Understanding. (12)

Even though it was still the early afternoon, the clashing of powers somehow made things even brighter than they already were. The situation was absolutely volatile because as much as those with powers were focusing on each other, those without were carrying and using weapons which threatened to drag in the civilians that were busy panicking and running around like headless chickens. While the chaos escalated, Builder Baby watched as the Councilor's convoy high tailed it out of the parking lot, leaving the masses to fend for themselves. The mascot was scanning the entire lot, and only moved when it saw what it was looking for specifically – lone children. He shuffled over to any panicked or stunned children and ushered them to a parking bay with a large SUV in it, before putting them behind said vehicle and hobbling back into the thick of things, looking for more children. The conflict gradually got worse and worse, and it resulted in Builder Baby having to show a surprising amount of dexterity and agility to avoid stray shots. He would also come across parents trying to reach their children, or vice versa, but were unable to due to the masses of panicking and hysterical people running all over the place, so he would assist in getting them to one another.

Things became progressively more intense, but thankfully, the blaring of the truck's horn alerted Builder Baby of the return of his coworkers. Bryant maneuvered the truck between and around people and powers, and he spotted the mascot running towards the SUV where he had stashed the loose children. Ryan suddenly burst out laughing as he watched the giant baby run.

"Why is he still running like that?!" He chortled.

"Because somebody told him to stay in character, you fuck!" A sweating Bryant barked as he whipped the truck around a stationary car and slid in such a way that the truck shielded the SUV and by extension, the children.

Without saying a word, the four of them hopped out of the car and started helping children into the not only the load bin of the truck, but also into the cab. Builder Baby, taking advantage of the fact that he was no longer alone, focused expressly on scanning the lot for any children he may have missed. Just as the Dawn crew was about to load the last of the children, he indeed spotted some kids huddled together amongst the trolleys. Builder Baby then looked at Bryant – rather comically one might add, as the costume has no neck, so he had to stomp as he turned his entire body to face B – and bellowed to get his attention.

"Kids! GOO-GOO!"

Bryant looked at the mascot, doing a fantastic job at maintaining his poker face, before Builder Baby turned and faced the parking bay with the cowering kids.

"Understood!" B acknowledged before tearing off and running towards said children. He wasn't just running blindly however, with his head constantly darting around to ensure his path was not only clear, but safe. Powers were flying around like confetti, and unfortunately, cars and infrastructure were caught up in it all. It was apparent that ore cars had entered the parking lot, and foot soldiers from both gangs were engaged in combat in an ever growing area. This meant that the Dawn crew was running out of time to get those kids, get their shit, and get the hell out of there. It didn't take long for Bryant to scoop the children up and start running back to the truck. Morgannin and Nathalie had also loaded the last of the kids into the truck and were waiting for Bryant. As he arrived and tossed the kids into load bin, he wiped the sweat from his brow and not only looked at the truck, which was full to bursting with people, he then looked at Builder baby and his considerable size. What was on his mind must have been written on his face, because the mascot immediately shook its belly in place of its head and faced B.

"Goo-goo." He said, almost reassuringly.

"We're dropping his kids off at a service station that we passed on the way here. Things look to be getting a real hectic around here, so if you follow the main road, you—"

The mascot bowed, which everybody interpreted as a nod and without another wasted second, Bryant jumped in the truck and sped off. More cars suddenly came screeching in, and more foot soldiers poured out, with this small skirmish having turned into a full scale war almost immediately. It had turned into a free for all from the moment the first power was fired off, and there wasn't a single person who was expecting any assistance from aw enforcement in any way, shape of form. Builder Baby identified a path and began hobbling his way towards it when he was suddenly confronted by two men who were staring at him suspiciously.

"Who the fuck is this suspicious baby?" One said to the other.

"You work for Mandoza, don't you?" The other asked the mascot directly. "Take that shit off. What have you got hidden under there?"

Builder Baby looked at the two men, and then looked around to see if anybody else was coming. After a visible sigh, he focused on the two men.

"Don't do this… goo."

"What?"

"Goo goo… I'm leaving. Move. Goo."

The façade of the Builder Baby character was crumbling, but was still intact enough that the two men got annoyed.

"What kind of goofy ass idiots do they hire over there." One of the men chuckled.

"Weaklings. You've realised your own weakness, and decided to attack a defenseless mascot. Goo."

"What?! Fuck you!" The men both screamed as they activated their powers, looking at Builder Baby menacingly.

Their clenched fists and forearms were enveloped in bronze coloured energy as they adopted fairly threatening postures. Builder Baby watched them huffing and puffing with their elbows out in silence, before taking a deep breath. The atmosphere and energy around him suddenly changed and the two men suddenly found it a little harder to breathe. Their skin started to itch and sweat started to bead and run down all their exposed skin, with the beads that ran down their arms sizzling and turning into steam as they came into contact with the energy.

"Last warning… goo." Builder Baby said menacingly.

As much as the two men could feel the change in atmosphere, they couldn't identify just what it was that they were feeling. Just as one lost his composure and let out an almighty scream, the sound of the Dawn Logistics truck's horn blaring as it approached pulled the mascot out of the weird atmosphere that was developing, and without a wasted moment as he snapped back to reality, he turned right around and instead of trying to find a quiet route to the road as he had tried to do earlier, he just ran. It took a moment for it to register what had just happened, but as the pair saw the ungainly mascot goofily high tailing it with surprising speed, they suddenly realised what was happening.

"Fuck, get him!" The one who had just screamed bellowed out before charging up his power, causing the energy to flare up.

Builder Baby started to zig zag as energy projectiles were aimed at him directly for the first time, yet none of them hit. He somehow vaulted over the bonnet of one of the beat up cars that recently delivered more combatants to the battlefield, and as the mascot turned to his left to run up the road, the truck – horn still blaring – blazed right past him. The Dawn crew all twisted their necks as they watched Builder Baby absolutely book it up the road, while two enraged looking men fired their powers in his direction whilst running after him.

"Hang on!" Bryant boomed as he whipped the truck, spinning it with an incredibly loud screech.

Ryan cackled as he thrust his arms as far above his head as the truck's roof would allow, clearly having the time of his life. Further forward though, Builder Baby wasn't quite having as good a time, as he recovered enough mentally to maintain character, which meant continuing to run in that ungainly way, especially in that incredibly ungainly costume. In spite of that, as much as the entire package failed the eye test, he was still slippery and evading everything. The already busted street lights and damaged pavement were taking an absolute pounding as the persistent pair continued to give chase. The truck suddenly zoomed past the both of them, and then the running mascot, with everybody in the cab screaming unintelligibly at Builder Baby. While they maintained speed as they tried to figure out how to get the mascot into the vehicle while moving at speed.

"Drive ahead. Then slow down. I'll jump on. Goo!"

Somehow, Bryant heard him and accelerated ahead, as instructed. Just before pulling ahead though, the crew suddenly heard the shitty speakers starting to blare that awful music Ryan had provided for Builder Baby to play during the now event.

"…was it just me, or—"

"Nah, I heard it too, Nat." Morgs answered, sounding rather confused."

Bryant sped ahead, watching Builder Baby in the rearview mirror, before stepping on the brakes and slowing the truck down rather dramatically. Builder Baby, who head built up a head of steam, was dipping and bobbing like crazy, with the tiny arms flailing about and the enormous head doing the same – all while the music blared. The wings suddenly started squeaking as they flapped painfully slow, and as he got close enough that he felt confident in making the jump, Builder Baby took an almighty leap, before arching his back, pushing the belly forward and pressing his legs and feet together – all while the wings squeaked and the song played, complete with the crying baby sound. The powers exploding all around him added to the spectacle and everybody in the track had turned around to look back and saw the hideous, inelegant costume floating through the air with a gob smacking amount of flight. He landed on the truck bed with a heavy thud, causing the truck to bounce up and down a few times as Bryant floored it, and the vehicle, cumbersome as it was, picked up speed.

Builder Baby then absolutely stomped on the tailgate of the truck with one leg, looking like a terrible little pirate captain, and suddenly, confetti violently exploded from the shoulders of the costume, the music and cries seemed to get louder.

"Dawn Logistics!" Builder Baby announced. "If we can deliver children from danger, we can deliver your packages! Dawn Logistics! Goo-goo!!"

As if to emphasise the announcement, there was another confetti explosion just as Bryant swung around a corner and disappeared from sight. They drove past the service station which all the children had been taken to, and there were not only a few journalists, but many of their guardians as well. A few of the journalists caught the truck zooming by with Builder Baby triumphantly blaring his shitty soundtrack. They drove right at the limit until they left the District, and entered their home District. The truck stopped near a park they usually ate lunch at when they were in the area, and the moment it stopped, everybody burst out of the cab and practically flopped to the ground. Bryant however went straight to the bin and saw Builder Baby sitting with his back against the back of the tailgate. B hopped up into the bin and without saying anything, pulled the top of the costume off and tossing it aside. Inside the costume, Visuveus, who was absolutely SWIMMING in sweat, was practically steaming. He took a massive breath before looking up at Bryant and nodding.

"Thanks."

B nodded before hopping down and disappearing into a nearby convenience store and emerging with a bag full of beverages. He handed them out to the crew before hopping back into the bin and pulling out a number of drinks.

"You must be as dry as a raisin in there. Got you an assortment of shit."

"Appreciate it."

"What happened back there was crazy, Vincent. The craziest thing of all was you maintaining that stupid character Ryan created right up to the end. Why the fuck did you do all that?"

"Because that old man who pays us was watching the entire time." Visuveus said, as he nodded his head towards the drone that was in the corner of the load bin. "He must have been close enough to control this thing. Besides, the mor of an impact we made during our first impression, the more effective our advertising will be."

"You seriously thought about all that shit whilst fighting for your life and helping those kids?"

"I had no choice, man. I have to make this work."

Visuveus said that as he jimmied his arm free and pulled out his worryingly moist wallet and opening it.

"How much do I owe you? For the drinks, I mean."

As Visuveus asked, Bryant was caught a glimpse of Kukhanya's laminated baby picture. It was old, and the signs of it having being exposed to the elements for a long time before lamination were visible, but it was still taken care of and clearly treasured.

"That baby…"

"Huh? Yeah, she's mine." Visuveus said, his eyes looking at it, and for what felt like an instant, the purest, warmest smile came across his face as he beamed at the picture of his child before catching himself and returning to stoicism.

"How long ago was that taken?"

"Before I was locked up. The day of, in fact. She's a lot bigger now. She's the reason why I'm sitting in this fluffy cauldron, stewing in my own fluids."

"I'll bet." Bryant said with a smile on his face.

He then crouched down directly in front of Visuveus and smiled, before extending his arm.

"Chambers. Bryant Chambers."

"I know." Visuveus replied, looking confused.

"We've been introduced to one another, but haven't introduced ourselves to each other. Bryant Chambers."

"…Visuveus Vincent." Came the reply, as Vincent put his wallet done and took Bryant's hand in his.

"The drinks are on me. I finally understand." B said with a smile and a nod, before standing up and hopping out the load bin onto the ground.

"Let's go y'all. The sooner I'm home smelling my wife's hair, the better. And you all owe me for these damn drinks."

"What?! I thought they were free!" Ryan whined.

"You shut your mouth before I throttle you myself. This was all a terrible idea." Bryant barked as they all climbed into the truck.

"…so he finally 'understands', huh?" Visuveus said to himself as he reached for a bottle of water. "That makes one of us."