There are times, where being a decent person is a pain in the ass.

This was most certainly going to be one of them.

One of the few good points about it was that it was also one that was easy to figure out how to deal with.

I shifted my balance sliding off the branch I was balancing on only for my foot to catch another one, then lean back to fall and grab a third with my hand.

Seriously being an Exalt was insane. I knew my weight hadn't changed, if anything I'd grown heavier with the increase in muscle mass but gravity just seemed to... be less inclined to pull me down.

Plus you know the superhuman coordination and reaction speeds. Those were also pretty sweet.

Right as my feet touched the ground I heard a voice call out from behind me.

"achel!"

Bird watcher guy. Great, he finally caught up.

I glanced back and bit back the urge to groan, this would not make things go any smoother.

Case in point when I looked back one of the apparent empire supporters was looking at me wide eyed, the one named Jack who seemed somewhat sane.

I raised an eyebrow at him and started forward.

"Hey!" he started leaning back for a second then taking a step to the side as he realized he was between an obvious parahuman and a long drop.

"Wha-" Tim started then caught sight of me and let out a startled sound of his own.

He also brought his gun up.

But that was fine I'd been expecting that.

With a surge of will and power, my focuse sharpened, my skin darkened, hardened, shifted expanded.

Where I had once appeared a living statue, I was now a man made out of plates of tarnished brass, glowing script of old realm glowing a menacing green from the trim of every unnaturally detailed piece.

"Get back!" he roared out warningly.

"Don't be an idiot," I growled out, noting my voice reverberating from within my exoskeleton. "Just get out of my way."

Tim showed for the first time he had two brain cells to rub together.

He got out of my way.

"What's going onnnnAAAH!" screamed Rachel as I reached the edge and looked down at her.

This close I could see she was indeed a young woman, maybe mid or late twenties at the oldest. She was covered in mud and holding onto a root partly imbedded in the little psudo-cliff she had fallen into.

It looked like the original waterfront had just eroded and fallen off into the river in the recent history. The river itself was moving quickly, very quickly. This was both a deep and fast stream leading right out to the ocean. If she fell in she could be in serious trouble.

Fortunately she was also only about two and a half meters down, with the river itself a bit over four. I could clear that easily.

"Calm down," I grunted at her, looking back at where the two would be hunters had secured the rope they'd tried to throw to her. I probably didn't need it, but there was no sense wasting an extra layer of security when it was so readily available.

"I'm borrowing this," I told Tim reaching down and grabbing the slack of the rope on currently trailing at the end.

"Wait who are you-!?" The woman asked. "Are you some Empir-"

"Malfean, Independent hero," I called out. Then I stepped to the edge of the cliff and digging my heals in started sliding down it.

The mud was slick, my footing almost slipped and I had to dig my free hand into the dirt as I moved in order to not rely on the rope to get down.

"W-wait!" she started. "I'll jump!" she threatened.

"Stop being an idiot," I sunk my fingers and feet in firm as I slid up beside her, slowing to a stop. "You can't help anything by just becoming another body washed out to sea."

She was wavering but not yet fully convinced. "Better to be dead then-" she started.

Unfortunately for her I also wasn't in the mood for putting up for that level of idiocy, "You don't want to die." She didn't, "If you did you'd be in the water already so Shut Up and let me save you."

I think I spent some power there but if I did I didn't notice, either way she shut up.

Which made things a lot easier in wrapping the rope around her in a quick loop, before starting to pull her up.

"Uh, hey, you got her?" Jack called.

"Yes!" I called out.

Rachel tensed, "I can't believe you're working with-"

"Shut Up," I growled out

She shut up again.

Then once we got over the edge, I set her down and looked over at the truck.

The bear was still out of it.

Good.

The birdwatching guy had broken through.

Also good.

"Here, she's safe and she's your problem now," I rumbled out to him as I got to my feet. "I'm taking the bear."

"Wah?" Tim started wide eyed.

Jack exhaled slowly, "Well o-"

Tim tried to shoot me.

Tried because the little dart hit me in the chest with roughly the same effect of a nerf gun.

I looked down at the dart, which had a clearly bent needle tip, then up at him.

His eyes were about as wide as they could get.

Then he went for Jack's gun. Rachel screamed out, birdwatcher guy, out of breath tried to run for her.

I took a quick step over and judo chopped him on the side of the neck, proving once again that my investment in downloading the collective skill of countless martial artists was probably the smartest investment I made back when I was half formed mush.

Jack at that point drew his side arm, which I seamlessly removed from his grip, split it open, and shook the bullets out over my shoulder, "please."

"Jesus!" the more reasonable but apparently not by a large amount empire supporting man called out in alarm as Bird watcher guy made it to Rachel and started pulling her to 'safety' while she continued to scream.

Oh gods this was annoying.

"I am so, so sorry," Jack apologized quickly while the bird watcher got Rachel up and the two of them started running...

Until the rope I'd tided around her went taught and her mud slicked feet went right out from under her.

I groaned and palmed my face with my less mud covered hand.

Rachel screamed again once she got air in her lungs yelling to let her go, I think she was close to sobbing.

Why, oh why was I doing this to humanity again?

Oh right, social instincts and the value of a good reputation.

~If it makes you feel better I find this whole thing hilarious~

That oddly did make me feel a little better. At least I knew someone was finding something useful in all of this.

"Okay!" I roared out, "Time out!"

Naturally this didn't calm people down much.

"I SAID!" I bellowed out a lot louder, "TIME OUT!"

That got attention.

"So this is how things are going to go," I said calmly. "Bird watching guy," I pointed.

The newest arrival on the scene looked taken back as my finger pointed at him, "uh."

"You are taking your friend and just... going. Enjoy your nature expedition, go back to town, clean her off and get some warm tea or something," I said. "It's just a basic double knot you can get her out easy."

Then I whipped around on Jack, "You... just... take your friend and go. I'm not going to ask why wanted the bear, what you were planning, doing here, whatever. I only knocked him out, so he'll be fine. A bit woozy and with a nasty pain in the neck for a few days but pretty much fine," I assured him.

Then I pointed at the bear, "The bear is coming with me. Don't ask why, even I don't really know, I'm just taking it."

Then I walked right over and did exactly that. Picking up the three hundred and spare change, pounds of dead weight up and out of the car like a bundle of potatoes. Dropping the empty revolver in it's place.

And then, finally, I went back into the woods leaving the madness of the scene behind me.

Seriously. What the hell humanity?