He knew it was dumb. He knew it was dangerous. And he knew he had no clue how long they would last this time, but Kotetsu activated his powers as he left the building. He didn't worry about Edward, he would be fine. Instead he rushed out, past the ambulances and ignoring the cries of surprise from those outside.

It was when he had reached the Apollon building that he realized he actually didn't know where to go. Maverick had Kaede, but where? And he had stupidly run off without a way to...wait.

Kotetsu looked at his arm where he still had the call bracelet Karina had handed him. He had a way!

He started to call the others...but what if he called someone in charge? He didn't have Maverick's number, but the call bands were different. They were special networks to those who needed to be contacted, not like phones.

And so, he tried to reach their twisted CEO.

He succeeded. "Blue Rose," he heard Maverick say ever so calmly.

"It's me you asshole." Tiger glared at the tiny screen even though they were on voice only.

There was a pause, Maverick surprised, and then a voice that just plain sounded slimy. "Kotetsu. Still alive, then."

"Where the hell is my daughter!" Kotetsu demanded to know. He looked up to realize people were staring at him, including at least one police officer...who was making a call.

"Your little girl is safe and sound," Maverick chuckled.

Kotetsu wanted to punch his face in. "Where!" he asked again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a taxi, a familiar vehicle...

"Come to the Justice Tower if you want to try and see her. I can't guarantee anything though, you see."

"Justice Tower?"

"You heard me." And then he was disconnected.

Kotetsu ran. He ran to the taxi. He had some power left, and could likely get to the tower but at the same time he could feel it draining. If it ran out partway there and he didn't have transportation, he was screwed.

He dove into the taxi, and Ben immediately peeled away from the curb.

Kotetsu still glowed, but Ben was fully aware of the power loss. So, there was no need to explain. He was curious though. "How'd you find me?" he asked, as Ben drove under a light just a second after it had actually turned red. He was usually such a safe driver...

Ben waited until he had to stop at another light and reached over to tap at a scanner that sat between the driver and passenger seats. "I had this on. It was really going nuts when you ran by the ambulances, and moreso when you stopped at Apollon."

"...How did you get there so fast?"

"Taxis have a way of being there when you need them."

"Liar," Kotetsu pouted as his glow died, leaving him feeling sapped of energy. "There's plenty of times I tried to get a taxi and instead got puddle water in my face."

Ben shrugged and they drove forward again. "So are you as bad as they said on the news?" He asked it so casually, and Kotetsu knew he hadn't believed a second of it.

"Terrible," he joked.

"I thought so. Look at that getup you're in..."

Kotetsu looked down at the hoodie he still had on. It dawned on him that he was going into danger very ill-prepared. He'd used up his power, he had no armor, he went alone... "Crap."

"Yes, it is."

"No, I mean...I am so not prepared for where I'm going."

"Where am I taking you?" Ben asked.

"...I like that you ask that after we've been driving a while." Kotetsu leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Justice Tower. ...They have my daughter," he said, squeezing his eyes shut and remembering why he had acted like an idiot. He was so pissed at himself. He couldn't help Kaede like that. It wasn't merely another call, where he'd break things and get damage fines. Those kinds of mistakes were nothing, normally his inability to think about things with a bit more strategy only bit him in the ass a little bit.

"And who has Kaede?"

Kotetsu didn't answer for a second, trying to calm his thoughts and form words. "Maverick has her...apparently he has some super android that all the others ran away from," he said, outrage threatening to boil over.

"Android?"

"The Fake Tiger..."

"Oh, that thing. Kotetsu, they might have reason to have lost. I've been seeing that thing...I thought it was another NEXT, I know you're not that coordinated when you run...on the news. It's creepy."

Kotetsu didn't answer, drawing the hood over his head and glaring out the windows of the taxi. Somehow, riding along with Ben and staring out the window at the civilians living out their day-to-day lives had a calming effect on him. Watching them made him feel as though nothing was wrong, Kaede was okay, Barnaby was okay, there were no androids and he wasn't being shown as a criminal...

His call bracelet went off and he jumped. He answered it, both hoping it would be Maverick while at the same time a little afraid of that. "Hello...?"

"Honey where are you?" Nathan answered, and that put Kotetsu at ease. Anyone other than Nathan or Antonio – or Ivan, actually – would have had him irritated.

"I'm on my way to the Justice Tower," Kotetsu answered. "I managed to contact Maverick...that's where he is. He told me so easily..."

"Of course he did, his confidence must be through the roof looking at how easily he's taking everyone out and warping their minds," Nathan said, voice dipping low and angry. Then he sighed. "We'll be there."

"Are you su-"

"We're coming with you!" Nathan insisted. "Don't make me get Blue Rose on here to repeat what she said to Handsome months ago. This is not just your fight."

Kotetsu bit his tongue. It was his daughter...but just as they had been Barnaby's parents, more people were endangered than just his family. Whatever Maverick was up to would not be good for Stern Bild.

"Good," Nathan said, taking his silence as acceptance. "We'll be there." He hung up before Kotetsu could protest.

Kotetsu leaned back, his head hurting. Overall he didn't feel well, a little sick. He was surprised he didn't feel completely miserable in addition. On top of everything that was happening, he sure hadn't been able to keep up with his medication. He only missed one or maybe two dosages, but that could still have an impact.

He felt like a fuck-up for forgetting to do at least that, and then he nearly laughed - there was the misery. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the world around him, as looking out the window no longer helped and in fact, made him feel a little nauseous.

He didn't know what to do once he got there. It made no sense for Maverick to have suddenly turned into a bad guy. Had he always been bad? He had no clue. He never spent enough time in the man's presence. Only Barnaby had.

"Ben," he said, eyes opening slowly and he remembered he should probably share that important piece of news. "Barnaby is alive."

Ben's eyes widened, Kotetsu could see in the rearview mirror. "He is?"

"Yes. You haven't seen him because Maverick tried to off him himself. ...Wait, how could you not know this? The scanner must have gone nuts when he was brought to the ambulance."

"You probably ran out of there before they actually saw that he was alive. And then all I heard was stuff about you," Ben answered.

That's right. Kotetsu had run out of there with Hundred Power activated, likely before Antonio and Keith had actually reached the ambulances.

"Kotetsu, don't let Maverick find that out."

"Huh?" Kotetsu stared. He hadn't really thought about telling Maverick, but was surprised to hear Ben mention anything about it.

"He thinks he's dead still...unless the news reached him. If it hasn't, don't let him know."

Kotetsu nodded. "Okay..." He had to keep him safe. And then Kotetsu felt to the other side of the seat as Ben suddenly jerked the wheel and took them into a back alley. "What the hell!"

Ben drove a few feet farther until they were parked behind a dumpster. "Kotetsu, step out of the car with me. You may have been ill-prepared for everything, but I'm not."

"What?" Kotetsu stared at him, jaw dropped and not understanding at all. But Ben said no more, so Kotetsu had to get out of the car.

He closed the backdoor seat and met Ben at the back as he popped open the trunk. Ben pushed aside some odds and ends that he kept with him in the cab and pulled out a case. Kotetsu recognized it, but could it really be...?

"I knew you would need it sometime...and there was no way I would get rid of it," Ben said, handing him the case. "This may not be as good as your current one, but it's better than that damn thing you're wearing now."

Kotetsu didn't answer, instead opening the case. It was exactly what he thought it was.

He was staring at his old crappy suit.

"Did you wash this right? It's um, it's really tight." The suit hadn't wedged itself up Kotetsu's ass yet, but he was sure it would later and he did not want that to be right in the middle of a fight.

"I did. It's fine." Ben gathered up Kotetsu's clothes.

"You don't have to save that stuff." Kotetsu glared at the hoodie.

"What if you need it later? Actually, when this is all over I bet I can make a killing selling this."

Kotetsu laughed a little. "I'd get annoyed, but you deserve the money. Not that it'll bring you much," he said with a shrug. Who would buy some dumb hoodie just because he wore it? Nevermind, he had more important things to think about, like Kaede.

He'd changed into his suit in that empty alley, squirming into it despite the fact that it was so, so tight. He was unsure of whether or not he'd gotten bigger or if it had just always been tight and he never noticed until after being in the newer suit.

Regardless of how tight it was and how on display he felt, he knew they had to get moving, and so with a sigh he crawled back inside the taxi. It wasn't proper hero transport, but he didn't care. Ben started the cab up moments later and they carefully drove out and onto a main road again.

Kotetsu was relieved to see there were no police swarming and waiting for them as he had feared. There were no black vans following them either and he had fully expected some creeps tailing them through the city.

All in all, it was a completely normal cab ride without the ticking of the price meter.

The Justice Tower came into view and Kotetsu's stomach hurt. Nothing about it looked out of the ordinary, but he knew something bad was inside. He knew Maverick was in there, but what else? The bastard wouldn't be alone. Maybe he had Fake Tiger and a whole crew of men dressed in black with black gloves and sunglasses and guns.

Or maybe there would be NEXTs, like the one that had attacked Barnaby. What if all the bad NEXTs had alligned with Maverick? Kotetsu didn't know how to handle that.

They pulled up to the curb and Kotetsu noted that the area was devoid of people. Maverick had to have arranged for that too. It was both good and bad, as Kotetsu didn't want to be seen and stared at, but it also made the approach that much creepier. It was a cold and still relatively sunny day, but he felt as though a dark cloud of doom should have been swirling around the top of the tower.

Ben promised to go find help, he would do what he could. He still knew of strings he might be able to pull, and had some resources since he had been a sponsor. He wouldn't be able to do anything very fancy but he still might be able to do something.

Soon he drove away, and Kotetsu stood alone wishing there was at least some wind to rustle his cape and make him feel cool because he needed something to grasp onto.

There was no wind, he was in a state of worry and panic with no idea what was next, and regardless of all that, he had to go in.

He found himself on the elevator as the first floor was empty and useless. It didn't matter that he didn't know the floor to go to – once he was on the elevator, the door closed and all the buttons lit up before he started moving upward. Clearly Maverick had control and was bringing him right where he needed to. It sent a chill down his spine.

Too soon. It was too soon. Kotetsu took deep breaths and wondered when he became such a coward. He used to rush into battles without much thought! But then, his daughter had never been in danger. So many things were different.

The elevator door opened and he marched down a hallway before coming to a dark room. It was immediately clear that he was in the very top of the Justice Tower, in the head. That sort of creeped him out. When he saw Maverick however, his location immediately stopped bothering him.

He didn't just see Maverick. He saw Rotwang and Fake Tiger. No Kaede.

Kotetsu stopped before them. "Where's my daughter!" he yelled.

"Safe," Maverick responded, a sly smile on his face. "I'm afraid I can't say the same for Barnaby."

Kotetsu's hands balled into fists and he had to hold back that Barnaby was alive. He was still angry at the thought Maverick would hurt him though. "Bastard. You'll pay for this!" he said, getting into a battle stance. He didn't want to hear his reasons for what he did. It all melted down to one thing for criminals anyway: Greed. His cowardice was gone and he was ready to rush in. "I'm going to take you out!"

"I wouldn't do that," Rotwang said, waving a finger. "My wonderful H-01 will rip you to pieces."

"H..H what?" Kotetsu repeated, his stance quickly losing any of its possible intimidation while he shot them a stupified look. It was just an android...it took a bit for him to realize it was describing the model.

"Barnaby's parents were extremely talented with robots..and it was easy to find and pick up on their work. You thought Cis was tough?" Rotwang smirked, and Kotetsu got the disturbing vibe that the android was like a child to Rotwang. "H-01 is developed far past her."

So, that's what the asshole was doing there. "I'll take it down! I'll take this twisted thing down with my own hands."

Maverick and Rotwang just watched him and laughed, both of them. Maverick sighed. "If you can defeat H-01, then perhaps you deserve your daughter back. If not, well, she's better off with someone who can protect her."

Kotetsu swallowed. "Oh yea? 'Protect her'? And what do you plan to do with her?" he asked.

"That's not really for you to know...but oh, young minds..." His gaze met Kotetsu's. "They can be molded, shaped so easily."

The minute he heard that, Kotetsu flew forward. He knew what Maverick meant. And he was not going to let that happen to his girl. So he rushed at the man, fist out, ready to punch his face in.

Except that H-01 got between them and swung its arm, knocking Kotetsu back painfully. He landed in a pile of limbs and cape on the ground, grunting at the pain.

Rotwang decided to taunt him. "Oh, you thought it would be so simple? You really are as slow as everyone says, rushing in without thinking..."

Kotetsu was on his feet and going forward again. His mind raced as he desperately tried to find some kind of strategy, but he couldn't. He was all too aware that his powers weren't back, though they would be soon. And then they would be gone.

He had a window of maybe a couple of minutes to try and do real damage to the thing...

The thing then hit him again, kicking him before extending a nasty looking black...saw-sword thing from its arm and walking at him.

Kotetsu wasn't a fan of getting cut in half, naturally, so he ran.

He didn't have anywhere to run though, he quickly found out. The top of the tower had a lot of room, he could run a fair distance, but he didn't actually go anywhere. He couldn't hide from the thing, it could see him where ever he went, and if he wasn't careful he could get cornered.

Not that it was in a hurry. The H-01 marched at him purposely, but it only marched.

And quite frankly, that irritated Kotetsu. It wasn't alive, and yet he couldn't help but feel like the H-01 had already decided he wasn't a threat and was boredly following him until he was tired or trapped so it could slice him up. The nerve! And Kotetsu didn't have much to protect him...he had a suit that traced every line of his body and exposed him but didn't protect him from shit.

He felt a rush as he made his second lap around the room. He smiled. His powers were back, he was going to be okay. He circled around until he was facing the H-01 and activated his powers.

Again, he rushed forward, dodging the sword but just barely. He kicked the H-01 hard in the chest. It didn't budge, instead swatting at Kotetsu with the sword again. Kotetsu fell back and rolled on the ground before getting to his feet again.

Two more rushes forward before he made any progress – soon the sword fell away, the H-01 disarmed. Kotetsu didn't waste time to gloat over it, although he made a mental note to brag about it later. He took advantage of his speed and tried to surprise it at every turn, coming from all directions, punching, occasionally kicking even if it wasn't his thing.

He wasn't getting anywhere, but he was comforted by the thought that he disarmed it.

Then it pulled out a gun.

Kotetsu just barely managed to jump out of the way as it fired, a pink beam blasting through the wall. For a moment all he could do was stare at the hole it left, edges of the wall where metal had actually partially melted from the heat.

Someone made a sound, a sound of joy it sounded like and he was sure it was Rotwang. Kotetsu couldn't make a noise, his heart pounding so hard he swore he could hear it loud and clear.

He was terrified. Absolutely terrified.

But he had to keep trying. Just avoid the gun...avoid the gun he told himself. He jumped around and couldn't help think that he was copying Barnaby in the way that he hopped around so much sometimes. If only his Bunny was there...

He avoided two more shots and missed too more attacks himself, instead getting hit hard in the chest. He was sure he heard a crunch.

But Hundred Power could he-oh. It faded. It died away and Kotetsu lay on the ground coughing. It hurt, his chest hurt, his entire body hurt so bad. He'd been hurt worse, certainly, but that didn't help him. His head filled with pain and Night Terror's eyes, always happy to just invade his mind whenever he already wasn't doing well.

They were just a mental image, and yet started to make him sick and sad.

Somehow he pulled himself off the ground as he heard the H-01 approach. His body fought him, but he ran again and stopped in front of Maverick and Rotwang. They stood higher than him on a raised part of the floor, but he was still in front of them.

H-01 raised the gun, but didn't shoot. It couldn't. It would hit Kotetsu, but would also hit Maverick and Rotwang.

"Ha!" Kotetsu coughed, eyes going wide at the pain he felt as he attempted to laugh defiantly. He stopped trying right away and looked over his shoulder. "No what are you-"

Maverick pointed a handgun at him and Kotetsu's words trailed off into nothing. "Getting killed by H-01, I can understand, it's powerful. Getting killed by a man with a gun." Maverick made a disappointed sound. "Pathetic."

He made to pull the trigger and Kotetsu dodged and ran. He heard no gunshot, only laughter, and growled. He was so panicked and high on adrenaline that he was jumpy as hell.

And careless. He was only a few feet away when he heard a very real click and saw, felt the horrible beam emerge from the gun.

It was fast. It was TOO fast. He didn't get caught by the center of the beam but he was still caught and his world exploded into pain and cold. He'd been blasted clear through the wall, out into the cold air many, many stories above the street.

He could do nothing but fall.

He couldn't even move and started to wonder if possibly he'd lost a limb. He couldn't feel anything for a horrible moment in time, like his conscious remained and his body was gone. Dead, he had to be dead. How could anyone hurt so badly while at the same time feeling nothing?

The cold air told him he wasn't dead if he could feel it, but he still fell toward the ground like a bag of bricks. So soon he would be dead and wouldn't have the time to overthink it anymore. It occurred to him that he had been thinking about how alive or dead he was for an awful long time for someone falling, and that's when he actually realized – he was no longer falling.

He was being held by someone, moving back up through the cold air and then crashing in through a window. The glass bit at him and he could feel that too. He wished he'd stayed numb a little longer. Even if he had, he could still see where he had started to bleed. He was then clued in again as he saw his suit was all kinds of ripped up.

Damn! As poor a suit as it was, he still liked how it looked most of the time...now it did nothing. Under the right circumstances it could probably be considered 'fanservice' but...

"Fanservice?" A voice said.

The sound went to his head and Kotetsu felt dizzy instantly. His head hurt. He tried to look up at his saviour but his vision blurred. "Umm...hnn..what...?"

"Why were you saying fanservice...?"

Slowly he came into focus, although not fully. At first the red and white coloring confused him. But the faceplate lifted and he saw the last person he expected to see. "Bunny!"

"Kotetsu, you're hurt," Barnaby said, worry evident in his face even to Kotetsu's current faulty vision. It seemed he dropped the fanservice thing.

"Heh...everything hurts, Bunny, everything...how did you get here?"

"I walked, and then I got in a car, and it drove-"

"Cut the shit!" Kotetsu coughed, his eyes going wide at just how awful his chest felt. "You were passed out when I left!" He was happy to see him, but he was also in complete disbelief.

"Yea...I made it to the hospital, and it wasn't anything major, I mean, since I was where they could treat it. If we'd waited much longer I'd have..."

"Don't...don't finish that." He felt uncomfortable being held by Barnaby. It wasn't that it was Barnaby himself, usually he'd love to be in his arms, but his body cried out for him to lay down and close his eyes. "I need to lay down...put me down...they cured you awful fast..."

"They cured me before. We ran into this NEXT months ago, she'd made me sick then too, I had forgotten that..." Barnaby said gently. "We're in a storage room, so I shouldn't-"

"Put me down. Please? Please put me down?" Kotetsu found himself begging as his vision began to go bad again.

"Kotetsu..."Barnaby hesitated, but set him down carefully on the hard floor. "No, this isn't right," he said as he did it. "Kotetsu this hard floor, you should..."

"No..." Kotetsu sighed against the floor. Not ideal, but he rested against it, losing the strength to hold himself up in any sense. It all hurt. Barnaby was okay. He just wanted to sleep.

"Kotetsu, what happened up there?"

"Maverick...H-01," Kotetsu said. "I'm going to...take a nap."

"Huh? No, wait!" Barnaby's voice sounded panicked. "Kotetsu you can't close your eyes! I need you!"

How over the top. "S'alright. Just napping."

"...I still need information!" Barnaby pleaded and Kotetsu felt his hand on his side. "Kotetsu please, please don't close your eyes. We got the Apollon van here, the others, we have your good suit, but more importantly we have first aid, we..."

"I just need a nap." He couldn't move, and he couldn't fight it. All his little cuts throbbed with pain, though still nothing compared to his chest.

Despite Barnaby's repeated pleading for him not to close his eyes, despite the fact he sounded like he was even crying, Kotetsu's world went dark and he slipped off.

"Come to say hello?"

Kotetsu opened his eyes to see Night Terror.

He had no idea where he was. He could only describe it as a big dark...dark. It was blackness, nothing, no discernible sky or ground and yet he was standing on something solid. It was cold. He could breath, he didn't feel dizzy, and he was staring at a smiling Night Terror.

And that guy was dead.

"Am I dead?" The was the only logical conclusion, right?

"Hopefully," Night Terror said, sounding totally unconcerned.

"Why are you here?" Kotetsu asked. He had a sinking feeling that despite his heroics, he hadn't made it to Heaven. Well, that's okay, he had done it to help people not to reward himself. Still...

"I'm going to follow you everywhere you go, you know."

Kotetsu shook his head even though he knew it was true. Night Terror had been a permanent nightmare in his head ever since the torture during Barnaby's fight with Jake. It wasn't always at the front of his mind, and he could go a couple of weeks without any bad dreams, but Night Terror, his eyes in particular, had never gone away. "Why?" he asked, staring at him. He had a feeling he should have been scared.

"That's for you to answer," Night Terror replied. "As long as you are unhappy, I will stay here."

Kotetsu made a face. He suspected it was something like that, how unoriginal!

"Who cares? I'm still accomplishing what I set out to, unlike you."

"How did you...?" Kotetsu answered his own question right away. Of course Night Terror had read his mind, he lived in it. "Nevermind. ...Am I dead?"

"You asked me once. I can't tell you. How hard is that to understand?"

Night Terror was extremely unhelpful. Kotetsu wanted to be angry but he couldn't work up the rage. He was having trouble working up any emotions. Maybe he was in 'Tango' or whatever they called it; he never understood why the neutral part of the afterlife was named after a dance. 'Limbo' something whispered, and Kotetsu ignored it since dances weren't really on his mind.

He at least had an urge to go back, not just for the sake of being alive, but to fight Maverick, and save everyone – not Kaede alone, or Barnaby or the other heroes, but everyone. It occurred to him he'd gotten so wrapped up in his own unhappiness and his focus on Barnaby that he forgot that part of himself that cared so much about saving people. He did it still, but felt numb to it anymore.

That's when he felt his first pang of a real emotion: sadness. When had he lost sight of everything he'd set out to do, the promise he wanted to keep for Tomoe? Who had he turned into?

'Bunny' his mind whispered, and he felt intense affection. That's right. He'd been distracted by letting himself be happy, because of and for Barnaby. But Barnaby couldn't be the reason he kept on trying. Neither could Kaede actually. Even saving people couldn't be the reason he kept himself going.

He had to do it for himself, without a crutch. He had to let himself be happy, for his own sake and not someone else's.

And that's what he'd been trying to do, and doing okay with until his powers began to fade, and Barnaby found his life turned upside down. That's when the fear and anger settled in. Who was Maverick, taking his daughter and trying to kill his loved one? And not only that, but framing him for murder, messing up his life as it tried to improve...

Kotetsu had to go after him.

"What, you think you can take him? What's wrong with you?" Night Terror taunted and Kotetsu felt more whispers around him, telling him to stay while a particularly quiet one said 'go'.

"I don't know...I know I have to try," Kotetsu muttered, listening to the quieter whisper. He had yet to move, even though he worked up the will to at least want to. That had to be worth something, right?

"You'll just get killed," Night Terror said matter of factly. He blinked, which surprised Kotetsu. Until then Night Terror's eyes just stayed open and on him.

"I have to," he repeated.

"You'll be a laughing stock, and maybe even put your daughter in more danger."

Kotetsu's eye twitched. He wanted to be cool. He wanted to be useful. But if he just came out looking stupid...it wouldn't matter, because he had to try to save her. "I'm not staying here."

"Really? But this is your favorite place to be."

"No it's not!" Kotetsu yelled and the sound almost immediately evaporated into nothing. It was creepy. But Kotetsu didn't dwell on it.

"Then why don't you leave?"

He was trying. He had to force himself to move. With concentration he moved an arm, and a leg.

Night Terror looked uneasy. "Stay here. It's more familiar than you know, you'll see."

"No!" Kotetsu shouted at him. He tried to charge forward. He lurched ahead a few steps but was still stuck.

Night Terror started to back up. "What's the point? What if you are dead?"

"I'm not. I know I'm not," Kotetsu declared, pulling and struggling free of the invisible bonds holding him.

"If you die, you could see Tomoe. Isn't that tempting?"

"Nope." Kotetsu pulled free then, faced with the thought he'd never been so bad off to actually pursue. No, he was not so far gone. Night Terror was wrong. He was twisted, cruel.

And Kotetsu wanted nothing more to do with him.

Night Terror continued to back away. Kotetsu wasn't about to let him off that easily. He charged at him with a scream, fist out and punched him hard in the face.