Fumble

The confrontation with the thug was not going as planned. Josh's movements were off, and the taser slipped from his grip. Panic set in, and Josh knew he couldn't transform into Combat mode with a witness present.

"I've got you now, little lady!" the thug snarled, grabbing Josh's arm.

Desperation gave way to action, and AISYS's control over Josh's body kicked in, forcing his body to move. His arm shot out, fingers forming a vice grip around the thug's wrist. With a fluid motion, he twisted and flung the assailant over his shoulder, the thug's body crashing hard onto the pavement. A series of sharp kicks and stomps to each joint it rendered the thug near motionless and screaming in pain.

Josh's breath came in ragged gasps as he went to restrain the thug as was protocol but realized it wasn't needed, his mind reeling from the failure and the **** he had just enacted.

"We did what you had to do, Josh," AISYS said, her voice calming. "But we need to work on our response, that fumble and not having a plan for stuff like this is our failure."

"I didn't want it to be so brutal," Josh said, still shaken.

"I'm sorry," AISYS replied, her tone more apologetic than comforting. "My protection protocols won't allow me to do any less if you're in trouble. And I must warn you, because I had to take over, the permanent changes on the next integration cycle and dream training will be more pronounced. It's something we'll need to adapt to."

He called the incident into dispatch, the sense of defeat weighing heavily on him. The police arrived to take the thug into custody, they had plenty of questions but you were able to avoid answering them when you showed them the civilian use badge given out to heroes to show the police while in civvies , The police wont be able to tell which hero you were but would know you were one and could file paperwork on the report or ask questions directly from HQ's legal department. Josh's mind was elsewhere though barely hearing the cop mumble as he walked away. "Great another loss cannon hero that won't even tell us why this now has more broken than unbroken bones besides'he came right at me' *huff*"

Heading home, he felt dejected and defeated. The failure had caused AISYS to step in, accelerating the body changes he was already experiencing. The stark reality of their partnership and the unexpected consequences were beginning to sink in.

"I'm here for you, Josh," AISYS's voice reassured him as he lay in bed that night. "We'll learn from this and grow stronger."

Josh knew she was right, but the sting of defeat lingered.