this is crazy

[from_scratch]

Cam is watching a new recording of Atriama, tail swishing in the gap in his couch, and doesn't stop to pause the show when he feels a summons go by.

Comments

[wormcan]

The group includes Mannequin and Crawler; it's not always the faces that would be recognizable. But Jack Slash has been smiling for the cameras for years, there are pictures of Bonesaw available, Cam has pretty good odds.

[from_scratch]

All right. Go, swarm of drones, go. They will all self-destruct into harmless unTinkerable slag if anybody grabs one.

[wormcan]

It's probably to be expected that the first one spotted is Crawler. Being huge can do that. He's lurking —not hiding—in a relatively isolated abandoned house. Well, recently abandoned. Inherited, one might say.

The drones don't see whether there are any of the other Nine with him.

[from_scratch]

Well, then Cam can go get into a fight with Crawler.

Given how Crawler works, is there, like, a list anywhere he can look at on his way there of things Crawler is known already immune to?

[wormcan]

Acid, burns, cutting... What it comes down to is "everything." He's been actively trying to become immune to things, and he's been running around with the Slaughterhouse Nine. They're collectively interested in novel ways to hurt people.

[from_scratch]

Grand. And Cam can't exactly release terrifying futuristic superplagues in San Francisco.

Cam flies to where Crawler is not-hiding and encases him whole in concrete.

[wormcan]

The block of concrete doesn't object. It's perfectly content to exist and restrain the unkillable monstrosity.

And then Crawler bursts through. His head comes out first. It's an oil-black chitinous mass pouring out a sizzling liquid, and is also the size of a small car. The acid eats at the concrete and his excess number of limbs start making openings in the weakened concrete. A mouthful of the same venom can be spared for launching at Cam.

[from_scratch]

It would be sort of awkward to have this fight without pants and worse to pause mid-combat to replace all and only the parts of his pants that need replacing and worse still to wind up in several layers of pant. So the acid is interrupted by liquid nitrogen. Okay, if cement won't do, does Cam have to launch him into space? How much does Crawler even weigh? This neighborhood might be a little too inhabited for a rocket and if Cam tries to put him in some other sort of chassis he'll just break out -

Maybe Crawler can be tangled up in carbon nanotubes?

[wormcan]

Crawler can be tangled up in carbon nanotubes.

He can also break out of carbon nanotubes, depending on just how much of it there is. And he decreases the quantity with his universal solvent.

The nitrogen trick was disappointing, so this time Cam gets a gob of acid followed by several tons of Crawler.

[from_scratch]

Crawler is very intimidating, but he doesn't have any powers that look enough like magic to worry Cam. Still, being tackled would be unpleasant. Liquid nitrogen, warm air to rise out of jumping range on.

[wormcan]

Jumping range is easy to underestimate, but Cam can always just fly higher. So Crawler does the obvious-to-a-Crawler thing. He roars, and starts rampaging. Indiscriminate property damage ahoy.

[from_scratch]

Christ. What if he's encased in shock-absorption gel and then concrete around that?

[wormcan]

Then it takes a bit longer. That earns a moment to think while Crawler dissolves his way out.

[from_scratch]

Cam can just keep adding layers of gel and concrete. On top. If Crawler can burrow there is a problem.

[wormcan]

It's not his strongest suit, but he will go down eventually. It'll take a while; first he has to realize that lateral progress isn't going to help anything and then he has to guess that downward might. The concrete gives little external sign of what direction Crawler is attempting.

[from_scratch]

Well, if the ground starts cracking that's a clue.

[wormcan]

He breaks through the walls first, and after being re-sealed he tries down next. This is not his kind of fight.

[from_scratch]

Cam's not super thrilled either. He sticks a tracker in Crawler; it is not harmful and might survive the process.

[wormcan]

Crawler doesn't even notice. He's going to continue charging away from Cam, though, scoring the sides of buildings as he goes and trampling anything that gets in his way.

[from_scratch]

Cam calls the Protectorate folks again.

[wormcan]

This time they know in advance who he is.
"No update on where they are," comes the Deputy Director's tired-sounding voice. "Do you have news?"

[from_scratch]

"Found Crawler, cannot kill him and don't want to set off rockets under him to launch him into space here, did get a tracking device in him, where do you want a thing to watch his movements put?"

[wormcan]

"You found Crawler and told us after? At least say you haven't attacked him yet."

[from_scratch]

"Sorry." Cam chases Crawler. "I've got facial recognition drones looking for the others, may find them at any time depending on how low they're lying, I can copy you that too."

[wormcan]

"Do. Here would be best for the monitor, it's the building with the force field. What is Crawler doing now?"