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[Kashyyk]

Better yet, just say: "This is not the girl you are looking for"

That might be better to say if we are trying to escape or hide.

He has a point, although we now need to say at this at the right moment.

[XXXXYYYY]

"Reported missing? Did he happen to also report the parts where he accused me of trying to 'circumvent authority' for showing compassion, wanted to force me into a psychological examination, and threatened to 'forcibly subdue' and kidnap me because I didn't want to get into his car? He wouldn't even answer any questions beyond claiming I'm a worst-case scenario, whatever that means. For crying out loud, the reason I collapsed bleeding at your front door was because I was trying to get away from him!

I will not cooperate with him, and I do not want him or his agency responsible for me."

Next, formally request, "Officer Joy, would it be possible for me to arrange a meeting with Pride?"

After the fireworks die down, turn to Joy and say, "Sorry for all the trouble I've put you through, the past few days have been rough. Is there anything you want to ask me or that I can do to make up for it?"

TLDR: Outline why we're not going with Tom, request a meeting with Pride through Joy, apologize to her after the fact for the trouble we've put her through, and ask her if there's anything we can do as thanks.

Also, I support the idea of calling Ego Edgar, as if we can't remember his name.

+1

And if they still doesn't do... If they still want to force you away back into their hands... Channel your voice.
Anxiety told us that the thousand soul could use his "voice" and the queen mentioned that any apology from him would be accepted without a second thought, Likely for the same reason.
Channel your energy, Through your memory, Through your connection and then through your voice. And use it to say a single word:

No.

+1

Better yet, just say: "This is not the girl you are looking for"

-1

[Silleh Boy]

"I was reported missing?" you echoed as you gazed upon the man in the doorway with a sesnse of disbelief. The agency had the nerve to report you missing, after one of their agents had made it clear how they planned to treat you in general now they'd what you were to a degree that you fell into some neat, pre-defined plan?
"You sound surprised," came Ego's words as he craned his head forward ever so slightly. "Is there a problem with this, Miss Smith?" he inquired in a cold and professional tone. It wasn't that he didn't care, you told yourself as you shrank away from the man, no, it was that he was likely remaining disconnected from any feelings he had upon the matter as he was in a higher up position than most.
"Is that all he said?"
"The message hasn't suffered from a series of chinese whispers, Miss Smith."
"So he didn't report that by showing compassion to Anxiety, that I was circumventing authority, or that-" A hand was raised, cutting you off as the faintest hint of curiosity crossed over ego's features.
"Forgive the interruption Miss Smith, you can continue your emotional tirade momentarily," there was a pause as he stepped into Joy's office fully, closing the door behind him. "Could you elaborate upon the situation with Anxiety?"
"Why?" you grumbled as you stared back at the man. "Why should I, when you won't even let me finish trying to tell me how I think I'm in danger?"
"Because, Miss Smith, you have all the time in the world while you are here. They will not dare venture beyond the front desk without prior permission-" he paused, though you took this opportunity to challenge the point he had just made.
"Why won't they dare do such a thing?"
"Because, Miss Smith, I, Director Ego, am in charge of the Guardian two point oh programme, if they step out of line, they are fully aware that I have the authority to send some of the most advanced war machines in the world - en masse at that, to besiege their decrepit headquarters," came the mans words as he delivered what he had to say in a matter of fact tone.
"Now you sound like you're trying to play up how you'd respond just to appease me."
"Perhaps, but it remains factual that this station is not one that they wish to attempt to cirucmvent the authority of. Perhaps you have noted the response time we have towards dealing with internal threats. Should they provide such a threat to you, to us, they will be neutralised. Now, Miss Smith, please answer my question. What condition was Anxiety in?"
"She," you sighed as you rubbed at your arm. You could feel the clammy sensation of cold blood soaking the sleeve of your attire against your hand. "She was a mess. I'm the first person she has spoken to since her imprisonment, apparently. She thinks I'm someone else, had an outburst in what she threatened to kill me, then she was terrified of being alone again. She regrets how she ended up there and she has suffered for it, so I promised to speak with people about stopping her being the victim of such inhumane treatment."
"I see. Now, how does this relate to the issue you have with the agency?"

You turned your head to the side, looking towards the window as you took a deep breath.
How didn't this relate to your issue with the agency?
You'd had them turn on you the moment you were done with Anxiety, you'd been told you were a worst case scenario.
You'd been made to feel afraid of how they would handle you.

"When I left her holding area after I was done speaking with her, Tom, my assigned bodyguard, told me that I was attempting to circumvent authority with the manner I had spoke with her and promised her what help I could as another living being. He wanted to forcibly subdue me as I wouldn't get in his jeep and return to the agency without question, to force me through psychological examinations. He told me that I was a worst case scenario, based upon what had been overheard from the conversation I had with her and told me that need to know means I didn't need to know what that means," you frowned as you turned back towards the man. "This is the reason I collapsed, bleeding, outside the front of the station. I was trying to get away from him and the agency, I was-"
"If I may, Miss Smith, you didn't collapse outside the station, you had a high speed collision with one of our cars that resulted in you temporarily expiring. Continue."
"I," you mumbled, thrown off by this. There was a sense of finality that you couldn't quite shake in the concept of you having expired, even if you had recovered from it. This was twice you'd done so. "I was scared, that was why I came here. There's always posters up trying to improve the image of the police, telling people that when they're in trouble that they can rely on you, that you're not the bogey men that you're sometimes used as. I don't know what the agency will do with me and I don't want to find out. As far as i'm aware they don't have any claim to me, I'm not their property or responsibility. I'm not leaving with them."

You backed towards the window as you finished speaking, your mind echoing how you had 'temporarily' expired. If you were going to be forced to leave with the agency, you could jump, you could pray that you'd only temporarily be down from the fall onto the ground outside.
It was a strange and desperate plan, but it was the only plan you had at this point - if you used the power you had inside the stations grounds, armed police would no doubt swarm you.
If you dived, they'd no doubt swarm you as you came too, but you'd have a chance to run that way at least.

"Curious," came his sole response as he made his way towards the window, standing beside you as he looked out over the built up skyline with you. "You have no other accomodation in this city, no money?"
"No, I don't," you mumbled in response as you looked up at the man.
"Again, curious. If you will permit me a moment to think on this, I'll have a course of action given the circumstances worked out in short order."

With that the man seemed to lose all interest in you, instead focusing his attention upon the city skyline as you turned your attention towards Joy.
"Joy, I'm sorry for all the trouble i've caused you, it has been rough for you, for me, for everyone involved. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" you asked, as you turned your attention towards the other woman.
"You don't need to make it up to me," Joy responded as she glanced over at Ego.
"I need to make it up to him?" you asked, not entirely following her bodylanguage.
"No, no. He doesn't often take this long to think of a course of action. Then again, he normally has nice easy situations where he deploys one of the various suits we have againts the things that go bump in the night."
"Why do you call them that?"
"They've always been called that, ever since they first turned up."
"When did they turn up?"
"Back in the eighteen hundreds, they're probably part of a cycle where something turns up in a new form every so often though."
"Joy, do you think it'd be possible for me to meet with... Pride?" you asked, watching as the womans expression changed to one of extreme discomfort.
"Alyssa, I don't think that's wise, you're... You see... How do I put this?" Joy sighed as she rubbed at her face. "Eurochkoles wasn't exactly on good terms with any of those that bore the title of Pride and you, having such a similar vibe to him might... Complicate things."
"I'm not him though, I'm-"
"I have come to a conclusion," Ego interrupted as he turned to face the pair of you. "Miss Smith, I am placing you under arrest for vagrancy. By your own admission, you are such. Given the circumstances of this development you are to be taken to the-"
"Don't you dare say what I think you're about to say," Joy snapped as she glared at Ego.
"-Guiding light shelters and kitchens for the unfortunate," he finished, while Joy visibly fumed. "I know that you wish to keep Pride safe, that you wished to ensure that Miss Smith here understood the gravity of what it was to meet with them given the historical emnity that may have been involved, but, Pride seemed quite delighted that Miss Smith here was requesting an audience with her."
"You were talking with Pride all this time?" Joy spat in response.
"Yes. I am aware that you lack the same capability as I do to commune over such distances with like-minded individuals, but Pride herself has her warmest welcome and to extend her hospitality to Miss Smith until it is no longer desired."
"That's bullshit, how come you get to skip protocol and-"
"Officer, please stand down. Circumstances dictate that Miss Smith here requires accomodation, safety and guidance. Pride will offer all of those things in the measures she requires, without attempting to ensnare her for her own ends as the agencies are prone to."

Of course, they would say that they were better than that infront of you - they wouldn't admit if they were as bad as the agencies before you while trying to push you into their hands.
Joy seemed rather unhappy with this development however, as if the last thing she had honestly wanted was for you to meet with Pride.
Technically though as you were currently under arrest, the agency couldn't simply take you from the custody of the LPD and back to their headquarters without causing a scene.
A scene that would go very poorly for them given the amount of firepower that existed within the grounds of the station.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I shall escort Miss Smith to-"
"No, no you don't. I'm taking her," Joy snapped as she moved to stand between you and the door.
"If you insist Officer, then I shall allow you to accompany us," Ego responded in an almost detatched manner.
"No. I'm taking her."
"I have given you the compromise I am willing to make, either stand aside or fall in line, Officer."

There was a long moments delay where you could almost feel the way that Joy was sizing the pair of you up, as if working out what options were available to her at this moment.
You were honestly certain that the petite woman was a lot more powerful than she looked, yet there was a relucatance in her eyes to go against Ego physically.
Was this because he was greater than her, or because she knew that he could have half the station come along and subdue her with a single thought?
For that matter, could he read your mind?
Was that even possible?

"Fine. I'm coming with you," Joy eventually grumbled as she opened the door to her office and stepped from it.
"I am glad we came to an agreeable conclusion, Officer Joy, as I would not have taken any pleasure in the disciplinary action that would have followed your inevitable attempt to assault me.
"Shut up, Ego."
You were getting what you wanted, you reflected as the pair of them bickered, though not quite in the way you had envisioned it.

You were lead down the corridors and back towards the front of the station, back towards the waiting area where Tom stood with the most serious expression on his face you'd ever seen.
You could tell that he was waiting for you, for them to hand you over to him, yet as he moved to intercept you and your escorts, Ego simply raised a hand to indicate for you to stop.

"May I help you?" he asked as he stood before Tom completely at ease.
"I'm here for Alyssa Smith, if you'll hand her over I'll be on my way," came Tom's response as he glanced past Ego towards you.
"I'm afraid I cannot relinquish her into your custody as she is currently under arrest," Ego responed as Tom frowned visibly.
"The agency wants her back, step aside," came his words as he moved to shove Ego aside, only for Ego to step back in the way.
"I would advise against such a course of action. Miss Smith does not wish to-"
There was the impact of flesh against flesh as Tom swung for Ego, striking him forcibly.
Yet Ego simply turned his head back to face the other man, his voice completely impassive still as he resumed speaking.
"-be involved with your agency at this time. However, as you have chosen to assault me, I can only suggest that you surrender peacefully-"
Tom swung again, only this time Ego effortlessly deflected the blow with one hand as he gracefully twisted Tom's arm behind his back and moved to put him in a choke hold with his free arm.
Tom just as rapidly countered this by bucking to flip the other man over him, only for Ego to surprisingly roll over him as he used the momentum to fling Tom across the waiting room.
The room reverberated with the sound of his body impacting against the wall, though Tom, with a black substance oozing from his nose, sprang back to his feet as he reached for the handgun on his belt.
"Surrender her, or else-" Tom started as Ego sighed.
"Do you see this, Officer?" came Ego's words as he turned to look at Joy.
"I do. We have a problem, don't we," she growled as she moved to stand between you and Tom.
"We do, now, if you will co-operate with us and place your weapon down-"
"This is your final chance, surrender her."

Ego simply advanced upon Tom as he was given this final warning, the sound of the handgun echoed about the room out as Ego's hand became a blur of motion, snatching the discharged bullet from the air with deceptive ease.
"Do tell Pride that I am sorry I could not make it, Joy, you'll have to take Miss Smith alone while I handle the paperwork from this apparent attempted suicide."
"The only suicide here is-" Tom started as Ego darted forwards, batting the gun out of his hand before he could take aim once more.
"Silence, you," Ego responded as he lifted the man up by his neck. "Either you will co-operate or I will crush the life from you. Now, let us start with the basics..."

With that Joy ushered you from the waiting room, pushing you out the door towards the parking lot and one of the police cars there.
This was done in silence, silence in what you found yourself wondering just what you'd witnessed - just what you'd been caught up in.

"Get in the car," came Joy's words, her evident disgruntlement over the fact she had been told to take you to see Pride still registering despite the scene she had left behind. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions for her, but let me make it clear. You hurt her, I'll hurt you. Are we clear?"
"We're clear," you responded as Joy settled down in the drivers seat, while you stood by the open passenger side door.

So, now you just had to get in and then you could...
Then you could be taken to meet Pride, discuss whatever you needed to with her. Whatever that was.
You had a bad feeling though - everything about everything was... Off, and you couldn't tell if you had enough pieces to this puzzle to figure what was out of place yet.
What was your plan to be?

[Fallatus]

Recollect, Use the car ride as an opportunity to reflect, Gather what you have learned and attempt to piece it together.
Also try to introspect in such a way that you attempt to unlock access to "your" past memories.
Also ask a little about pride. If you can.

[Peradon]

Also ask why we would want to hurt Pride, and why Joy would even conceive that we wanted to.

[Silleh Boy]

As you slumped down into the passenger side of the car you found yourself assaulted by the scents of the fabric uphostry and the plastic fixtures carried by stuffy air heated by the summer sun.
This was to be joined by blood, you knew, as you were going to get your own blood all over the seat - yet there had been little concern about such a thing from Joy or Ego, that told you that this was likely either a detail they'd honestly glossed over on, or it had been accounted for and they believed time was of the essence.

Things were strange, things were...
More than strange, and they seemed to be getting stranger still as time progressed, as if you had become the center point for an assortment of supernatural events to take place.
It was this thought that haunted you as the engine of the car started, as Joy awkwardly, with all the familiarity of one who was used to operating something much different, had the car pull out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"I'd have preferred to take my suit," she grumbled to herself as she shifted the gearstick. "But no, if I'd even dared bring that up, I'd have been reminded how expensive they are."
"If you'd used your suit, wouldn't I have-"
"You'd have been on the outside of it, yes. They're one person suits."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would you want to subject me to that?"
"Subject you to it?" Joy laughed briefly. "I could maintain a comfortable speed, cut straight across the river and the roads and be there in half the time we could if the roads were empty," she simply responded as she reached out her window to adjust the mirror there.
"Oh," you mumbled as you reached down to wind your window down, only to find to your surprise that there was a handle for it instead of a button.
"Old car, they're in the middle of modernising, but they keep a few of these relics around for antiques like me, so they say. Assholes. Never had anything even close to this in my day."

As the window decended in awkward bursts, you took a deep breath of the city air and almost immediately found yourself missing home. Home hadn't been great, but the streets were less polluted than this.
Home, the home you had left behind back when this had all begun.
All with that fateful train ride coupled with the promise that they were going to run some quick tests, that it was likely nothing, that you'd be sent home with compensation for your time.
Since then, everything had gone from bad to worse as you found yourself with an awakening power at your fingertips that these people all seemed to covet and fear in equal measure.

You had died twice.
You had experienced serious injury.
You had seen your own broken body.
You had met with entities you had never believed existed.

The woman you were, the woman who froze up fearfully with situations that cast doubt upon her capabilities was gone. No more would you be a slave to your fears, no more would you chose inaction out of fear, when you could choose what suited your interests best at the time.
Fear had its place, fear taught you not to expose your throat, figuratively, to the dangers that were waiting out there for you, but fear wasn't your master any longer.
There were two worlds, the world of apathetic humans who remained uncaring and oblivious to the dangers that lurked outside of their sight and the world that you now had started to enter - the world of horrors that had never quite gone away, of folk tales that had truths to them.
The world of men and monsters.

You had found you didn't just have some random power at your fingertips, you had found that you, Alyssa, had the power of creation itself at your fingertips.
Creation herself, you corrected, as you didn't believe that the masculine form that had weilded the power before you was proof of anything to the contrary.
How you had come to gain this power, how you had been chosen was of no consequence.
This was your power now and there was clearly some reason it had chosen you, or you had been chosen for it.

Perhaps you were the most suited to it, perhaps you had the greatest potenail of accomplishing something with it.
It didn't matter, you, Alyssa, you reminded yourself once more, now possessed this power to do what you believed to be right with.

You'd find what hand Jack had in this and you'd decide then what role he had to play in your future - you were done with people wishing for you to be their puppets. You'd further any cause that you felt was worthy of your attention, but you wouldn't be beholden to petty mortals and their petty power games.
No, you'd find out if you had some weakness that would ultimately permit them to kill you, then you would, through the application of your will, remove it from yourself.
Assuming you had one, Anxiety had seemed to imply that she couldn't see the same one she had known before.

There were other things to mull over, there was the matter of the twin agencies, of the Queen and the Minister that accompanied her.
The agencies were not your friends, they were filled with individuals that were corrupt and inconsistant at best, and hostile to you at worst.
The ones beneath the authority of the Queen herself had been compromised and you were starting to wonder if the agency that had first found you had been too.

"Alyssa?" came Joy's voice, piercing your reverie as you snapped back to attention.
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just thinking. Why?" you asked as you glanced at the woman, taking note of how you were driving alongside the builtup area's near the river now.
"The look of determination you had on your face was worrying me, I've seen that look before..."
"I'm just reflecting on my flaws and how to overcome them," you shrugged.
"Yeah, I was worried about that," Joy mumbled as she twisted the wheel, turning the car to head over one of the bridges that stretched out over the river's muddy waters.

If this power was yours, if the prior owner of it had been able to access past lives to circumvent the fact that he was consistantly killed every thousand years, did that mean you were able to do such yourself?

Perhaps, if you reflected on the past, allowed yourself to unwind...

Forgot everything that you knew and held onto...

You could...

Could...

Remember a time before now, a time where the sea's breeze didn't bring with it the stench of pollution, a time when the world was lush and green in parts, barren and parched in others.
A time when this land was filled with marshes and settlements of men.
A time before that, when humanity banded together in a different way.

If you just let go, perhaps you could see these things.

And so, your eyes closed as you did your best to relax and allow yourself to drift away on the the sea of your calmed thoughts, seeking things that were out of place, thoughts that you couldn't have possibly had yourself. Thoughts that you knew to be out of place, not just mere concepts such as you envisioning things that you wished to be true and would later delude yourself into thinking had been such.
Yet nothing was forthcoming, you noted as you scoured your thoughts.
Though... It wasn't your thoughts you had to examine, it was your very self.
Deeper still your attention turned as you wondered how the sound of your heartbeat'd have sounded in your chest in another lifetime, how a voice that wasn't your own would have sounded in your ears.

What sights, what scents, what experiences had been lost to time, simply because you couldn't remember them?
If you were in possession of what remained of this entity, what experiences had come with their power?

Yet nothing came forth.

Perhaps it was because you didn't know how to meditate properly, how to reflect upon such a thing. Perhaps it was because you were in an unsuitable location to do such, given this was a moving vehicle. It could have been any number of factors, factors that you'd have to either have help eliminating, or find a way to work around at a later date.
Just trying had made you feel weird though, as if your body wasn't sure how to push in the manner you were asking it to - it was akin to asking your muscles to push and pull in directions that didn't exist.
Incomprehensible, impossible to comprehend, and yet, you felt it.

"Joy," you eventually breathed as you rubbed at your chest. You could feel the sensation of that same heat you had experienced before lingering now in a none too unpleasent manner. "I'm curious, why are you concerned about me meeting with pride?" you asked as you watched the woman out of the corner of your eyes.
"You're what remains of the man who lead Guardians to exterminate one of the most powerful individuals to hold the title of Pride. I have reason to be wary given that basically meant turning Enlightened such as myself, trapped inside brass shells, upon the person that guided them."
"That's... That's pretty irrational."
"Is it?"
"Yeah, I'm not him, she's not the same Pride as before, the Guardians aren't trapped in shells like before. How'd he even manage that?"
"How?" Joy laughed bitterly. "You're asking how someone who figured how to turn living, breathing people into abominations of brass, could have them turn upon their own kind?" she shook her head "We were enslaved, commanded and controlled. He could over-ride those commands himself. Fortunately, he saw how morally wrong what he had done was and alongside Ego..." she fell silent for a long moment. "He died... He died during the war he ordered those still trapped in the shells they were in to repoprt to Ego... To be decomissioned and returned to civilian life. He never lived to see that evil of his undone."
"You never really forgave him, did you?"
"I forgave some of what he did. He was still a monster, still a man. Still flawed and prone to acting like an idiot and...  He was an example of how even the best intentions can drive someone to commit horrific acts and... And... I don't want you to turn out like him. I don't want to see history repeat itself with you, marching into Pride's inner sanctum and seeing her fall."
"Joy, I have one thing to say to you. That's bullshit, you're judging me guilty by another persons merit, before giving me a chance. I'm not better or worse than him, as I'm not him. You're profiling me as a criminal, based upon the behaviour of someone that, lets say is a distant relative in this case. If it was profiling based on skin colour, you'd be racist, if it was profiling based upon gender, it'd be sexist. Stop trying to warn me out of following a path I've never considered as if I'm predispositioned towards it."
"I... I'm sorry, you... You're right. It's just hard for me to look at you and..."

Joy fell silent as she gripped the wheel, her shoulders raised as she moved to wipe the corners of her eyes against them.

It was in that silence that you turned your attention to the window, glancing out of it as you turned to rest your arms against the open window frame, to turn and look behind you and...
And...
Was that a Jeep following a few cars behind you?
It was.
And it was one with the ASP emblem upon its hood, one that...

"Shit. Joy, Tom's following us."
"Wait, what?" Joy pasued as she reached for a radio concealed inside the LPD issued jacket she was wearing. "This is Officer Jay-Zero-One-Three-Seven-Zero, over."
There was a pause as she tapped at the back of the radio with her thumb.
"I repeat, this is Officer Jay-Zero-One-Three-Seven-Zero, over," she grumbled as she glanced at the various mirrors in quick succession. "Great, the radio's dead and he's supposed to have been subdued, I can't just lead him to the shelter... Not when he could hurt innocents. Alyssa, I'm going to stop the car and deal with him. While I do that, I want you to stay in the car. Got that?"

There was a saying, nescessity was the other of invetion. Invention was a form of creation, and adversity bred nescessity. You'd been subjected to adverity time and time again and you could feel that desire to rise to the challenge burning away within you once more.
Yet, you knew at the same time you had been warned away from using your power, making you wonder if it was better in this case to permit Joy to deal with this issue - and with whatever Tom actually was.
You didn't know at this point who or what he really was, all you knew was that he was trouble and one of you had to act.

[Peradon]

Allysia, stop yer power mongering. Seriously, you may have power, but you're still human. You have to stop thinking like you are a separate and superior species. Act like a human being...

Also, just stay in the car. Do warn Joy about what you know of Tom, and his weak point....

[endlessblaze]

ask for a gun. get out and asisst

[XXXXYYYY]

ask for a gun. get out and assist

-1

Allysia, stop yer power mongering. Seriously, you may have power, but you're still human. You have to stop thinking like you are a separate and superior species. Act like a human being...

Also, just stay in the car. Do warn Joy about what you know of Tom, and his weak point....

+1

[Nicholas1024]

Allysia, stop yer power mongering. Seriously, you may have power, but you're still human. You have to stop thinking like you are a separate and superior species. Act like a human being...

Also, just stay in the car. Do warn Joy about what you know of Tom, and his weak point....

+1 to this, but...

Get in the driver's seat. If Joy is having trouble with Tom, and it's a reasonably open area, yell for her to get away, then ram him with the car. Then focus your power and hit him with as much fire as you can summon. Yeah, you'll probably end up unconscious, but you'll live, and if you can do enough damage, he won't. Just make sure not to hit Joy in the crossfire. (If the area is too congested to maneuver the car around, just skip the car-ramming step.)

[endlessblaze]

Allysia, stop yer power mongering. Seriously, you may have power, but you're still human. You have to stop thinking like you are a separate and superior species. Act like a human being...

Also, just stay in the car. Do warn Joy about what you know of Tom, and his weak point....

+1 to this, but...

Get in the driver's seat. If Joy is having trouble with Tom, and it's a reasonably open area, yell for her to get away, then ram him with the car. Then focus your power and hit him with as much fire as you can summon. Yeah, you'll probably end up unconscious, but you'll live, and if you can do enough damage, he won't. Just make sure not to hit Joy in the crossfire. (If the area is too congested to maneuver the car around, just skip the car-ramming step.)

TISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[Fallatus]

If he grabs you, Remember how you grabbed that speaker way back? through a wall or how you walked right trough a table?
"Phase" through him, Extend that power over him and "phase" him into the ground. And then, Just let go.

[XXXXYYYY]

If he grabs you, Remember how you grabbed that speaker way back? through a wall or how you walked right trough a table?
"Phase" through him, Extend that power over him and "phase" him into the ground. And then, Just let go.

No vote here (for or against), but holy shit is that cold. I'm pretty sure that'll be murder.

[Peradon]

Yeah, -1 to using her power at all. I mean, this lady is a guardian, if she can't incapacitate this guy, lord help us all. Plus, what would killing someone do to her emotionally? Probably not good things.

Also, I'm getting the feeling that this Joy lady isnt going to be much of a threat to us. She had a positive relationship with this other dude, and we're too much like him. I suggest we add her to our trust list, alongside Milicent.

[Silleh Boy]

"But-" you protested as Joy gave you a stern look.
"It's for your own safety, I don't care how powerful you might be, you're an untrained civilian and he's either a trained soldier, or worse. This is bad, though," came Joy's words as she swung the car over to one of the layby spots on the road to park the car.
"Why is it bad?"
"Do you know anything about him?"
"He's a military trained bodyguard, and he... He's powered in some way I guess?"
"Yeah, about that. The agency he's from declared only a handful of supernaturally talented entities amongst their ranks and he wasn't one of them."
"So, they... They hid him from you?" you responded in disbelief.
"Alyssa... I don't know what he is, but that might not even be the 'Tom' you knew," Joy sighed as she adjusted the mirror, watching as the agency jeep pulled up in the road behind you.

This was a nice area you told yourself as you glanced at the surrounding buildings, it was a shame it was about to see conflict.
You could see heavy stone facades on the buildings and exposed brickwork, a combination of old properties intermingled with more modern ones that had been built up over time to turn this into a posher neighbourhood.
It must, given its proximity to the river, been an expensive place to live.

"He's after you Alyssa, so if he gets past me, take the wheel and get the fuck out of here," Joy stated as she unfastened her steatbelt.
"I... I don't know how to drive," you mumbled in response as Joy pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You... Shit. You can't drive, I can't get backup. You're supposed to have been accompanied by two officers for reasons exactly like this. Okay, you stay here, I'll deal with him and then we'll get back underway."
"You'll be okay, right?"
"I'll be fine."
"He's armed like a soldier."
"I'll be fine."
"You're not wearing body armour right now," you pointed out as Joy turned to look at you, one hand on the door as she shrugged.
"I've been shot before, I'll recover. What I'm worried about is that he might be able to recover as fast as I can."
"What'll you do then?"
"Shatter his bones and tie his legs in a knot so they have to be rebroken to heal right."
"That's..."
"A fast way of incapacitating him in a worst case scenario."
"No, that's not going to work, if he-"
"Alyssa, shut up and keep your head down."
"Okay..."

The prior mania you had been feeling faded as you slowly felt the reality of the situation setting in - the heat you felt in your chest diminishing alongside the belief you had fostered that you could have accomplished anything.
As Joy exited the vehicle you felt very small, pressing yourself into the seat as you twisted about to look about the headrest at the jeep that had pulled up behind you - the occupant of what, Tom, if you could really call him that, finally climbing from the vehicle he had arrived in to meet with Joy.
From here you could hear them both talking, faintly, but with enough clarity for you to catch the entire exchange.

"Hand the girl over," came Tom's words as he came to a halt a distance from Joy, his hand resting in a threatening manner upon his assault rifle.
"How did you get past Ego, how did you follow us?"
"That is of no concern to you. Hand the girl over or I will dispose of you as well."
"I somehow doubt you disposed of Ego."
"He screamed for mercy as I-"
"Ego, scream for mercy?" Joy laughed, mirthlessly as she rolled her head, audiably popping her neck. "Don't try and feed me that crap, how'd you escape him?"
"Surrender the-"
"Did you turn into a mouse and meekly run away?"
"This is your final chance."
"No, this is YOUR final chance. Who do you work for, who are you, why shouldn't I leave your carcass to be picked clean by the vultures?"

A burst of gunfire was the sole response Joy was given as Tom raised his assault rifle, leaving Joy staggering backwards as she laughed, gurgling laughter as she raised a hand to her chest. A second burst followed as Joy stopped staggering, striking her across the chest again as she started to lumber forwards.
Even from here you could see the shift in her bodylanguage as she took on a hunched stance, her shoulders rolling as the jacket she was wearing was disarded.
Across her shoulders and down the back of her arms as far as her elbows were silvery scales that glinted where the sun caught them, scales that cover the back of her neck and vanished beneath her hair.
Even so, a third burst of gunfire was fired at the small woman as she laughed one more, her laughter roaring and mocking now as she advanced upon the uncertain looking soldier.

One hand was brought back and swung overhead in a clumbsy and easily predictable manner as she retaliated, a blow that Tom effortlessly stepped aside from - yet it wasn't clear if she was just slow, or he hadn't been the target of that initial retaliation from her all along as the blow never changed from its initial trajectory.
The bonnet of the jeep buckled as it was crushed inwards, the front wheels popping from beneath it as that blow left the vehicle in a clearly inoperable state.
A further attempt to shoot Joy was met by her swinging her other arm outwards as she batted the gun from the soldiers hands, the force of the blow snapping the strap that held it about his neck. The buckled gun sailed from his grasp as he leapt backwards, his fingers contorted grotesquely.
Brielfy.
A quick wave of his hands and they snapped back into place, appearing little more than bruised as he reached behind himself, drawing a machete now.

"A knife, really?" Joy taunted as she growled at the man, a growl that you could see was accompanied by a malicious grin from this angle.
"It's treated with an elixier of immortality, it's more than sufficient to bring you down, Jötunn," came Tom's response as he paced about Joy while twirling the blade in as intimidating a manner as he could manage.
"That stuff needs injecting like a venom, not slapping on me like a poison," came Joy's response as she sneered at the man.
"What?" came Tom's response as a look of confusion with a tinge of concern crossed his features.
"You can't even get close to a lethal dose of that coating your blade, i'd know, i've been injected with a lethal dose before. Didn't work either," she growled as she stepped towards the man. "Gave me a hell of an appetite though," she snarled as she batted at the blade tauntingly with one hand.

Tom was fast to take advantage of the opening, twirling about as he gained momentum, the blade raised as he lashed out at her neck.
Fast as he was, Joy had barely any time to react to the blade as it met her neck - even as the blade failed to bite deeply, catching against her scales as sparks flew her head came down to trap the blade against her shoulder, her shoulder pushing up as the sound of metal giving under the immense pressure she was applying was coupled with Tom drawing away maybe six inches of blade.
The rest of it clattered against the road as Joy released it, her dark blood flowing briefly from the wound to her neck, before it slowed as it started to knit.
Her retaliation had Tom batted off his feet as she used a backhanded slap to his chest to propel him into the side of the crippled jeep.
Even from here you could see him reaching for a new weapon amidst the various straps and pouches, one you couldn't see the nature of from this angle - though it didn't matter.

You were decided, you were going to get into the drivers seat and pray you could learn to drive fast in the event that this man somehow came out atop Joy.

You barely took your eyes off them as you clambered into the drivers seat, shifting the gearstick as you glanced down at the peddels and prayed you'd picked up enough knowledge of how a car worked over time to be able to do this.
You had to press the clutch in and... then the accelerator and... Then...
No, you had no idea, you'd just have to pray it was as easy as those two steps.

"Lights out, Jötunn," came Tom's words as he vaulted towards Joy, his hand thrusting towards her head as you caught sight of a palm sized green object in his hand.
Was that a-

You felt the rumble of the grenade going off shaking you as the deafening explosion echoed through the streets, car alarms and horns going off as...
As Joy's body - or what was left of it from the chest down - flopped down in the middle of the road.
Tom wasn't unscathed either, he had been thrown backwards by the explosion, streams of black oozing from his shredded bodyarmour and the stump of the arm that had been holding the grenade.
He rose unsteadily as you stared in shock, his face streaked with black blood from a myriad of gashes from the grenades shrapnel, shrapnel that you knew you had been hit by as shock gave way to warmth, as you felt blood welling up from an injury to your shoulder.
It had to have passed through the back of the chair, but that wasn't important.
Right now, you had to get out of here.
Foot on the clutch, then the accelerator, tires squealing-

Then the car lurched backwards as it slammed into Tom as he staggered unsteadily forwards - followed by the jeep as you pinned him against it.
This hadn't been what you'd intended, you'd planned to drive forwards, pull out of the layby and get out of here - you hadn't realised you'd put the car into reverse.
Worse still, your efforts to change gear and start moving forward were met with grinding sounds from the engine, telling you that you were going nowhere.

It was just you and him, as Joy was dead in th-

No... You could see bone reforming, you could see muscle knitting up over those bones as her body...
Joy could recover from THAT?

You stumbled from the driver side of the car as you patted at your back, feeling for whatever it was that had gone into you, though all you managed to do was find pain and blood where your fingers brushed against the entry wound.
"You're... You're coming with... Me... Alyssa..." came Tom's defiant though weary sounding words. "When I recover from this, I will... Will bring you in. Surrender now, save... Save yourself the... Trouble."

His words would have been of no concern if you couldn't have seen his injuries actively knitting - it was plain to see that he would recover much sooner than Joy could possibly do so.

You were being threatened by a one armed man pinned between to vehicles while the Guardian whom had been trying to protect you lay headless in the road - and merely, you truly hoped, incapacitated from such an injury.

For now you had the upper hand yet you knew it wouldn't last at the rate that Tom was recovering - you had to act and fast.

---

I enjoy reading some of the things you propose - creative uses of power vs creative ways of handling a situation without it make for an interesting balance.