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[@Azure Bubbles][@Silver Carrot]
Annika registered the actions of her fellow heroes with professional indifference; A slim hand gestured at her datapad in vague swipes and flicks to register data and the change in behaviour. The dragon was intently focused on wrangling off steel wire that had tied itself around the membrane.

[color=#009BFF]“Try and maintain grip,”[/color] Annika offered the young woman, voice firmer. [color=#009BFF]“Deploying assistance.”[/color] She typed a command into her datapad and watched Omar’s feed whirr to face the dragon as its laser activated in short, precise pulses. Not at the dragon itself, but across the steel wire around its wing; not enough to melt it off, but to heat it unevenly. To agitate connective tissue and constrict the dragon’s flight.

She wasn’t sure if the wire was connective, if it felt heat or pressure. [color=#009BFF]“Tell me if you sense discomfort, I will stop.”[/color] The offer was mechanical, not concern. Not really.

Ike’s feed flared white as Spotlight’s orb detonated overhead, sensors auto-dimming as exposure values spiked. Annika’s fingers paused for a fraction of a second, then resumed, tagging the timestamp and cross-referencing it with the dragon’s prior tracking behavior.

[color=#009BFF]“High-luminance distraction deployed,”[/color] she said calmly. [color=#009BFF]“Monitoring response.”[/color]

Omar adjusted position without prompting, drifting laterally to keep the dragon’s head and wings within frame. Annika stepped two paces to her right, boots scraping against broken concrete as she re-established line of sight around the smoke.

Her gaze flicked between feeds. Annika raised her voice again, just enough to carry. [color=#009BFF]“Spotlight,”[/color] she called, not looking at him. [color=#009BFF]“If it turns toward you, maintain lateral movement. Do not hold position.”[/color]

She paused. [color=#009BFF]“If it does not,”[/color] she added, [color=#009BFF]“disengage immediately. You are not the priority target.”[/color]

Ike’s camera held steady, recording everything. Head orientation, wing alignment, tail positioning, data flowing in faster than Annika could consciously parse and still somehow stay orderly.

[color=#009BFF]“This is useful,”[/color] she said, more to herself than anyone else.

[color=#009BFF]“You,”[/color] Annika gestured vaguely to the wired woman, eyes still on the feed. [color=#009BFF]“If it commits to the distraction, you may have a cleaner angle. Watch for tail compensation.”[/color]

She shifted her stance, angling away from the dragon’s attempt to fire over the manifested barricade. Shoulders tight but controlled, datapad anchored in both hands. [color=#009BFF]“Don’t bunch up, spread your position. Divide attention.”[/color] Annika offered, reaching into a pocket and readying one of her electric trap charges; lobbing it around where the dragon could possibly perch its legs if it couldn’t maintain flight.