[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/84qpE9x.png[/img][/center]

[color=8882be]"Look, Luke, if I could be out there giving that ugly fucker the business, sure I would. But facts are facts,"[/color] Lauren said breezily, triggering the lift once they were both inside. They began the slow crawl back to the basement, and the quarter-dressed Huntress slouched with her arms crossed. One smooth mocha shoulder lifted in a shrug. 

[color=8882be]"I've been beating people up with axes, bats, and my bare damn hands since I was six years old. That's not a skill set that's very handy against a big fucking Manticore like that - especially when I came to Beacon with a weapon you could probably scrounge around and find somewhere in this very brewery. If I go out there with this shitty ax and the shit I wear to the gym, all I'm going to do is distract Ben, and [i]probably[/i] Amy on top of that. A truck that needs hotwiring and some goods that need stashing? That's a skill set I can actually still use."[/color]

An imperceptible sign ran from Lauren's lips, and for a moment her grin shrank.

[color=8882be]"To be honest with you, I [i]am[/i] gonna have to do something about it, though. I fuckin' hate feeling useless like this..."[/color]

Then it was as though a cloud lifted from Lauren, and she straightened up and rolled her shoulders as though she were entering an octagon.

[color=8882be]"Which is why we need that brewery paycheck in our hands fuckin' ASAP! Now c'mon, let's roll some drums!"[/color]