

WHO: Jack and Maggie
WHERE: Police training grounds
WHEN: Tuesday afternoon
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Maggie trains with the police force
FORMAT: Quick

Comments

[ctu_savior]

[Paper user 1, CPD's dignity 0.]

All right, that's enough! Everyone, break it off and form back up.

[The officers lose no time in complying.]

That's what happens when ordinary people go up against Imports. It's not pretty. If Maggie here was a real supervillain, she would not have held back and you would probably all be dead. That's why most Import arrests are handled by other Imports.

[Jack pauses. He can see the officers have mixed feelings about having to let the people from other universes handle their most dangerous suspects]

Problem is, Imports come and go. I could be Ported out right here, right now, and you'd all have to carry on without me. So that's why you're here, to learn how to work with and against Imports with what you've got- your brains, your training, your equipment, and each other.

The first thing you need to realize is that it goes both ways. [Turning to Maggie] Maggie, why don't you tell everyone why you're here.

[He made his officers get beat up, now he's making Maggie speak to strangers in public. It's a coin toss which is more unfair.]

[origamiguardian]

[Maggie does turn a little red, but nods and complies. She uses the brief rush of fighting to help keep her focused]

I want to train to work with you. My training focused on working with people with powers like mine, but there's no one else like me here. I have to adapt my training to work with you.

If we learn to work together, we could be a lot better at watching each others' backs.

And more civilians get protected too.

[ctu_savior]

A lot of Maggie's powers focus on defense. So she's going to learn how she can use them to help cover you while you do your jobs, and you're going to learn how you can get past an Import's defenses.

[And then Jack draws a gun. Don't worry, it's unloaded!]

Maggie, how fast can you put up something that blocks bullets? And how far away can it be?

[origamiguardian]

[index cards come to her hands] Fast enough to beat a bullet. When it gets that fast, it's hard to time. [it wasn't something she really thought about in terms of timing. The way her own awareness and what she perceived as the paper's desire to protect her or others interacted was difficult to discern]

If you're close, I know you're going to shoot, so I'm prepared. Farther away, I may not see you right away--but if the distance is great enough, I still have time to react. So... the more important issue is anything that impedes my ability to be alert.

[ctu_savior]

[Jack nods and walks away from his officers before turning to face them, so that he's in front of Maggie to one side and they're in front of her to the other.]

How are you with covering moving targets? I'm going to try to kill these officers- [Jack's colleagues are not enjoying this training, no sir] -while they evade.

[It will be hard to tell where Jack's 'bullets' are going with an unloaded pistol, but like hell is he going to use paintball for this- the ballistics are all wrong.]

[origamiguardian]

It's better if I know how my team is going to move.

But learning that is why we're here. So go.

[ctu_savior]

Got it. You heard her, MOVE!

[The cops scatter, ducking and weaving and rolling towards what scant cover is available in the open space. Jack's glad to see how they're moving, at least, no one freezing or bunching up. He aims and 'fires' carefully, jerking the gun with each click and calling his targets to make it clear where the 'shot' is going.]

Ramirez! [Click] Mitchell! [Click] Mulroney! [Click] Yassir! [Click]

[Jack's imaginary aim is dead-on despite the running around- the 'survival' of his targets depends entirely on Maggie]

[origamiguardian]

[Maggie takes note of the cops' starting positions, then of Jack. She notes subtle cues of where he moves, where he's preparing to aim even before he pulls the trigger. The paper flies out from her hands, forming shield walls by each cop in turn. It's all blindingly fast and she's amazingly accurate, her senses working with the paper faster than conscious thought. The only hard part is indeed predicting where the cops will move---she hardly knows them, and they're not communicating with her.

One shield wall falls short just slightly of where Mulroney stands. He would likely have been injured rather than killed, if he was lucky. Maggie had slid toward him, already sensing her error, hoping to help block the shot with her body if the shield failed.]

We need to do it again. [turns to the cops] I need to get a feel for how you move.

[ctu_savior]

[The cops, for their part, look fairly impressed with how well Maggie was able to shield them from the 'shots' with just paper and reflex. Her willingness to take an (invisible) bullet for Mulroney doesn't hurt either. Jack nods and walks around the room, shifting his 'firing' position.]

We'll run it again. Everyone back to where you started. Same pattern as last time, people.

[The officers return to their original positions, joking with one another about how their getting extra exercise today. They seem to be enjoying the training so far, despite their superior's apparent determination to see them shot and beaten.]

All right, GO! Davis! [click] Tanaka! [click] Mulroney! [click] Stiles! [And click. The officers evade in slightly different ways this time, adjusting their tactics, but the patterns they run and dive in remain much the same.]

[origamiguardian]

[Maggie does better this time, although she floods one area with way more paper than necessary just to be sure everyone's shielded.]

[when it's over, she turns to the group] Um... [she rubs her head self-consciously, and speaks lightly] I know it's hard because you're focusing on dodging, but if you watch me, you can see where I'm moving first to cover all of you.

[one of them jibes her to speak up, another shoots him a look]

Th-then you can adjust your own dodge as you need to.

[ctu_savior]

Makes sense. [Although they can't really watch her and the person shooting at them at the same time. So...]

One more time. [Jack shifts to a new position directly across from Maggie, and the officers return to their start points without needing to be told.] This time, break directly towards her and watch what she does.

[They go again: click-Ramirez, click-Yassir, click-Mitchell. This time Jack throws in a couple of 'shots' at Maggie, to keep her on her toes, make her divide her attention between protecting herself and others. The new strategy works though: the officers run for Maggie like chicks to the protection of a hen, moving in response to her own moves.]

[origamiguardian]

[they're paying attention to her, and they trust her to protect them, based on her actions before. This makes it a lot easier. She uses her ears, sense of motion behind her to track them as they track her, as she keeps her eyes on Jack. As they move in more tightly, she can more easily shield the space they occupy.

When she sees Jack's eyes move to focus on her, just starting to prepare to aim, she creates a paper man, who blocks the bullets as she steps back to be sure the others are still covered.]

This is using more paper than I thought.

["Still cheaper than kevlar," Ramirez notes]

[ctu_savior]

There's some cabinets nearby if you need to reload. Good job everyone, looks like you all made it this time. Regroup and catch your breath. [That particular exercise is over for now. Jack's out of imaginary bullets. The other cops talk about how great having an Import to protect them is while Jack takes a few minutes aside with Maggie.]

This is going well, they're learning.

[origamiguardian]

[pause to stretch, and then went to the cabinet]

[nod] I'm glad they're willing to do this.

[look at the paper] That is something we should work on. If I run out of paper, or my supply is destroyed. Make sure we have a backup plan.

[ctu_savior]

[Thinking about that] Take away your paper, and you're just another trained human. How much of a supply can you carry with you?

[origamiguardian]

A lot. [takes out a handful of paper from the cabinet and flexes her hand. The paper folds and condenses itself into a tiny cube. A hell of a lot of those can fit up her sleeve]

But it is possible to run out. If I need to fly everyone somewhere, that will use up most of my supply.

There may be things that interfere with my powers too.