"I can work with that." Or at least try to work with that. When it comes to compelling words- Felix has him beat. But they're equally lucky AND York's got his grenades, backup, and a solid reason to want that asshole in jail.
"He got a lucky shot in the first time, it won't happen again." Delta will be with him, that counts, right? Right. Just gotta play over the footage of those voice clips and see if it's a harmonic thing or a magic thing.
He might be half blind and more than a little paranoid but one squirrley fuck with a fetish for knives? He can take.
At which point York is going to get Locus staring directly at him, expression severe. He doesn't need reassurance about how good York is, or what luck may or may not be involved here.
He knows his former partner too well to be comforted by any of that.
"..." Taylor looks up, brows lifted- certain of his own skill and ability to nudge things in his favor but-
Something in that look settles like a stone in the pit of his stomach. Has him thinking back over how Felix was able to order him to just- not breathe for a second. "...Alright. I won't."
Only then does the tension start to unwind. Not entirely, not a full release, but an inch at a time as Locus takes a breath and nods, satisfied with that answer. One-on-one, even Carolina hadn't been able to clench a solid victory against Felix. He was not to be underestimated.
Especially with a power of influence he'd always dreamed of having.
"This is not lack of faith in you," he amends, after a moment.
"Kinda hard not to take it that way." He's just gonna be honest, here. Second on the leaderboard WITHOUT his powers, he's been learning to adjust- learning to weaponize the flying is the next thing on his list. The real problem is the whole 'no kill' order but-
You can hurt someone plenty without actually killing them. He knows this pretty damn well.
"I thought so as well, when Washington did everything in his power to prevent me from taking care of Felix personally. But I don't know how to phrase it in a way that will make it more palatable."
While they're being upfront and blunt, here. Which honestly? He prefers.
"The truth is, the only reason he was defeated was that his enemies banded together against him. If you try to take him on alone, you give him an unnecessary advantage, and if anything happened to you..."
Right. Okay. Maybe a little too upfront. Reel it back in, Sam. His jaw snaps shut.
"You've got a history. He has no idea who I am or how I operate except for the brief taste he got in the hall and that- well it wasn't my strongest showing." So he'd underestimate York when he's got a solid reason to one to put someone's head through a wall. But...Locus is still tense, still worried, and that's enough for him to sag and sigh, head lolling against the back of the sofa.
Long suffering and aggrieved. Why does no one think he can fight his own damn battles? "Whatever. I'll make sure I got backup."
He can keep to that much, even if he resents it a little.
He thinks. It reads that way, and that wasn't his intent. But he's never been as good at coaching these things or dulling the edge. He doesn't know how to say it in a way that will make York understand that because he is his friend, he is more danger than most. That Felix will almost certainly target him, tease him, making him think he's won and go in for the kill, because he knows how Felix plays with his prey.
York is capable, but he isn't motivated with the same sort of malice or vindictiveness.
"Annoyed. I don't need backup to handle him, I don't need to be protected, and I'm not incapable of reading a fight and choosing what hill is worth dying on or not." Seriously. The one thing keeping his voice even is the fuzzball asleep in his lap. Sure, he died, but that was with backup. Whether or not he has help isn't gonna change a goddamn thing.
"But fine. I'll make sure I got someone if I run into him again. Okay?"
He's learned that, along the way. Felix is his burden, he feels, but he knows he can't take him on by himself. That's asking to be put back in a very bad situation, one he might not come back from of his own free will again.
Locus's eyes are still resting on York, however, almost questioningly.
"I know that." Again, it's not a lack of faith in him but it is real hard not to think that way. Is it his attitude? The eye? Of course it's the eye, it's always been the eye since the damn explosion.
"Look I'll have backup. You don't need to worry about it. But you're not saying something that you're thinking that's probably relevant and I didn't get telepathy from the superhero store so I'm gonna be pissy till you use your words and just say the thing. Cuz without context it feels a lot like you think I can't do my damn job, even if you don't mean that."
His nostrils flare for a moment as he tries to come up with words. The right ones. It's more difficult than it would seem, just speaking plainly, because clearly that's not enough here. Not for the first time, he wished he could just foist the conversation off onto someone else.
"...he knows that you're my friend. It's going to be personal for him. And you don't know." He paused, teeth raking over his lips before he shook his head. "I've seen what he does when it gets personal. He's cruel. He makes it last. The actual chances he could get the better of you don't matter."
Even if they're higher than York wants to believe.
"Any chance that he could do that to you is unacceptable."
"...well, shit." Getting shot and stabbed is one thing but- torture? Not his bag, and not a thing they'd had to worry about training against in the east on the frontlines. You survived or you didn't. York couldn't say how well he'd hold up and if D were plugged in he'd run the numbers.
All the fight drops from his shoulders, eyes and hands settling on Luna. "...we'll just have the chief handle him."
"He seemed frightened of him, at least." Cortana wouldn't be far, could toy with the way Felix's powers worked, if they were auditory. They might stand a better chance.
He still wants to take part in ultimately taking Felix down...well. No. He doesn't. But he needs to. This is his own mess, so it makes sense for him to be the one to clean up afterwords.
"Maine wasn't but- that wasn't really Maine." Some kinda fucked up puppet of his former friend. Ish. They were sort of friends. Wash, now, wash was tight with him and maybe he ought to check in and-
Things running through the back of his head enough to become a little wearying. Back to leaning on Locus' shoulder and playing with Luna's ears it is. For a little while longer. "We'll get him locked up. Don't worry about it."
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Petty, vengeful, and utterly merciless, he knows exactly how far Felix would go to prove a point. His stomach clenches uncomfortably.
"Don't face him alone."
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He might be half blind and more than a little paranoid but one squirrley fuck with a fetish for knives? He can take.
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At which point York is going to get Locus staring directly at him, expression severe. He doesn't need reassurance about how good York is, or what luck may or may not be involved here.
He knows his former partner too well to be comforted by any of that.
"Do not fight him alone."
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Something in that look settles like a stone in the pit of his stomach. Has him thinking back over how Felix was able to order him to just- not breathe for a second. "...Alright. I won't."
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Especially with a power of influence he'd always dreamed of having.
"This is not lack of faith in you," he amends, after a moment.
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You can hurt someone plenty without actually killing them. He knows this pretty damn well.
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While they're being upfront and blunt, here. Which honestly? He prefers.
"The truth is, the only reason he was defeated was that his enemies banded together against him. If you try to take him on alone, you give him an unnecessary advantage, and if anything happened to you..."
Right. Okay. Maybe a little too upfront. Reel it back in, Sam. His jaw snaps shut.
"It would be unfortunate."
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Long suffering and aggrieved. Why does no one think he can fight his own damn battles? "Whatever. I'll make sure I got backup."
He can keep to that much, even if he resents it a little.
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He thinks. It reads that way, and that wasn't his intent. But he's never been as good at coaching these things or dulling the edge. He doesn't know how to say it in a way that will make York understand that because he is his friend, he is more danger than most. That Felix will almost certainly target him, tease him, making him think he's won and go in for the kill, because he knows how Felix plays with his prey.
York is capable, but he isn't motivated with the same sort of malice or vindictiveness.
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"But fine. I'll make sure I got someone if I run into him again. Okay?"
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He's learned that, along the way. Felix is his burden, he feels, but he knows he can't take him on by himself. That's asking to be put back in a very bad situation, one he might not come back from of his own free will again.
Locus's eyes are still resting on York, however, almost questioningly.
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No leaderboard here, no scores- he doesn't have super speed or strength or any of that shit but goddamn.
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He shifts his weight, brow furrowing heavily as he turns to regard him, quiet panic clicking in his guts.
"I'm not."
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"Look I'll have backup. You don't need to worry about it. But you're not saying something that you're thinking that's probably relevant and I didn't get telepathy from the superhero store so I'm gonna be pissy till you use your words and just say the thing. Cuz without context it feels a lot like you think I can't do my damn job, even if you don't mean that."
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"...he knows that you're my friend. It's going to be personal for him. And you don't know." He paused, teeth raking over his lips before he shook his head. "I've seen what he does when it gets personal. He's cruel. He makes it last. The actual chances he could get the better of you don't matter."
Even if they're higher than York wants to believe.
"Any chance that he could do that to you is unacceptable."
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All the fight drops from his shoulders, eyes and hands settling on Luna. "...we'll just have the chief handle him."
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He still wants to take part in ultimately taking Felix down...well. No. He doesn't. But he needs to. This is his own mess, so it makes sense for him to be the one to clean up afterwords.
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Things running through the back of his head enough to become a little wearying. Back to leaning on Locus' shoulder and playing with Luna's ears it is. For a little while longer. "We'll get him locked up. Don't worry about it."