Chapter Six

Poughkeepsie seemed like a nice city. The buildings had this old feeling to them. Likely because they were, but I couldn't find a single one taller than three stories. Bricks or planks. That was what you had to choose from when gazing from building to building.

And where there weren't buildings there were trees. Large leafless trees. Some towered over the apartments, and others barely passed the first floor. It stuck out to me how wintery it felt. I still wasn't quite used to the east coast, having only been on this side of the US twice before. California, in contrast, didn't really do winter. It got cold, but rarely did it drop below 50. Unless you lived in the mountains.

"What's the plan for finding this Ravager villain? I could master a few people to look out for her." Cherie walked beside me as we made our way down the block.

"No… Easy as that may be, mastering people may draw the wrong kind of attention. And I can't use my power much either. I doubt Thinker's can track our exact position, but if they can predict places I will attack? The moment I consider using my power on a large scale is the moment our cover is blown."

It was a conundrum. We couldn't make a scene because I couldn't catch the S9 off guard while being chased by the Protectorate. Neither of us could use our powers, which was a large setback. Unless…

"Say, you mentioned that you could sense emotions and tell the difference between people."

My partner nodded her head and pondered. She let out a small "oh" when realizing what I meant.

"You want me to search for Ravager based on her emotions! It could work; capes—especially villains—tend to be more angsty than the average teen. But we might end up violating the 'Unwritten Rules'." She snorted, shaking your head.

"I don't care if we find her in a bank robbery or on the toilet. Her contribution to my objective is inevitable."

I checked my phone out of habit, grimacing to see no signal as usual. "On another note, we should split up. You'll head up north while I work down here. We'll reconvene around lunch."

— — —

Good news: I found Mouse Protector dealing with a hostage situation. It wasn't guaranteed that I'd find Ravager through MP, but it was better than nothing.

Bad news: I was the hostage.

"Unhand that innocent citizen, you fiend! To think you'd stoop to such levels of depravity- have you no shame?" Mouse Protector stood tall and proud as the criminal's knife hovered above my neck.

The Independent hero looked slightly different than what I imagined, but it fit her as well. It was a mix between knight armor and a fantasy rogue. A segmented silver helmet wrapped around her head, leaving only her eyes visible—a crudely drawn nose and whiskers on the faceplate. Oval protrusions angled out and behind her head, likely the mouse ears of her costume.

Hanging off MP's back was a flowing blue cape that reached her calves. It shimmered with each flip in the wind, acting like its own entity. Her shoulders and chest were covered in form fitting metal sheets. They accentuated her curves without making her appear completely defenseless, almost like they had some real functionality to them.

A thick brown belt wrapped around her waist that was covered in rectangular pouches and an ornate scabbard colored gold and silver. She wore thick pants that bunched up at the knees (the ninja kind) and ended in armored combat boots.

"Shut up! I do not have a fetish for sticking knives in people!" My assaulter was not the most stable individual. His hands shook as he barely kept hold of me.

Loitering outside the bank for something to happen sounded like a good idea, but hindsight proved otherwise. At least the criminal was in no position to actually harm me. The Agent in my shadow could discreetly incapacitate him; although, the autopsy would be gruesome.

"So you admit it! You've stuck knives where they don't belong. Very naughty~" An infuriated snarl erupted from the criminal's throat." But! I will defeat you and restore peace, or my name isn't Rat Defender!" The hero thrust her sword to the sky, an unseen smile spreading across her face.

The criminal nearly fell over at 'Rat Defender's' proclamation.

"Huh? But isn't your name Mou-" The air distorted with a thwip and MP vanished from my sight. A meaty thwack came shortly after as the flat end of Mouse Protector's sword landed on the thug's head.

The man fell over, unconscious. I reached up to feel my neck despite knowing I wasn't cut. "Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome. I hope you are without injury? I've heard that Mr. Stabby Mc Stab is notorious for leaving holes that weren't there before." Sheathing her sword, the hero took out a zip tie and a permanent marker.

"Yeah, I'm all good. But, uh, couldn't you have teleported behind him earlier?" I checked my pockets to make sure nothing was stolen. Phone and wallet were left untouched.

Mouse Protector restrained the criminal and drew a nose and whiskers that matched her own. When she was done, she sprang to her feet and pointed at me. "Miscreants shan't get away unpunished. I am the defender in the light, patroller of the night, and this mouse means business."

She was boisterous, but completely evaded my question. I decided it wasn't worth continuing.

"Thanks for the save. First day in this city and already so much has happened." Ironic, considering what I'd done in almost every other city.

"Oh, new to town are you? Then I welcome you to the wonderful city of Poughkeepsie. Be sure to enjoy your stay." MP waved her arm behind her with an exaggerated flourish, her cape picking up in the cold wind.

"Don't worry, I will." My lips quirked into a smile at her antics. "By the way, anything I should keep an eye out for? Dangerous people like criminals or capes."

Shifting into a more casual stance, Mouse Protector brought her knuckles to her faceplate. "That's… Huh. Aside from today's law breaker, there hasn't been much activity the past couple weeks. I would say don't worry, but you never know what dastardly villain is hiding in the dark!"

"What about capes? Like Ravager, for instance."

"Ravager- you mean the Clawed Kitty? Pretty sure she tucked her tail between her legs and ran. Haven't seen hide nor fur of her in a while." That did not bode well for my plans.

I wasn't given the chance to ask further when the whining of emergency vehicles grew louder in the distance. That was my cue to leave.

"I appreciate the help, but I should be going. Came with a friend of mine and I promised to meet her at lunch." Awkwardly waving, I slowly backed away.

"You didn't tell me you were with company! Don't let me keep you from your girlfriend then." I turned away the moment Mouse Protector started wiggling her eyebrows.

But it worked for me. Giving the police a statement was not on my to do list.

— — —

The burger was good. Not amazing, but I doubted I ever had an amazing burger. Cherie sat across from me, taking a great amount of joy from my misadventure.

"She really called him out like that? In front of everyone watching?" The girl barely kept her volume under control, laughing with each breath. "Almost feel bad for- what did she say, 'Mr. Stabby Mc Stab'?"

"Something like that."

Clearing my throat, I moved the conversation back on track. "As I was saying, I asked about Ravager and the answer wasn't ideal. Apparently, she's not here, or at least, hasn't been seen in a long time. Have you found anything on your end?"

"Same for me, couldn't find anyone that resembled her, even with the extra help-"

I groaned, "Don't tell me you went and mastered people when I explicitly said not to."

"What?" Cherie crossed her arms with indignant impudence. "Just a few people wouldn't hurt. And they were all low lifes anyway."

"Asking the only hero in town where Ravager is, only for several individuals to go around looking for the villain at the exact same time. We don't need the suspicion." Dealing with those Cherie mastered would be a pain. Memory scrambling was a finicky thing.

Listening to my explanation, my partner assumed a bemused expression. "That's it? No 'do not fail me again' or 'now you will receive punishment for disobeying me'?"

I, in turn, quirked an eyebrow. "Uh. No, I don't need to punish you. You're hardly a subordinate of mine, and if you don't want to follow the plan, be my guest. Prepare yourself for the consequences of your actions and I won't really be bothered."

Not what I was expecting her to think. It wasn't like I'd ever forced her to do something she didn't want to do. And she was with me of her own free will.

"Right… So I was gathering info from the people I mastered and I learned about where Ravager might be." Cherie took a bite from her food and swallowed. "The villain is somewhere in New York City for some reason or other. No one knew more than that."

"New York City?" Now that was strange. I wasn't the most knowledgeable of Worm, but I was sure that Ravager didn't travel to any plot relevant places this close to canon's start.

Ruined my lure for the S9, but killing the group wasn't my only goal.

I had reasons to travel to New York City, and it wasn't merely to investigate Ravager's movements.