Chapter Fifteen
I stared up at the parahuman, unfazed and slightly irritated. I was wearing my favorite coat today, and getting it bloody was less than ideal. But first, I had to somehow deescalate the situation.
"Really now. And what makes you think you of all people could kill the Butcher?" And by deescalate, I meant riling up the woman.
The edge of the knife pressed up against my neck. Had the woman been more lucid, she would've realized her weapon wasn't cutting my skin.
"Are you making fun of me…?" Her voice, nearing a guttural quality, cracked as she trailed off. Her eyes flickered ever so slightly; her gaze fixed solely on my own. "No one makes a fool of me and gets away with it!"
I quizzically raised my eyebrow, knowing fully well that she couldn't see it. "And who are you to make such a bold claim? If you have any sort of notoriety, then you've undertaken an impossible task."
The manic woman blinked, briefly considering my words, before narrowing her eyes into a piercing glare. "I am Ravager. And you will know pain-!"
The now named Ravager was caught completely unaware by a cash register smacking the back of her head. Her eyes rolled up as the money box slipped onto the floor with a thunk.
With the grace of a sack of potatoes, the parahuman fell on top of me. Her breathing was shallow, but still there. Looking above her cowl brought my sight to a disgruntled Trickster. "Thanks for the assist."
Trickster once again seemed confused by his actions. Not that I blamed him, but it should've been obvious why he did what he did.
Shoving the woman off me, I got to my feet and did my best to wipe off the blood and grime. Much to my disappointment, my attempts were ineffective.
But, focusing back on the present, I now had a pretty good guess as to why Ravager was in New York. Rather than hire the Nine, the insane parahuman tried another quick fix solution.
"I uh, hate to ask this now, but did you really kill the Butcher?" Having been lost in thought, I nearly forgot Trickster was there. He eyed me warily, and if I hadn't 'mastered' him already, then I would've assumed he was planning an attack.
"No, the Butcher is alive and… not exactly well, but she's around." Brushing my coat off one last time, I sauntered over to the piece of paper I drew the Butcher on. At first glance, it seemed like a completely normal picture with a crude drawing on the front. But if you looked closer, you could see the edges of the pen marks twitching ever so slightly. The fingers quivered at random intervals and the clothes fluttered as though it had actual volume. What truly brought the image to life was the frantic movement of Butcher's eyes. Trapped in a 2d space, unable to comprehend being compressed into a lower dimension and no way of viewing the plane around her.
Smiling to myself at the creative stacking of manipulation, I snatched the paper off the ground and shoved it in my pocket.
Returning my attention to Krouse, I found that he went to grab his phone. Screen barely illuminating his face, he frowned, turning over to me.
"Genesis found Oliver and Cody. They were evacuated by the PRT to a nearby shelter. They're… they're fine." Energy drained from Krouse's posture as he spoke aloud. It was as though he couldn't believe the words till he heard them from his own mouth.
It was convenient. And a bit tiring, but our little excursion wasn't completely wasted. "Ah. That's good to hear. If that's the case, then we should head back to the apartment. Help me drag Ravager, if you would?"
— — —
Short teleport later, as well as an impromptu rope restraining, and we were back at base with a tied up Ravager.
I tossed my book mask at my backpack as Cherie stared at the incapacitated cape. "Didn't think you were into this kind of stuff, Morgan. So, where'd you get this woman from?"
"Ran into her fighting the Butcher. Apparently, this is the Ravager we've been looking for." Pulling back the cowl/mask of the parahuman revealed a black haired Caucasian woman in her 30s.
As expected, Cherie was unbothered by the blatant unmasking. "Huh. I was expecting her to have a bit more…" She waved her hand in a mimicry of a cat scratching.
"Oh, she had plenty of weapons. Wouldn't be surprised if she had claws as well. But I didn't bother grabbing any sharp objects she had, considering her power." I checked over the parahuman one more time to make sure she was unarmed.
"Didn't realize you knew her power. What is it?"
"It was," it took me a couple seconds to recall, "something to do with imbuing weapons with effects that make wounds more painful."
Someone stepped into the room. It was Ballistic, and if his wide eyes were any indication, nobody told him about our newest captive.
"Is this a bad time?" He tugged on his collar, a nervous smile pulling on his features.
Distancing myself from Ravager, I shook my head. "Nah, go ahead."
Cherie smirked in the corner of my vision, likely 'hearing' something amusing from the parahuman. Ballistic shrunk away from the girl, a very comical sight considering his build and stature.
"We just wanted to know when we would go and rescue Oliver and Cody. Like, with a plan and stuff."
Raising my left brow, I waited a second before answering. "'We'? You guys can plan this on your own. I'm going to keep watch of Ravager 'till she wakes up… Unless you need my help?"
"No! I mean, no thank you. I'll let the others know, sir." Cherie snorted as Ballistic waved his arms in denial. Soon after, he left the way he entered.
"Even the mundane you make exciting. Aren't you just a thriller." The girl stared at me, but seemed to lose enthusiasm when I didn't react. "Though, you could stand to be a bit more… daring."
What is she going on about?
Ignoring her weird statement, I pulled over a chair. "Well, I'm going to relax for a bit. Feel free to do whatever, so long as it doesn't draw the wrong kind of attention."
Plopping down into the seat, I leaned back and craned my neck. I felt Cherie's hands on my shoulders. "You know, it's not good to have such stiff shoulders. You really do deserve a good relaxing."
Before I could dignify that with a response, the groans of Ravager grabbed my attention. "Nevermind that. Our guest is waking up sooner than I would've expected."
The parahuman pried her eyes open, only to be met with my grinning visage.
"Let's chat, shall we?"
