The reports of hits by the Beach Bums keep coming in; people being sent to the hospital, residences trashed, even a car set on fire. They also heard out about increased drug activity in Earring Inlet and even in Old Towne. Seems like the group is trying to stabilize their territory and expand at the same time. It's risky and will draw all sorts of attention to them.
The team decided to go out and patrol Oceanview again, this time they're all sticking to the boardwalk. Tourists and locals alike flock to the beach on a beautiful Saturday, making things busy. Crusade wishes they could join them and just relax on the beach, but she has a feeling there's going to be some sort of commotion. The crowds are too much of a lure for people trying to make a quick buck, and the Beach Bums will be cracking down. What better way to ward off competitors than by making an example of them in public?
Crusade and Jackass have been patrolling the south side while Glade and Desperado take the northern end. Jackass can just freely walk on the boardwalk without anyone noticing him, but she has to keep to the alleyways to keep from being seen. They're sticking near each other, close enough to back each other up quickly if needed. But so far things have been quiet.
She stands at the intersection of an alley between buildings and the narrow alleyway that runs behind the boardwalk-facing businesses and the street-facing buildings. She's been slowly making her way north, making sure to keep checking back the way she came every now and then. After another second, she starts walking to the next alley intersection. She has about 5 more blocks before she turns around and heads back south again.
As she gets to the next intersection, she looks down towards the boardwalk. There are people running north, some looking back over their shoulders as they go. The crowd gets bigger and there are sounds of panic. Something's going on.
Jackass' voice comes over the comm. "Hey Crusade, you seeing people running?"
"Yeah, going to get a look. It's happening on your side too?" Using her wind walk, she starts running toward the top of the buildings.
"Yeah, they're running south. I'm gonna see if I can get around them."
Whatever's going on is in between them. Hopefully, neither of them is too far away. Crusade clears the roof and looks around. People on both the boardwalk and the beach are running, carrying kids and keeping huddled in groups. Looking south she sees a cloud of sand billowing up. Must be Grit.
"Looks like the Beach Bums are up to something. I'm a couple of blocks away."
Dakota's voice sounds in her ear. "Where are they? We can head to you."
Crusade looks at the street signs below her. "Looks like 87th. Just look for the big sand cloud."
Jackass chimes in. "I think Gorge is here too, guys, there's a bunch of cracks in the boardwalk."
She starts running over the tops of the buildings towards the whirling sand. Once she's past the wave of fleeing beachgoers, she angles down to the ground and runs down the boardwalk. As she gets closer, she has to move to one side of the wooden walkway to avoid the crack running down the center.
She's finally close enough she can see a bit of what's going on. It's hard to tell in the sand cloud, but it looks like a larger figure is running back and forth. It's too big to be Grit, maybe someone fighting with him. Are the heroes on the scene?
The wooden slats under her feet vibrate and Crusade turns back to the Boardwalk. She can hear frustrated yelling, but she can't see what's going on; the sun is being reflected into her eyes by something.
Her heart drops into her stomach and she stumbles to a stop. Her head whips back at the sand cloud, eyes focusing on the nebulous shapes. Come on, come on, please be wrong. She looks back at the boardwalk. Those are definitely mirrors. Back to the beach. A flaming horse gallops out of the sand cloud and rears up as it turns. The rider leans forward and the creature lunges back into the cloud. Cavalry.
Crusade's head spins and she stumbles back a few steps trying to keep herself upright. She grabs onto the railing to stabilize herself. Her heart is beating a million miles a second and she can't get her breathing under control. She keeps looking back and forth between the mirror maze ahead of her and the whirling sandstorm on the beach. Her vision starts to tunnel as she hyperventilates and her knees give out. She can't do this. She can't face them.
A hand on her shoulder startles her and she screams as she jumps. Glade fills her vision, crouching in front of her with hands on her shoulders. He's saying something but she can't hear him. Can't hear anything but her heart galloping. Desperado crouches down next to him and snaps in front of her face. She clenches her eyes shut and puts her hands to her ears, trying to drown out the rhythm in her head. But she can't, can't make it go away. The galloping just gets louder and louder and lou –
A sharp pain registers and her eyes snap open. Glade stands beside her and Desperado is crouched in front of her, slowly bringing one arm down from across her body. Crusade releases her ears and brings a hand to her stinging cheek. Did somebody slap her?
Desperado looks at her, her eyes full of intensity. "Crusade? You with us?"
Crusade blinks and lets a shuddering breath. She's feeling flushed and clammy, sweat making her hair damp. "What…?"
Desperado jerks her head towards the beach. "The Beach Bums are gettin' attacked by your old team. What are we doin'?"
She looks around slowly, looking past her teammate at the boardwalk and the beach. She blinks a few more times. "I…uh…we can…."
Glade crouches down in front of her again and grabs her face, turning her head back towards him. "Cavalry is going to kill them all if we don't do something."
The statement cuts through her haze. She will. Crusade can't just sit here and let it happen. She nods and starts to stand, her knees wobbling all the while. Desperado and Glade each grab an arm and help her up, stabilizing her. She takes a deep breath and tries to slow her heart rate as she puts her armor up. When did she drop it in the first place? She takes one more glance between the mirror maze ahead of them and the whirling sand cloud on the beach. Grit is definitely in that cloud with Cavalry. Is Gorge in the mirror maze? She speaks into her comm. "Jackass, do you have eyes on Gorge?"
"Yeah, she's on the beach. She's trying to get away from something, I can't see what it is. What's the play?"
Merlin must be attacking her, keeping her away from Grit. That means Jumble is in the mirror maze, unless someone else has joined the drug gang that they haven't heard of. It makes sense, though. Sophia…Mirror Knight can keep Jumble from using her power. "Here's what we're going to do." She turns to Desperado. "I need you to break those mirrors. Use different effects, keep changing what you're doing. She's got someone trapped in there, keeping them neutralized. If so…if Mirror Knight finds a pattern in how you're attacking she can lock you down too." Desperado nods. She pulls back her duster, presses a few buttons on her auto-loader, and pulls out her revolvers as she stands. She runs towards the mirrors, guns raised. "Jackass, send Dickwad into the sand cloud and try and extract Grit. I don't care what it takes, convince him or just grab him, but get him away from Cavalry. And stay off her radar."
Jackass' voice sounds in her ear. "Yeah, I can do that. What do we do about the Beach Bums?"
She shakes her head. "We can't do everything all at once, we have to focus on the Knights. We can focus on the Bums another time." There's grumbling over the comm, but she ignore it and looks at Glade. "Merlin is around here somewhere. He likes rooftops so he can get a birds-eye view. Finds the best vantage point and hides. Find him, but don't let him see you. Once you see him, you call me."
Her partner nods and, with a final squeeze on her arm, turns and makes his way down an alley between buildings, little dryads trailing behind him.
Crusade sticks her arm out to create a sword, but her hand is shaking. She brings it back, clutching it in her other hand. Her heart is still pounding out of her chest, adrenaline coursing through her. She needs to get herself under control. She needs to go help her team. Her team….
After one more deep breath, she sticks her hands back out, slightly steadier now, and creates two broadswords. She sets off along the boardwalk again. If she can get over to Gorge she can defend her from Merlin. Launching over the railing, she uses her wind walk to stay above the sand. Her legs are feeling much better after a few good nights with Glade's soothers, but there's no sense wearing herself out before she even gets there.
Looking over as she runs past the giant sand cloud, Crusade can see snippets of flames and the shadow of something even bigger. Must be whatever craziness Jackass came up with to handle the storm. She turns back as she closes in on Gorge. The scantily clad Beach Bums enforcer is surrounded by four longswords. She's dodging as best she can, trying to parry with her club, but she's getting slashed up pretty badly. There are cuts on her arms and legs, all dribbling blood. Two of the longswords slam down on her club together, breaking the crude weapon in half. The force knocks her back and all four blades raise up to stab her.
Crusade dives forward and rolls into a kneel just in front of Gorge. She puts out her hand and erects a domed barrier around the two of them just as the floating blades thrust in. They deflect off the blue surface and hesitate in mid-air.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Crusade looks back at Gorge. Her pained snarl is laced with confusion as she looks at the barrier protecting her. She climbs slowly to her feet, half a club clutched in one hand ready to fight.
"I'm trying to save your ass. These guys will kill you."
Gorge grimaces and scoffs. "So? Let them try! I'll just kill them right back!"
The floating longswords slam into the barrier one after the other, ricocheting off the surface. "Sure, because that was going so well for you already." She huffs. "Look, you're bleeding out and Grit is going to get trampled if he hasn't already. Just get your team and get out of here. We'll cover you as long as we can."
Gorge gives her a suspicious look. "This doesn't mean anything. I didn't ask for your help. I owe you nothing."
Crusade lets out a frustrated grunt as she sees all four blades raise together. "Yeah, I get it. Just go!" Gorge finally starts running away as the longswords all come down together and smash her barrier. She has enough time to get swords back in both hands before the blades start coming at her. She parries the double-edged blades and tries to keep moving. They aren't strong enough individually to break her armor, but it's only a matter of time until he finds an opening and strikes all at once.
"Glade, any luck finding Merlin?"
Glade's voice is low. "Not yet, though I think I see a good spot on the next roof. Let you know when I get over there."
Crusade keeps her attention on the swords coming at her from all sides. The attacks are coming faster and more frenzied. He's getting frustrated. The good thing about his power is that it's not like fighting four sets of hands, the left and right sides move together. The bad thing, though, is that he doesn't really need to swing like other people, so his moves aren't as telegraphed. But she's sparred with him enough to know his usual moves.
A noise pulls her attention away from the swinging blades; what can only be described as a screeching roar comes from behind her, startling her and making her look. A giant black and white snake-looking creature slithers out of the sandstorm and across the beach with Grit and Gorge hanging on for dear life to its back. Her eyes dart behind it to see Cavalry in the settling dust.
Her blue armor shatters around her and, before she has a chance to put it back up, she gets hit by every one of Merlin's blades in quick succession. One manages to get through her armor and leave a gash along her side. Crusade lets out a grunt of pain as she clutches her side and puts her armor up again. She backs up, trying to get out of his range, as the blades float up. But they don't follow her and, after a moment, just fall to the sand. Shit, someone else must have gotten his attention.
Glade's whispering voice comes over the comm. "Crusade, I found him. He's hiding behind a bank of ductwork on…. Wait. Shit, he saw me."
Crusade's eyes widen and she's running back towards the boardwalk before she even knows where she's going. "Glade, where are you?! I'm coming!" Glade starts to answer but then he just gasps in pain. She has to hurry, he won't last long against Merlin face-to-face. She uses her wind walk to avoid the sand, anything to get her there faster.
Desperado's panicked voice fills her ear. "Crusade! Behind you!"
Without even glancing behind her, Crusade throws herself to the right and into the sand. As she lands, she sees Cavalry gallop past, sword out. If she hadn't moved, she would have been run down. Crusade didn't even hear her coming; the sand must have muffled the steed's hooves. She climbs back to her feet, the cut in her side throbbing, as Cavalry turns, angling the horse back towards her.
Crusade's heart is in her throat as she stands facing Cavalry. All the running, hiding, trying to stay safe, all of it is gone. And suddenly they're right back to where they were all those months ago; Crusade between Cavalry and her target. Fear courses through her when she remembers how this scenario played out last time. What if she's not fast enough this time? Things have changed, she's stronger now, but is she strong enough?
Cavalry leans forward and urges her mount along, charging at Crusade. She doesn't have time to fight Cavalry if she's going to save Glade, she needs to get up there. She takes a few rapid breaths, psyching herself up, and starts sprinting towards the boardwalk, towards Cavalry. At the last second, just before Cavalry plows into her, she kicks out to the side and uses the barriers under her feet to push herself out of the way. She runs straight past Cavalry and up towards the buildings on the boardwalk. Cavalry's horse rears up and turns to follow her, but the black and white snake reappears and barrels into her, wrapping around her and wrestling the horse into the sand.
With Cavalry occupied, she looks around, trying to find Glade. She hears a cry off to her left, down on the boardwalk. The mirror maze is mostly gone and Desperado stands facing a woman in leather armor with metal plates. Mirror Knight puts mirrored walls around Desperado, but the tinker is flexible and her…former teammate is having trouble figuring out what kind of mirror to use. Her mirrors reflect certain types of damage. If she uses the wrong one it's essentially useless, it can smash just like a normal mirror. But if she figures out what they're doing, she can devastate them with their own attacks. But Desperado is keeping her guessing and gaining the advantage. Mirror Knight clutches one arm, the ball of her flail resting on the boardwalk.
Instinct gives her a surge of panic and tells her to go help her sister. But Crusade shakes her head; she needs to focus on her partner. She gets to the rooftops and looks around. She shouts into the air and the comm. "Glade! Where are you?!"
For a second there's silence, but then she hears him shout her name to the right. She looks in that direction and starts running. As she scans the roofline, she can see a spot that would be perfect for Merlin to hide. She runs further up, trying to get a better view. She spots a dome made of branches and heads towards it. As she gets a better angle on it, she can see Merlin standing at its edge with four longswords floating around him. He waves his arms, the swords slashing and stabbing into the dome, breaking branches with ease.
Crusade touches down on the roof behind the man who tried to kill her and forms a broadsword in each hand. "Merlin!"
The tall, lanky man hesitates, his arm poised to slash at Glade again. His head turns, black hood casting a shadow over the top half of his face. His lips curl, creasing his gaunt cheeks and exposing yellow teeth. "Lancelot, what a pleasant surprise." He brings his arm back down and turns towards her, robes swishing with the movement. "Or should I call you Crusade now? Did you think giving yourself a new name would change anything? We know who you really are. What you really are. And there will be no escaping us this time." He reaches into his cloak and unsheathes two more swords.
The sound of metal on leather makes her breath catch in her throat, the memory of him stabbing her over and over and over again replaying in her memory. He approaches her, two blades in hand, four floating around him. She mostly held her own against four of his blades, how is she going to defend against six? Any experience she has from sparring against him means nothing when he's out for blood.
A voice speaks to her in the back of her mind. You know exactly what you need to do. This guy is worse than the sickest villain you've faced. He enjoys killing and you know it. You've always known it. He tried to kill you and he's ready to do it again! Getting rid of him would be a favor to the world.
Merlin keeps coming towards her, one arm raised. Crusade drops her concentration on her swords and puts out a hand. She reaches out with her power and wraps him in a barrier, freezing him in place. His eyes bulge and his mouth drops open as he tries to move, but he can't. With his limbs held in place, his floating swords freeze too. She looks at him, soaking in the terror on his face. She wonders if that's what her face looked like when she realized what he was about to do to her, but she doubts it; she's never been as much of a coward as Merlin is.
"Goodbye, Merlin."
Crusade turns back towards the ocean and throws him as hard as she can, releasing the barrier at the apex of the arc. He flies past the boardwalk, past the beach, and out over the water. His scream carries on the wind as he slowly descends, landing so far out Crusade can't even see the splash when he hits the water. She lets out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. He's not going to hurt her or her team or anyone anymore.
Somebody shouts Mirror Knight's name down on the boardwalk, breaking Crusade's reverie. She looks down to see Mirror Knight jumping over the boardwalk railing and running towards Cavalry. The flaming horse disappears and a new one takes its place, one she's never seen before. The new steed has wings and a yellow haze around it, with what looks like arcs of electricity running along it. Mirror Knight climbs on top and the horse beats its wings, lifting off the sand and flying after Merlin. Good. Better they're out of the way too.
Crusade turns to see the dome of branches split at the top and start to fall apart as Glade limps out of it, clutching his stomach. She runs to his side and puts a supporting arm under his shoulders. "Are you ok? Where are you hurt?"
Glade leans on her heavily, his breathing labored. "That guy's fast." He hisses in pain as he takes a step out of his dome. "What happened to Merlin?"
Crusade shakes her head. "Don't worry about him, they're all gone. We need to get you to a hospital."
He nods. "Yeah, may not be the worst idea."
"I'm going to get you down to the boardwalk, ok? Let me help you sit." Glade nods with a groan. She shimmies around behind him and places her hands under his armpits and, taking most of his weight, lowers him to the ground. Once he's in a position he can sit on his own, she wraps a barrier around him and gently lifts it, carrying him as she wind walks off the roof of the building and down onto the boardwalk.
Desperado catches sight of them as Crusade sets him down on the wooden surface and releases the barrier. The tinker yells as she jogs towards them. "What in the hell happened?"
Crusade turns to her. "Merlin got to him. He's in bad shape, we gotta get to the hospital."
Glade coughs and shakes his head. "No. No hospital." He looks up at Crusade. "There's no way they won't…see."
"We don't have a choice. This is more serious than just some bandages and time with your soothers. You need proper medical attention." He opens his mouth to argue, but he just grimaces and then nods.
"I'm sure there's all sortsa police and medics around givin' how scared folks were. If we get him outta his costume we can flag them down, get him an ambulance." She looks down at Glade. "You wearin' anything under that?" Glade nods minutely and she puts a hand to her ear and speaks into the comm. "Jackass, get over here, we're gonna need you."
Jackass' voice sounds not over the comm, but right behind them. "Shit, what happened to Glade?"
Crusade and Desperado both jump and turn. Desperado sighs and rolls her eyes. "We need to flag down an ambulance for Glade and you're the only one of us who looks normal."
He nods once. "On it." He runs towards the nearest cross street with the boardwalk, flip-flops flapping as he goes.
Crusade squats down next to Glade. "Let's get this off you. Don't want you getting arrested." Ever so slowly, she and Desperado help Glade remove anything that screams 'I'm a vigilante.' The twigs of his outer armor shed pretty easily, they just toss them aside. The leather armor is a little more intensive, but they manage to get it off too. The jacket is very damaged, it may not be salvageable. He's got shorts and a t-shirt on underneath that are stained with blood. Looks like he has an abdominal wound and several other gashes. Crusade shudders to think what would have happened if she had taken any longer to find them.
As they finish removing his bloody armor, Jackass comes running back. "There's an ambulance waiting on the street, I got him." The surfer crouches down and puts one arm around Glade and helps him to his feet. The two slowly make their way to the cross-street.
Crusade rubs one arm as she watches them go. "We should get back to the base. I'm going to have to get changed and find him at the ER."
She starts to turn, but Desperado grabs her arm. "Wait a second. What the hell happened?"
Her brow creases and a frown curls her lips as she pulls her arm out of her teammate's grip. "What do you mean, what happened? You saw what happened. Merlin cut him to ribbons."
"Yeah, and then I saw him get tossed like a baseball out into the ocean. He's probably dead."
Crusade's neck flushes and her hands curl into fists. "And? What was I supposed to do? He was trying to kill Glade and would have tried to kill me if I gave him a chance. It's not like I had a choice."
Desperado folds her arms across her chest and glances at the horizon for a moment before looking back at Crusade. Her brow is furrowed, eyes piercing. "There's always a choice. You told me that when we were goin' after Sinner. I get this is some heavy personal shit for you, I really do. And I'm not sayin' we shouldn't defend our own. But that wasn't a fight where Merlin lost and wound up dead, that was an execution." Crusade looks down, turning her head away. "You told me when we tracked down Sinner, when we found the guys who ruined my life, that I needed to keep my gun in my holster. Might be you need to think on that some if you're gonna be callin' the shots." Desperado turns and walks away, boots clunking on the boardwalk.
Crusade glances up, watching the Texan follow in the direction Jackass and Glade went. How dare she say something like that? This was totally different from her situation. This was life and death. If she hadn't gotten rid of Merlin, he could have killed them all. And she couldn't let that happen. It was the only way…wasn't it?
She turns towards the ocean and a shiver runs down her spine despite the heat of the afternoon sun. She can see a figure swooping back and forth over the water; Cavalry and Mirror Knight looking for Merlin. Her hands start shaking again. She knows Merlin, knows what a monster he is. He claims to be a vigilante, but he was only ever looking for an excuse to kill people. There's a small part of her, the part that keeps echoing Sinner's voice in her head, that's glad he's dead. But Desperado is right; she murdered him in cold blood. That's not her. And she can never take it back. Whether she would want to or not is still a mystery, and probably will be for a while.
Crusade shakes her head. She needs to get out of here, needs to go take care of her partner. At the end of the day, she protected Glade and that's all that matters.
~0~0~
Mirage sits at the counter of Cape Corner fiddling with the bendy straw in her Mover 'n' Shaker milkshake. She's been hanging out at the diner the last couple of days trying to pick up some new clients. She rolls her shoulders trying to work out the ache that has set in the last couple of days while she hangs out. That fight with the Knights Errant really made her shoulders hurt, they must not be fully healed yet. The cut on her side still hurts if she moves too quickly, but it's healing pretty well considering she bandaged it up herself. It'll probably leave a scar to go with all of the other ones Merlin gave her. She's been avoiding asking Leopold for soothers to help her heal since he's been using them himself pretty much nonstop the last few days.
Leopold needed a lot of stitches and a blood transfusion by the time he got to the hospital. A well-meaning police officer tried to get him to make an official statement about his injuries, but he refused. He's been spending the last few days resting and healing from his wounds. There's been a little tension between the two of them, and even more between her and Dakota. The team hasn't done much together since their encounter with the Knight's Errant. She feels a little guilty, but she doesn't know what to do about it. Are they looking for an apology? An explanation? She'll just have to wait until they want to talk.
In the meantime, there's still plenty to worry about. She checked in with Jenkins yesterday on the Bruja situation. Apparently, he's been completely cut out of the loop. He knows that she is still in intensive care and protective custody, but that's it. The District Attorney is playing it safe. Which is good, but not very helpful. Maybe she should call Lamplighter later and see if he has any new ideas on what to do with their ticking timebomb.
The front door jingles and Val shouts for them to grab any open seat. Mirage glances to see Jumble slide into one of the window booths. She immediately rests her head on the glass and closes her eyes. Must have been a long day for her.
Mirage's phone buzzes on the counter and she looks to see a text from Po'boy. 'Somethin's up at the school. Meet up tonight?" Her brow furrows under her helmet. That's not a good sign. As if they don't have enough to worry about right now.
Val's frustrated voice carries through the diner. "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't drink that in here."
She turns to see Val standing over Jumble, hands on her hips, as the Beach Bums enforcer takes a pull from a metal flask. Jumble waves her off, her metal arm glinting in the neon lights. "I'm not botherin' anyone, just leave me alone." Her speech is slurred and her voice sounds sad.
The waitress shakes her head, her ponytail swishing. "Nu-uh. It's against the law and I do not need that kind of hassle in my life. Either put it away or get out."
Jumble's head turns towards Val, an aggressive frown on her face. "Fine! Food stinks here anyway." Jumble climbs out of the booth, swaying a little as she stands, and stomps to the front door.
Mirage quickly fishes a couple of 20's out of her pocket and leaves them on the counter before hurrying after the former vigilante. Out on the sidewalk, she looks around to find Jumble slouching on a bench about half a block down, drinking from her flask again. Mirage walks over to the bench and sits on the other end.
Jumble looks at her, suspicion in her eyes. "Who said you could sit on my bench?"
She laughs a little, the modulation in her helmet making it sound auto-tuned, as she turns towards Jumble. "Who said it's your bench?"
The Beach Bums enforcer just makes a raspberry sound and turns away. They sit for a minute before she turns back. "You that Mirror Image chick I keep seeing flyers for?"
She nods. "And you're Jumble." The drunk woman raises her flask to Mirage before taking another swig. "Seems like there's something bothering you."
Jumble snorts. "What are you, a therapist?"
"No, I just know what it looks like when someone is unhappy." The metal-armed woman doesn't say anything, just takes another swig from her flask. "If you need someone to talk to, my office is just around the corner." After another minute of silence, Mirage stands and smooths out her skirt. If she doesn't want to talk, there's nothing she can do.
As she starts to walk away, Jumble calls out to her. "Wait." Mirage turns back. "Maybe…yeah. Maybe you can help me figure shit out." She pushes herself up off the bench and takes a few uneasy steps before finding her footing.
Mirage waves her along. "It's not too far. We'll grab you a cup of coffee on the way or something."
Jumble shakes her head as she walks, making her swerve a little. "Won't do much good, caffeine just makes me sleepy."
"Fair enough."
The former vigilante doesn't say anything as they walk. They reach the building within a couple of minutes and Mirage unlocks the door, ushering her companion inside. The drunk woman follows Mirage down the hall and into her small office. Jumble flops down into one of the chairs, slouching until her head rests on the back. Her eyes close as she sighs.
Mirage shakes her head as she sits on the edge of her desk. "So, Jumble, what's going on?"
Jumble opens bleary eyes and picks up her head a little and laughs. "What's going on? Oh, ya know, just having a minor existential crisis." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a different flask from before.
She leans forward and plucks it out of Jumble's hands before she can get the top unscrewed. Jumble gives her a half-hearted glare but doesn't complain. She places the container on her desk. "Talk me through it."
Jumble groans. "Why? It's not going to change anything. Nothing can."
"You don't know that. Just start at the beginning."
"The beginning." The Beach Bums enforcer sits up in the chair with a heavy sigh. "Well, I'm not exactly from around here. I used to be in New York, a long way away. I was a vigilante then. My power comes in handy for that type of thing. Just…stop people in their tracks. I was good too. Then…Gold Morning happened."
Mirage nods along with her. "Did you fight Scion?"
She makes a raspberry noise and shakes her head. "No. What the fuck am I going to do against a guy like that? He had like…80 bagillion powers! I was useless."
"So, what did you do?"
Jumble shrugs. "I did the best I could. I tried to help people. They evacuated the city, perfect opportunity for villains to take advantage of people. Ended up losing my arm and that was that. I got sent here and survived."
Mirage tilts her head. "That's good though, isn't it? Surviving is all any of us can do."
She groans. "Yeah, well I didn't take it so good. Lost…lost a lot of people. But I got myself a new shiny arm, so I guess that evens out." She scoffs and looks at her metal arm with disdain. "Went looking for answers, all I found was more shit. Got drunk, stayed that way, and now I'm with the Beach Bums. Buncha assholes."
"You don't like your team."
"Hell no. Hence the ongoing existential crisis." She sighs and slumps in on herself. "It was fine for a while. It pays enough to get by. But…."
Mirage waits a beat. "But what?"
Jumble rubs at her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Yesterday we got hit by a new group, never seen them before. They were good. Some chick with mirrors trapped me and I was useless, yet again. Somebody started breaking me out, and I thought it was my team, but it wasn't. It was some other vigilantes. They, I don't know, came to save us."
"Why would they do that?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know. The chick with the guns, Desperado I think, said that we didn't want to get mixed up with that other group. Told me to run. So, I did."
"Sounds like she saved you."
Jumble looks up at her. "Yeah, but why? I'm a villain now." She spits the word out like it's poison. "I don't deserve it."
Mirage shrugs. "If you don't want to be a villain, then don't."
Her drunk client laughs. "It's not that easy."
"Isn't it? You used to be a vigilante, you could do that again. Help people."
She shakes her head. "They'd just come after me for leaving."
"Then join a team. Or the Wardens. They have the resources to protect one of their own."
Jumble's nose scrunches and head tilts. "Be a hero? They wouldn't want someone like me."
Mirage laughs a little. "Having someone like you would be a huge boon for any team. Your power can help change a battlefield."
She stares off into the distance a little, like she's considering the prospect. Eventually, she shakes her head. "I don't know. Maybe. I need to think." She pushes herself up from the chair and starts stumbling to the door. She pauses, hand on the handle. "Thanks, I guess, for talking to me."
Mirage nods. "No problem. And if you want to talk again, my door's open." She picks the full flask up and tosses it to Jumble, who catches it in her metal hand with a clink. "And maybe lay off the sauce a bit." She gives Mirage a small smile as she pockets the flask and opens the door.
Mirage hops off the desk and crosses the office, closing the door. After she locks it, she reaches up and pulls off her helmet.
Anna sighs. Man, that was a lot. Jumble is…a mess. She wishes there was more she could do for her, but this is something she needs to decide for herself. Hopefully what she said will help.
She pulls her phone out of her pocket. Shit, it's a lot later than she thought, she needs to get back to base. She takes off her skirt suit and pulls on the leggings and t-shirt she wore over from the gymnasium. They're a little funky, but she can always change when she gets there. Throwing on a hoodie and her sneakers, she runs out the door and to her car. Luckily, it's a short drive there and her usual parking spot is open.
Anna climbs the step to the team base, hoping she hasn't kept everyone waiting. She pushes through the door and locks it behind her. Po'boy and Leopold sit on the couch and Dakota occupies the armchair, all with their laptops out. "Hey, sorry I'm so late. Picked up a client at the diner. What did I miss?"
Po'boy looks up at her. "Ok, so you know how I've been goin' to the school to keep an eye on Fidget and Steampunk?" She nods. "They're both doin' great. Little Fidget is actually able to like focus on something she's trying to make. And Steampunk can choose when he wants to do his whole machine possession thing."
She blinks. "Wait, Steampunk is that kid from the junkyard right? Is that what he does?"
"Shit, right, that was just me and him." He jerks his head over at Leopold. "Yeah, kid, like, becomes energy and can possess machinery. When we picked him up, he couldn't really control it, just would jump into any machine. But now he can not if he wants."
Her eyes widen. "And it's been, what, a few weeks they've been there? That's incredible!"
Po'boy stands up and walks around the table, his arms gesticulating. He's got on tan cargo shorts and a navy hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. "Yeah, right? A little too good. I've been ignoring it cause it's a school for capes, that's their job, right? Help the kids figure out how to use their powers and stuff. Last week I was there and Fidget told me she moved into the school."
"That's what the school prefers, isn't it? It's like a boarding school."
He shakes his head. "Yeah, but she's always wanted to live at home. Made a big stink about it even when her foster mom was pushing for her to stay at the school."
She nods. "Right, I remember that. So, she changed her mind? That's not that unusual."
He holds out his hands. "Yeah, no doubt. But it gets weirder. See, whenever I talked to the other kids and asked how they like the school, they all said something really similar. Something like 'I really like it here. I'm learning a lot. It really feels like home.' All of them, same sorta statement. Almost like they were coached. Then, today when I was giving a seminar, I talked to Fidget and she said the same thing. 'It's really starting to feel like home'."
"That's…creepy. And definitely suspicious. What do you want to do about it?"
Po'boy shoves his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "Leopold made a good point, that we don't really know much about them. I snooped a little in their records and didn't find anything suspicious, but there has to be something else. So, we're doing some background on all the teachers for now."
Anna smiles. "Good thinking, partner." Leopold looks up at her for the first time, a brief smile on his lips before looking back at his computer. Her smile falters and she wraps her arms around her torso. "What can I do to help?"
He shrugs. "I think we've reached maximum laptop capacity at the moment. Maybe you could try and see if anyone at Cape Corner knows anything about the school. Or maybe ask Sentry?"
She nods. "Yeah. I can work on that over the next few days."
The surfer smiles and gives her two thumbs up. "Awesome!" He walks back around the table and sits on the couch. "You picked up a new client at the diner? Anyone interesting?"
"Actually, yeah; Jumble. She came into the diner stinking drunk and depressed, so I took her to the office and we talked for a while. Seems like she's unhappy with the villain life, so I gave her some advice."
Dakota scoffs. "You really think you're in any position to give advice like that?"
The keyboard clacking goes silent and Anna turns towards her, her brow furrowed and pulse thundering in her ears. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Dakota finally looks up at her, anger piercing through her. "You know exactly what I mean."
She crosses her arms and shifts her weight onto one foot. "No, I really don't. Care to elaborate?"
Dakota grabs her laptop and tosses it onto the coffee table as she stands. "You have no business giving advice about 'doing the right thing' when you yourself can't see what that is."
Anna's mouth drops open for a moment before her face flushes and she snaps her jaw closed again. "How many times do I have to tell you? Merlin was going to kill Leopold. He was going to kill me! What the hell do you want from me?!"
Dakota takes a step forward and points a finger at her. "What I want is for you to not be a goddamn hypocrite! You tell everyone else there's a better way, do this, don't do that. But when the chips are down, you're ready to take a man's life without a second thought. You kept me from getting my revenge but were plenty willing to take yours."
Anna lets out a sardonic laugh. "Right. You wanted to kill that kid for, what, B&E? Destruction of property? He wrecked your shop? Boo-fuckin'-hoo! You want to get your life back? Make an insurance claim and fix your shop! If Leopold hadn't saved my life, Merlin would have killed me. I think it's a little different."
Dakota doesn't say anything, she just snarls as her fists clench at her sides.
Leopold's quiet voice pipes up from the couch. "Is it though?" Anna's head snaps in his direction. "Is it really that different? Revenge is revenge. A life is a life."
Anna shakes her head. "How can you say that? You know exactly what he was capable of. What he did to me, what he did to you."
Leopold nods. "It was monstrous."
She turns towards him. "And now I'm strong enough to stop him and you think, what, that I shouldn't?" She looks back over at Dakota. "That I should've just let him keep being a monster?"
Leopold sighs, his brown eyes sad. "You're strong enough to stop him, we all know that. I just thought you were strong enough to not have to kill him."
Anna's stomach drops to her feet and tears start welling up in her eyes. Why are they ganging up on her like this? Even Leopold, after she saved his life. She needs to get out, to get away from all this. Needs some space.
Without another word, she runs down the hall and out the back door. She runs out into the cool night air, but it doesn't do anything to reduce the heat radiating up her neck and on her face. Po'boy's hammock stretches across the yard blocking her path and she angrily swipes it aside as she storms across the grass. Tears spill over her lids and she can't tell if they're from sheer anger or hurt. She kicks at a scraggly bush in one corner of the yard before leaning against the fence and sinking to the ground. Pulling her knees to her chest, she rests her forehead on her knees.
The sound of the back door opening and closing breaks through her quiet sobs and she glances up to see Po'boy duck under the hammock and walk over to her. It's dark out, but she can see a half-smile as he sits cross-legged in the grass beside her.
"You ok, buddy?"
Anna snorts a laugh that just hiccups back into a sob.
"Sounds like a no. You wanna tell me what's really bothering you?"
She shakes her head as she sniffs. "What do you mean? What happened back there isn't enough?"
He shrugs. "Eh. You and Koda are both pretty pig-headed. It was only a matter of time before you two butt heads about something. Leopold, that's somethin' different. He worships the ground you walk on. So, there must be somethin' bigger about all of this than just Merlin. What's going on in your head?"
Anna takes a deep breath and sighs it out, trying to stop the tears streaming down her face. "You don't…none of you know what it was like to see them again. The last time I saw them they tried to kill me. Cavalry and Merlin attacked me, and Mirror Knight…she let them. Seeing them brought back everything from that night. Everything I've been trying to get away from. And when he went after Leopold…I couldn't let him do that."
Po'boy nods, watching her as she talks. "That sounds really rough. I don't think any of us could ever understand what that feels like." He pauses, reaching a hand out and resting it on her arm. They sit that way for a moment, him rubbing his thumb on her bicep. "When I met you guys by the haunted shack, I had no intention of becoming a vigilante. I saw you guys fighting the Bums and a kid in danger, so I helped. And when you came around to check on her and I realized you guys were defending her, not just picking a fight…well it got me curious. And when I tagged along, you told me that you try and save people."
Anna remembers the conversation, leaning against the car outside of the STRANGE school. She was surprised at the time that he was considering joining them.
He pulls his hand back as he keeps talking, looking up to the sky a bit. "I think that's what makes you a good vigilante, and such an easy person to follow. Protecting people is a good goal." He looks back at her. "Which makes it so weird that you did what you did to Merlin. Sure, you saved Leopold in the process, but that's not what it was about. You could have just grabbed him and left; he still would have been saved. It was about you."
She blinks a few times trying to process his assessment. "It's not like I was looking for a fight with them. We ran into them. I almost couldn't face them I was so scared. You guys don't know Cavalry, don't know the lengths she'll go to."
He tilts his head a little. "So, tell me about her."
Anna looks away, hoping the darkness hides the flush on her cheeks. Where does she even start with someone like her? They have so much history and she has so many conflicting emotions about the person. "She's smart and works harder than anyone I've ever met. We always had air-tight plans for every group we could run into. And if we ran into an unknown, she could adapt in an instant. She's determined too. Once she sets her mind to something nothing can stop her."
Po'boy actually laughs a little. "Sounds like someone I know."
Anna smiles a little. "Yeah. I think that might be why I give Dakota a harder time than anyone else. She reminds me a lot of Cavalry. And it's a little worrisome."
He shakes his head, still chuckling to himself. "No, I mean you." Anna's brow furrows and she opens her mouth to respond, but Po'boy keeps going. "But yeah, sure, that sounds like Koda too. You guys are a lot alike." Anna looks away, resting her chin on her knees again. "You worried Koda will turn out like Cavalry?"
She nods. "She's not as ruthless as Cavalry, but it's a slippery slope. Cavalry wasn't always the type to go straight for the kill either, but eventually, she wouldn't even try and talk people down anymore. I just…I see a lot of that in Dakota and I don't want her to go down that same path."
Po'boy nods. "Sounds like Cavalry isn't too concerned about justice."
"That's the thing, though. She thinks it is justice. She thinks that if someone commits a crime then they've made their choice already, it's just her job to dole out the consequences because no one else will. She stopped trusting cops and the legal system, stopped giving second chances."
He hmmms. "That doesn't sound anything like Koda." Anna looks at him, one eyebrow quirked. "I'm serious. She spent days going to a trial to make sure that someone she had been personally wronged by got his due in court, even tried to help the prosecutors. That doesn't seem like someone who shoots first and asks questions later to me."
Anna sighs. Maybe Po'boy's right. She's been struggling with not viewing Dakota through that lens, she needs to just let it go.
Po'boy pulls his knees up, wrapping his arms around his bare shins. "I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I know what you were feeling the other day, but what happened isn't like the Anna I know. If you did what you did in a moment of panic, then I get it. But whenever you talk about being worried about your old team, you talk about Cavalry, not Merlin. He sounds like a scummy guy, no doubt, but he doesn't sound like the reason you're feeling all yicky about the whole thing."
A shiver runs down her spine that has nothing to do with the temperature outside. She's been waffling back and forth between feeling guilty and like she did the right thing, but at the core of it all she's still just scared. "Cavalry's still out there. Merlin is…was a terrible person, but he was just a tool. She's going to keep coming and never stop."
Po'boy scooches closer to her and wraps one arm around her shoulders. "And we're all here to protect you. We care about you. Dakota doesn't know how to show stuff like that, sometimes she gets stuck in an angry rut, but she's worried about you. You don't have to deal with this all alone."
Tears run down her face again as she leans into his shoulder. She won't let Cavalry change who she is. She didn't let it happen then; she won't let it happen now. Not when she's stronger and has her team behind her.
She rubs her eyes and dries the last of her tears. Po'boy gives her shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. He gestures to the door. "You ready to go talk to everyone again?"
With one last sniffle, she nods. Po'boy jumps up and holds out a hand to her. She grabs it and he pulls her to her feet. As they make their way back inside, she starts feeling nervous. She said some terrible things to Dakota and has a lot to make up for.
Leopold still sits on the couch typing away at his laptop. He glances up at them and nods towards Dakota's room. "She's in there."
Anna nods and gives him a small smile, which he returns. With a deep breath, she knocks on Dakota's door. "Hey, can I come in?"
After a moment the door opens and Dakota stands in the frame. She glares at Anna for a moment before turning and stomping back to her bed, leaving the door open behind her. Anna shuffles in and shuts the door behind her. She stands by the workbench since there's not much other space. Dakota sits on the edge of her bed, arms crossed and eyes on the floor.
Anna rubs one arm, not sure where to start. Guess it's just best to dive right in. "I'm sorry, Dakota. I said some really terrible stuff back there. I didn't mean to upset you."
Dakota glances up at her. "That's a shitty apology."
"I know, I'm working on it." She huffs. "You're right. I was being a hypocrite. I could have saved Leopold without laying a hand on Merlin, but something…a part of me I keep shoved down every time I put on my costume…won out and I did something I shouldn't have. And you have every right to be mad at me. I'm not going to try and tell you what to do anymore, you gotta make your own decisions about what's right for you."
The tinker uncrosses her arms and rests her elbows on her knees. "But that's just the thing. You were right. I was goin' overboard, tryna find vengeance, not justice. And you helped me figure out a better way to do it and let me decide for myself. It was just frustrating as all hell when you went and did the same thing I had to stop myself from doin'."
Anna nods. "I know. And I shouldn't have belittled what you went through. Your life was ruined, plain and simple. It's not a contest."
Dakota chuckles. "It'd be the world's shittiest contest if it were."
She smiles a little. "Forgive me?"
After a moment Dakota nods. She stands, rubbing the back of her neck. "I ain't so good at all this emotional crap, but you're my friend, I care about you, and sometimes that means callin' each other out on our bullshit. Sorry I was bein' obstinate."
Anna chuckles. "Never apologize for being who you are."
