[center][h1][color=#357302][b]Chatterbox[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]The tear gas was far enough away, Arsenal would have to take care of himself, he thought selfishly, glad that he was—in the moment—immune to bullet fire and the tear gas. As he'd thought, Sofia's power was incredibly useful, plus, he doubted she was aware that he'd used his power on her. That in mind, he made her immune to it again, before shifting his mind into gear. How to get to Gamble?

Unfortunately, before he could start tackling the issue and come up with a plan, a certain Protectorate hero decided to rudely interrupt his train of thought. [i]'Noble'[/i] he thought, noting that Arsenal had found a new bit of cover and the sound of gunfire had died down somewhat. He'd also noted Headhunter's message a few moments ago, and he was keeping it in mind as he opened his mouth, [color=#357302][b]“Now, let's not get hasty,”[/b][/color] he said, raising his hands into the air, one of them still clasped with Sofia's so that her arm raised as well. It was meant as a gesture of good will, of apparent surrender, but in reality it would only reinforce the effect of his power-laden words. Perhaps make her lower her guard some, or at least make her think she had them right where she wanted them.

Reinforcing this further, he continued speaking, moving the fingers of his gun-laden hand slowly, [color=#357302][b]“I'm going to drop my weapon, so don't shoot, alright?”[/b][/color] He said, slowly letting his arm lower—as it was faced away from him—before releasing his fingers and letting the P90 clatter against the asphalt of the road. [color=#357302][b]“There,”[/b][/color] he began, raising his hand back to its former position slowly, so she wouldn't get startled. He wasn't sure if she was jumpy or not, so he preferred to be careful—especially if that weapon was some kind of tinkertech, who knew what it might do.

[color=#357302][b]“Maybe we can just work this out, yeah? You've incapacitated one of us, you're holding two of us hostage, and our sniper appears to be...severely inconvenienced. If you'll allow it, I'll tell [i]everyone[/i] to just [u]stand down[/u] for a moment,”[/b][/color] he said, pointing a thumb to his bluetooth headset. The reality was that it was already on and the whole team had already heard his words. However, he was up to something, [color=#357302][b]“Should we get on our knees then? I'd rather you not shoot me.”[/b][/color] With each time he spoke and referenced a lack of violence, subtle suggestions would weasel their way into her mind, far far more difficult to detect than an ability like the one Captain Morales possessed.

[color=#357302][b]“Now, Ms. Noble. I'm still armed, I'm going to pull the gun from the holster at my hip, and toss it across the ground. You've won, I'm not gonna pull something and get myself and my friend shot, whether it's non-lethal or otherwise, alright? Just let me do this.”[/b][/color] The effect was compounding, she'd feel less and less of an urge to use her weapon to do them damage, and unless it was some kind of power nullifier it wasn't likely to do anything to them anyways.

Slowly, giving Sofia a look, he started lowering himself to his knees—if she allowed it-- and then with slow, deliberate movements reached towards the gun at his hip—something that was in plain sight. He made sure not to even come into physical contact with the weapon. Instead, he met Noble's gaze and asked, [color=#357302][b]“May I remove my firearm ma'am,”[/b][/color] without even the slightest shred of condescension. In fact, to her—should he have gotten to this point—he'd sound convincingly subservient. He'd seem defeated, and his words would seem trustworthy. He was selling the impression that neither he nor Sofia had the capability of disarming her.

[color=#357302][b]“If not, um, comrade,”[/b][/color] he said as he squeezed Sofia's hand, [color=#357302][b]“...If you would be so kind to ignore [i]all our nearby[/i] weapons,”[/b][/color] as he did so his eyes glanced up at Noble, looking fearfully at her weapon, [color=#357302][b]“Just...make them [i]all[/i] hit the ground please.”[/b][/color] His intention, which he may or may not have slightly have used his power to reinforce in Sofia, was to have his teammate ignore Noble's weapon as well as his own, effectively disarming her. Since he was already on his knees, one hand near his weapon, but not concealing it, he'd be in position to grab it, whip it up, and nail her with several rubber bullets before she could retaliate. However, he'd only act if the ploy worked.

If Sofia did not do this well...it'd be troubling, but he figured he might still be able to handle things so long as he was not knocked out or silenced.

The stakes were high.[hr][center][h1][color=#3068FF][b]Evelyn Chambers – [i]Tulpa[/i][/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]

Already running, near the head of the pack, so to speak, she only turned when Protean began speaking, and she did not regret doing so. Her eyes widening, she turned back to her running and rather than continue the casual pace she sped up some. She wasn't going full tilt, she'd save her energy unless he got close, but she did instinctively localize the 'shadow' of her projection around her body, allowing her a sensory field of sorts.

If he came near, she'd be ready to avoid him...hopefully.[hr][center][h1][color=#B8EEFF][b]Outsider[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]Relieved that the majority of them believed he wasn't out to get them, he let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in. Smiling slightly he raised an eyebrow as one of the capes rather enthusiastically asked him a question. [color=#B8EEFF][b]“Um, well. I think I may have seen one or two. I guess a group is better than flying solo,”[/b][/color] he said, chuckling a bit and rubbing the back of his neck. It felt good to have all his emotions on the surface, but he knew it wouldn't last long.

[color=#B8EEFF][b]“Do you, uh, have a way to contact you? I can get back to you on that offer. This is, after all, just my debut I guess. Of course, I guess I didn't really do much, arriving as late as I did.”[/b][/color] He frowned slightly, a wave of disappointment and a small touch of shame washing through him. He frowned slightly and then shrugged a bit and smiled again.

After a moment he shuffled a bit, clearly feeling a bit awkward. He hadn't really knowingly spent any time with capes other than his sister, and with her it was different—they were family before they were capes. So this was new...and a bit weird, really.

He wasn't sure exactly what to do.