Swan vented his unfathomable rage in the only way he knew. Once again, his massive lungs forced air out of his body, the earth-shaking roar chilling the very bones of everyone in a mile-long radius. But this time, his cry was met with a response. Warhorns erupted throughout the city, as dozens of Minutemen opened fire. Amid the brilliant flashes of red, Swan's one eye glistened in the spotlight of a Vertibird, hovering daintily out of his reach. Where the lasers met his flesh, his skin burned and blackened. Pain drove Swan crazy and he charged blindly towards the source of the lasers. The Minutemen scattered, their dark blue uniforms allowing them to blend into the shadows with ease. Swan's head spun aimlessly; no matter where he looked, red lasers flew at him.
Amidst the chaos, he almost didn't notice as a silent figure jumped out of the Vertibird. The ground shook, and for the first time that night, it wasn't Swan who'd caused it. A chill ran down Swan's spine, a sign that his primal brain didn't even recognize as fear. The spotlight snapped off, leaving Swan momentarily blinded in the darkness. Even the Minutemen had stopped firing, and the Common was blanketed in silence, almost as if the Commonwealth itself was holding its breath in anticipation.
For years, Swan had preyed on the weak and the foolish, crushing anything and anyone that crossed into his domain. Over the years, emotions such as fear and apprehension had recessed into the deepest, darkest corners of his mind. But now, as the thing that had dropped from the Vertibird began to glow, he felt the chill of fear touch his heart for the first time. A monster had landed beside him, bathing the area surrounding it with a pale blue light. In its hands, a weapon glowed with red energy. As the Minutemen surrounding him cheered with joy, a brilliant hail of laser bolts flew out of the monster's weapon. A new type of pain overloaded Swan's primal senses as all thoughts of revenge left him, replaced by one, fundamental goal. Survive. The terror of Boston Common turned and ran, pelting blindly away from the blue creature. A rousing cheer from the Minutemen echoed behind him, as more warhorns rang through the city, a defiant challenge to Swan's furious roars.
"Holy cow." Piper whispered, a big goofy grin on her face as Swan charged off in a random direction. The swarm of laser bolts surrounding him cast him in an eerie red glow as he disappeared from the alley's entrance, his roars echoing behind him. Patches of moonlight revealed dark-blue figures chasing after the monster, as he screamed in anguish.
"Fuck me." Piper moaned, sinking to her knees. Just a few minutes ago, the Chems coursing through her veins had given her the superhuman strength and accuracy to blind Swan with a single stone. Now, as the poison was slowly purged from her bloodstream, she felt a dozen years older and weaker. I'll never touch Buffout or Jet or Psycho or anything as long as a live. Piper promised to herself.
"Who was that?" Curie asked, her voice shaky. For the third time in one day, she'd come within kissing distance of Death. Surely, even for a robot-turned-human, that would take some time to sink in.
"I don't know, but clearly Swan has bigger fish to fry." Piper said, managing to sound gleeful despite her roiling stomach and spinning head.
"Speaking of frying." A voice called mockingly from the darkness. To Curie's dismay, Gabe walked out of the shadows with his pistol pointed right at them.