Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Surprisingly, the shopping trip went by without to much difficulty. I admit, I was half expecting to get dragged into a fight or one of Uber and Leets shows, but instead I got everything I wanted and was home in time for tea. After eating, I dropped by Tess' office to raise the possibility of possibly using my power to make some money considering that my Enchanted gear could be used by anyone. I imagined that the PRT and Protectorate could be interested in bottomless storage containers or indestructible armour. Things like that tended to work well, regardless of how much energy was applied to them. It was mostly active effects and targeted buffs to the user that needed time and more energy to become truly effective.

"Well, its definitely a possibility," said Tess, looking thoughtful, "You'd need to apply for a Rogue Licence and undergo Power Testing at the PRT HQ, but you're not wrong. Plus, I'm sure that you could find other uses for your creations the public would be interested in."

"Hmm, makes sense," I said, "I have to wonder if I could use my power to create mass production machines that make enhanced items…"

I trailed off as my power pinged and helpfully informed me that, yes, I could indeed do that. I couldn't create anything that created more Enchanted items, but I could Enchant machines that would in turn create much higher quality and stronger products.

"Apparently I can," I muttered, "Huh, interesting…"

Tess blinked.

"Thinker or Tinker power?" she asked.

"Apparently," I said, "Its handy though. It means I don't have to experiment."

"Alright then, if thats what you want to do, I'll make an appointment for Power Testing in a couple of days," she said, "Before that though, I suggest that you create a bank account for your Civilian identity. While you'll need another for your Cape one if you get a Rogue Licence, you'll need somewhere to transfer the money to for everyday use."

"How does that work?" I asked.

Tess smiled thinly.

"There are a couple of different groups who offer Rogues money moving service," she said, "Most use either the Toybox or a guy called the Number Man since they have a reputation of being trustworthy, despite having rather steep prices, although there are others available."

"Like you?" I asked.

"Only those who are affiliated with the Guild," she said, "Which is basically code for those who are Ashikabi and Sekirei."

"Blimey, you Single Digits sure are protective of the others," I said.

"Of course we are," said Tess with a smirk, "Its in our nature...mostly."

I thought about some of the Single Digits in the Anime and winced. Yeah, I really couldn't see someone like Karasuba being much of a parent or older sibling for anyone who wasn't a psychopath.

"Alright, guess I'm going to the bank tomorrow," I said, getting to my feet, "Thanks for the help."

"Any time," said Tess, turning back to her computer.

I walked out of her office, thinking hard. For some odd reason, I couldn't help but think that I'd forgotten something. After a moment's thought, I shrugged and headed to my room to finish my latest creation.

The next day I got up bright and early for an ass kicking from Miya and to finish working on my costume. Now, in addition to my sword, I had a pair of boots Enchanted with 'movement' that essentially boosted my speed and jumping ability, the laces of my boots were Enchanted to allow me to reorient my own gravity and run along any surface, my trousers were Enchanted with a regeneration booster, my shirt with a boost to my strength, my coat had a defence booster that, combined with the fact it was already pretty tough, could likely deflect high caliber bullets, my gloves were the same learning Enchantment as my exercise gear, just because I had a feeling that combat experience would give me an even larger boost, my belt carried a shield Enchantment that would allow me to create, well, shields if needed and my mask was Enchanted to act as a dust/gas mask that would, hopefully, keep me from breathing anything unpleasant. In addition to the gear provided by Tess, I also included an addition of my own.

During the shopping trip yesterday, I'd stumbled on something rather interesting in the market. I have no idea where it came from, but I'd found a hat that looked almost exactly like the Hunter Hat from Bloodborne, right down to the feathered ends at the back. Considering I loved the design of the thing in the game, I decided that I might as well add something to make my gear more my own and snapped it up. Now it carried an Enchantment that would make it impossible to use any Thinker or Tinker wizardry to figure out who I was, on top of looking incredibly stylish.

I'd also added an Elemental Enchantment to my sword sheath as an experiment that had come out far better than I expected. I had a feeling that the reason that my costume and weapons Enchantments were so strong were because they were intended for battle and my Shard decided to give me a little extra oomph because of it. That...was a little worrying to be honest.

I didn't really like the idea that my Shard might have enough will to decide to give my power that bit of extra when combat was involved because it implied that it may be able to influence me. I didn't particularly want to end up being pushed into bad situations by the conflict drive, not when it wasn't just my life on the line. I wasn't entirely sure what would happen to Taylor if I popped my clogs, but I doubted it'd be good, assuming that she didn't just keel over too. Yeah, kinda want to avoid that.

Still, it wasn't really something I could deal with right now, so I put it aside. I'd just need to keep an eye on what I ended up doing and hope that it didn't spring anything on me at the worst possible time.

Anyway, other than my costume, I also created one more item that would be extremely helpful. I had little interest in being caught out and about without my gear, so I'd Enchanted my watch with the power to store my costume in a pocket dimension and swap whatever I was wearing with whatever was stored in said pocket dimension, which apparently counted as one. I still wasn't entirely sure whether my power worked on symbolism, my imagination of what the Enchantment should be or something else entirely, but I wasn't about to complain.

I also Enchanted my underwear and socks with a protection and learning Enhancement respectively.

With that done, I turned my attention to my last project for the day before my appointment at the bank, Taylors costume. The previous day, Uzume had been waiting for the two of us when we got back to the Inn following our shopping trip and had revealed that she (and likely Sabah) had managed to repair and upgrade Taylors costume. It was now made of a mix of spider silk and the same material as was used in Sekirei costumes, which basically meant it was tougher than ever. Other than that, it was basically the same, other than the addition of a Sekirei symbol on the back and the number 77 over the heart.

Since I wasn't about to start giving Taylor new abilities without any idea of what she wanted, I started by simply Enchanting the main bodysuit, boots, gloves and mask with the same boosts as my coat, boots, gloves and mask did, before moving on and applying defence and strength boosts to the rest of the armour pieces. I'd make sure to warn her about the boosts before I saw her next and recommend that she doesn't punch anyone in her costume until she had some time to get used to the boosts.

I was just finishing folding up the finished product when a knock on the door made me look up. I smiled slightly when I saw Taylor stood there.

"Eyup," I said, "Whats up?"

"Nothing much, I just got bored flipping through channels at home," she said as she entered the room and sat down on the bed, "What are you doing?"

"Finishing up this," I said, indicating to her costume, "Oh, do you have anything you wear all the time?"

Taylor gave me a funny look, but took off the bracelet she was wearing and handed it to me. I focused for a moment, making the braided metal glow faintly, before placing it on the folded costume in front of me. There was a sucking sound and the costume vanished into the pocket dimension. Taylor blinked as she took the bracelet and examined it closely.

"Huh, thats cool," she said.

"It means that you'll never be without your costume," I said, "Here, let me show you how it works."

I gave her a quick rundown and, after a couple of attempts that resulted in Taylor somehow ending up in her underwear (don't ask) she managed to get her costume and clothes to manifest when needed. With that done, I gave a quick rundown on what her gear could do now and offered to make her something a little more...esoteric. Like a knife that could make fire. She declined.

"You sure?" I asked, "I can think of plenty of things you could do with something like an electrified baton."

"True, but I'd rather not risk hurting someone permanently," said Taylor, "Thanks for the offer though."

I shrugged.

"Fair enough," I said and glanced at the clock.

Upon seeing the time, I stood and stretched.

"Welp, I'd better get going," I said, "I got an appointment to keep."

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Taylor.

I shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" I said, "Although you might be bored while I'm signing paperwork.

Taylor shrugged.

"Thats fine," she said, "You can make it up to me with lunch."

I snorted and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we headed out.

As it turned out, I didn't have to worry to much about keeping Taylor waiting to long since it was surprisingly easy to sort out a bank account. Apparently, Tess is really good at her job, or the process had been streamlined at some point, because I was done with the process in less than ten minutes. Unfortunately, that was still long enough for me to be reminded of exactly what it was I'd forgotten.

We were just finishing up when a loud crash echoed from the main hall of the Bank, followed by a lot of screaming, the sound of a massive dog barking. I had just enough time to let out a 'oh you have got to be…' before a cloud of black smoke came billowing into the office, cutting both me and the manager off from everything, and someone grabbed me roughly by the shoulder and frogmarched me back into the main hall where I was shoved down with the rest of the hostages.

I glanced around quickly, noting that the Undersiders were all present, along with the very recognizable form of Trainwreck. Well, that wasn't good. Guess Coil thought they needed more muscle or something. The problem was that, while I was fairly confident that Taylor and I could deal with the Undersiders canon group, I wasn't convinced that we could take on someone as tough as Trainwreck alone and, to be completely honest, I was perfectly happy to leave them to the Wards once they arrived. The problem was that I could already feel Taylor getting ready to take them down.

"Fifteen minutes," called Tattletale, "We won't be here any longer than that. Stay put, stay quiet, we'll be gone before fifteen minutes are up. You'll be free to give your statement to the police and then go about your day as usual. This isn't a TV show, this isn't a movie. If you're thinking about being a hero, don't. You'll only get yourself or someone else hurt. Oh, and don't try calling for help either. We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."

I cursed in my head as I felt Taylors determination rise. I couldn't see my Sekirei in the crowd and I didn't have enough time to locate her before she did something stupid, assuming the Undersiders would even let me start moving. Probably not considering it was Trainwreck watching over us.

At that exact moment, the sound of metal on marble and steam being released made me look up, just in time to see Trainwreck stomp up in front of a girl with frizzy, light brown hair.

"I thought we said not to call anyone," rumbled the Case 53, "Naughty girls get punished."

He reached for her. Welp, guess its time to get started.

I took a deep breath and focused on the pen I was still holding from signing the paperwork. A couple of seconds later, it was done and I clicked it and let it fall. The moment it hit the ground, a massive cloud of crimson smoke erupted.

Amy Dallon was not in the best mood. The combined effects of a long day at school, followed by a massive emergency at the hospital draining her, Carol being even more snappy with her than usual, Mark having a particular bad day and her feeling the after effects of Vicky's Aura when she tried to use it to cheer everyone up (a mix of loneliness, guilt over being attracted to her sister and a feeling that she shied away from really considering considering how closely it resembles withdrawal symptoms), meant that she was already having a pretty bad day. As a result, she just wanted to go home and fall into bed and that was exactly what she intended to do after she sorted out an issue that had popped up with her bank account, but instead she got caught up in a bank robbery by a group of Villains she'd only vaguely heard of.

She scowled, not for the first time wishing that her powers were more like Vickys, and wondering if she could risk sending a text to her sister or if she should just wait it out.

She glanced at the massive Tinker who was watching the hostages. Probably best not to.

She glanced around, trying to see if anyone had been badly hurt. While a lot of people looked scared out of their minds, no one seemed to be doing more than holding slightly bruised arms where they'd been manhandled.

Then, her gaze fell on a girl a short distance away who didn't look scared at all. In fact, she was wearing an expression that was uncomfortably familiar to the Healer. It was the same look Vicky got before she jumped into a fight.

Amy winced slightly. That would end very badly, even if the girl was a Cape which, judging from the way she was fingering her bracelet, was rather likely. Looks like she'd have to call in some reinforcements after all. She glanced around nervously, making sure that all of the Undersiders were looking away, before carefully pulling her phone out of her pocket.

And because the universe just loved taking massive steaming dumps on her, dropped it as her sweat slick hand slipped off the case.

Without thinking, she reached for the dropped phone, but before she could grab it, a massive, steampunk foot came down on it. She froze and slowly looked up at the grinning face of Trainwreck as the Tinker loomed over her.

"I thought we said not to call anyone," rumbled the Case 53, "Naughty girls get punished."

Then, he reached for her.

Before Amy could do more than recoil however, her vision was filled by a cloud of red smoke. She heard Trainwreck let out a curse, before something shot past her and there was the sound of something solid slamming into soft flesh, followed by another curse from Trainwreck and a massive gust of wind blasted away the smoke and forced her to cover her face.

"Hey now, no need to be rude," said an oddly familiar, accented voice, "Thats no way to treat a pretty lady."

Amy opened her eyes to see the source of the voice stood in front of her. Surprisingly, he wasn't that tall or even that large at all, although that didn't mean much when it came to Capes. He was clad all in black, from his boots to his long coat, to his facemask and hat, but somehow still managed to avoid looking dark and edgy, likely helped by the blue lining of his coat. In his hand, he held a sword in a white sheath with the hilt wrapped in bandages in such a way it would be impossible to draw, which seemed a little odd to Amy, but it wasn't the weirdest thing she'd seen other Capes do.

"Who the fuck are you?" growled Trainwreck.

"You may call me Vergil," said the Cape with a slightly mocking bow.

Regent snorted.

"Really?" he asked, "You named yourself after a character from a video game?"

"Actually, its the name of Dantes guide into Inferno in the Divine Comedy," said Vergil, "But if thats how you want to take it, sure."

He held up his sword, a grin apparent in his stance.

"Care to see what my Yamato can do?"

"Ah, I'd rather not," said Regent.

"Regardless of where the name came from, you don't honestly think you can take all of us alone, do you?" asked Grue.

"Hes not," said Tattletale, who had been staring at the new Cape like she wasn't sure what to make of him, "Hes not alone!"

At that exact moment, the vents around the room gave way, letting what looked like a tide of black smoke to flood into the room. No, not smoke. Amy's eyes widened as she realized that the clouds were actually insects, massive numbers of unnaturally large bugs with black exoskeletons which, although entomology wasn't exactly her speculty, she was almost certain weren't natural.

Amy looked up as someone stepped past her and nearly recoiled at the sight of what appeared at first sight to be a cloud of bugs with eyes, before she realized it was actually a girl in a dark costume with the bugs swarming around her, apparently emerging from under her hair. Well, that wasn't creepy at all.

Vergil glanced at his apparent partner, then at the swarm.

"That...seems a bit excessive," he said, "Where did you even pull all these from?"

"I didn't," said the girl, "Apparently my powers aren't bug control."

"Huh...thats interesting," said Vergil, "Whatever, we can talk about that later. For now, lets take these idiots down."

"With pleasure."

She flung her arms out and the swarm responded.

"Swarm Gatling," she muttered and her bugs shot forwards with far more speed and force than any true living creature would be capable of.

That attack should have taken down the Undersiders considering it was way too wide and fast to avoid and the only ones capable of truly blocking it were Trainwreck and Bitch. However, before it could hit, there was a flash of metal and the bugs were sliced to pieces, dissipating like smoke.

"Your late," said Grue, sounding a little relieved, although the odd reverb of his voice made it hard to tell for sure.

"Sorry boss, it took me longer than I thought to finish up," said the newcomer as she slowly straightened.

The girl looked...dark was the only word that came to mind. She was slender, with dishevelled gray hair and skin so pale it looked almost unnatural. She was wearing in a tattered dark robe of some kind, a spiked choker, a black domino mask across her eyes and her entire body was wrapped in bandages. However, the most eye catching thing about her appearance was the massive, clawed gauntlets she was wearing, each one tipped with barbed blades that looked more than sharp enough to rend flesh from bone.

"Huh…that was unexpected," said Vergil, "Um, do you mind taking this one?"

The bug user nodded as more insects began to crawl out of her costume and hair.

"Heh, I don't mind," said the newcomer, "Hell, its practically in the rules."

She lifted her claws and flexed her fingers.

"I'm 105, Haihane."

"Number 77, Entoma," said Entoma, "And these…"

There was the sound of metal crashing against metal and the bugs around her arms dispersed to reveal two very large bugs with gleaming metal claws clinging to her wrists.

"Are my Blade Bugs."

Haihane smirked.

"Well, this is going to be fun," she said and pounced.

"We should go," said Tattletale, glancing over at the windows, "The White Hats just arrived."

Vergil cleared his throat.

"You don't actually think…"

He was cut off as Trainwreck charged him and swung a massive fist at the black clad Cape. Surprisingly, he held his ground and blocked it with his sword, only being pushed back a short distance.

"Your fights with me brat," snarled the Tinker.

"Well, when you put it like that…" said Vergil, before he shoved Trainwreck back and swung his sword.

Trainwreck stumbled back slightly as a blast of force erupted from the swing, far more than should have been possible from the force of the swing.

"The hell?!" growled Trainwreck, "Your an Aerokinetic?"

"Hmm, maybe," said Vergil and stepped forwards with his sword leading in a thrust.

The tip slammed into Trainwrecks chest, sending him skidding back with the force of the wind blast that erupted, his metal feet tearing up the marble floor of the bank. Despite the force behind the attack, Trainwreck didn't seem to be hurt by it and raised an arm, releasing a blast of superheated steam at Vergil and forcing him to hop back out of range. The hulking Tinker took advantage of the lul to regain his balance and charge the swordsman, swinging his massive fists with impressive speed for his size.

Vergil ducked under the swings, slipping past the massive Tinker and jumping away, swinging his sword and sending another blast of wind at him that made him stumbled slightly. Trainwreck spun around, an ugly scowl on his face as he charged the smaller man again.

"Stand still!" he roared as he tried to hit the much more agile Cape.

"Now why would I want to do that?" asked Vergil as he jumped over a strike and landed lightly on the back of Trainwrecks hand.

Before Trainwreck could react to the sudden passenger, Vergil swung his sword at his shoulder and, with the sound of rending metal, the arm came away and a shallow gash appeared in the marble floor a short distance away.

"Hmm, need to practice that," muttered Vergil as he jumped off the disembodied arm as Trainwreck stumbled back, spitting curses as his suit leaked coolant and oil.

"You fucking BASTARD!" he roared, "Your DEAD!"

He raised his remaining arm and his hand folded away to reveal a rather large barrel. Before he could fire however, Haihane landed beside him and shoved the arm down.

"Sorry big guy, but you'll have to finish this later," she said, "The others are gone, so its time to leave."

"Wha...but…" started Trainwreck, before Haihane cut him off with a look.

"Unless you want to get picked up by the PRT, we're leaving," said Haihane, "Now."

Trainwrecks cheeks flushed, but he snapped an agreement, before glaring at Vergil.

"Next time brat, your dead!" he snarled, before another compartment opened and a massive cloud of smoke erupted.

"Hey, get back here!" shouted Entoma as she ran up beside her partner.

Vergil put a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him.

"No, let them go," he said, "No point in continuing this now."

Taylor gritted her teeth under her mask, but relaxed, allowing her Insect constructs to fade. She wasn't really pleased that Haihane had escaped, but she wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth. It had been obvious from the moment they'd crossed blades that the other Sekirei was much better at her in combat which, honestly wasn't that surprising. It was clear from her weapon of choice that Haihane was a Weapon Type and had likely been active for much longer than Taylor had, so she had more experience and was much better in close combat. If Haihane had not only been playing for time, the fight could have ended badly for Taylor.

She let out a huff and pushed the thoughts aside for now. She'd ask Miya for some training like Lucas later, but for now there were other things to worry about.

She turned to the crowd of hostages, her lips thinning slightly as she noted that it was a little smaller than it had been because the Undersiders had sent some out to act as distractions for the Wards.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Lucas, scanning the crowd.

There was a general murmur of agreement as the former hostagers started moving, the bank employees being the first as they were likely (unfortunately) used to being held up.

As the other hostages started pulling themselves together, Amy let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't there as Panacea, or perhaps it had been the debut of two obviously powerful Capes whos colour schemes didn't exactly scream hero, especially Entomas, but the whole fight had set her more on edge than normal and now it was over, she felt more than a little shaky. Probably due to the aforementioned breath holding, although it could have been the close call with Trainwreck that had done it. After all, it wasn't often that she was on the front lines of a fight or even put in a situation where she was likely to get confronted with another, hostile Cape.

The young healer was broken from her thoughts as a pair of boots stopped in front of her. She looked up and saw it was Vergil.

"Hey, you OK?" asked the swordsman.

"Y-yes, I'm fine," said Amy, "Thanks for the help."

Vergil tilted his head in a manner that emoted a smile.

"No problem," he said, "Besides, what kind of man would I be if I let a pretty girl get hurt on my watch?"

Amy's heart skipped a beat at that. It was the exact same line the mysterious boy from her dream had said. Whats more, now that she thought about it, Vergil's voice was nearly identical to Lucas', right down to the accent. But they couldn't be the same person, right? Lucas was a character created by her subconscious...right?

"Are you sure your OK?" asked Lu...Vergil, "You look a little pale."

"I-I'm fine," said Amy again, "Just shaken up I guess."

"Right, well, I suggest getting looked at by a paramedic just in case," said Vergil, "Need a hand?"

He offered a gloved hand and, after a moment's hesitation, Amy took it and let Vergil haul her to her feet. However, it seemed that she was a little more shaken than she thought because the moment she was on her feet, her head swam and she nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Vergil before she could fall, leaving her looking up at his green eyes visible between his hat and mask as she was pressed against his chest by his free arm around her waist. Despite herself, her face promptly turned bright red at the close contact, although a part of her mind was noting just how warm Vergil was and couldn't help but wonder what he looked like under the mask…

"HEY, GET YOUR HANDS OF MY SISTER!"

The familiar voice jolted Amy out of her musing, just in time to see a white blur shoot through the door towards Vergil.

Dinah Alcott was nearly in tears from a mix of pain from her pounding head brought on by her power, frustration, exhaustion and sheer terror. She'd been incredibly lucky to catch onto the fact that the men who had taken her out of her lesson with news that her Mother was in the hospital were actually there to kidnap her for whoever it was who had been stalking her since shortly after she'd Triggered and even more lucky to be able to make a break for it. Unfortunately, it seemed that the kidnappers weren't about to let up and were dogging her every step, no matter what she tried to lose them.

98% chance of capture.

70% chance of capture.

Dinah whimpered as she took the path with the lowest chance, but that didn't really help. Since the start of the chase, the numbers had been climbing steadily higher and even if they weren't, she wasn't sure how much longer she could run. She was reaching the end of her endurance and then the men would only have to pick her up and take her to whatever fate awaited her, the best of which was likely death.

2.78% chance of death.

Oh, well that was nice. She already knew that it likely wasn't to kill her, that was just the best case scenario. She might be young, but that didn't mean that she wasn't VERY well aware that there were things worse than death.

98.99% chance its worse than death.

Thank you power, you useless pain in the ass.

Dinah whimpered as her head throbbed even worse with the unwanted results as she came to another fork in the road. As much as her head hurt, to the point it felt like it was going to explode, she wasn't willing to just let them take her, so long as she could run, so she once again asked the question.

98.76% chance of capture.

For the left road.

0.34% chance of capture.

For the right. Dinah nearly tripped at the sudden massive drop in percentages, but managed to keep her feet and fling herself down the left path, the sudden surge in hope giving her a second wind. She stumbled down the road, her legs aching almost as much as her head as her lungs burnt, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and hoping that she reached whatever could help her before she collapsed.

She was so focused on running that she ran smack into someone and bounced off, ending up on her bum.

"My my, what have we here?" said a soft, feminine voice from above her.

Dinah forced her eyes open and let out a soft squeak as she immediately recognized the woman she'd ran into. Hard not to when she was one of the most infamous members of the Guild. From her black uniform and her silver hair, to the sword in her hand and the silver mask shaped like wings over her eyes, the Black Crow of the Guild was recognizable to anyone with even a passive interest in Cape culture.

Dinah swallowed. While the woman was technically on the side of good, calling her a Hero was pushing it and she was renowned for killing those who got on her bad side. Admittedly, that reputation was likely overblown, but Dinah still had to be sure.

0.02% chance that she will hurt you.

99.99% chance that she will save you.

Dinah let out a sound that was half whimper of agony and half sigh of relief at that as she collapse bonelessly at the Capes feet. She barely noticed Crow kneel down and put a cool hand on her head.

"Hmm, looks like a Thinker Headache," she said, "And you've been running for a while. Whats got you in this state child?"

Dinah opened her mouth, but all that came out was a strangled moan. The sound of footsteps made Dinah glance over her shoulder and she whimpered when she saw her would-be kidnappers round the corner and pause at the sight of the infamous Cape kneeling beside their target.

"Sorry to disturb you ma'am," said the apparent leader of the kidnappers, stepping forwards slightly, "But the we're Miss Alcotts bodyguards. The poor girls a little confused at the moment I'm afraid, so if we can take her, we'll get her home."

Dinah whimpered and clutched at Crows uniform, trying to make her understand.

The silver haired woman looked between the exhausted girl and the goons, before her expression darkened.

"Ah, so thats it," she said as she got to her feet.

"Ma'am?" asked the lead kidnapper as his men stepped back slightly, their hands moving to their weapons.

"Girl, I suggest that you look away," said Crow as she started to draw her sword, "I'll take out the trash.

Dinah quickly did as she was told, covering her ears as well for good measure, although that did nothing to keep her from hearing the screams and few gunshots the men got off. She didn't feel much sympathy for them though.

After a couple of minutes, she felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Crow once again kneeling beside her.

"Now that thats been dealt with, lets get you somewhere safe," she said, "Do you mind if I carry you?"

Dinah, utterly exhausted from her ordeal, could only shake her head as her aching body finally decided it had had enough and she slipped into darkness.

And done. Hoo boy, that fight in the middle was hard to pull off. I kept ending up with Lucas creaming the Undersiders, which I really didn't want to do just yet. Still, I think I managed well enough. Sorry I didn't include Taylor and Haihane's fight, but that was causing me even more problems and I decided to cut my losses.

Alright, I admit I added Lucas' hat on a whim, mostly because I needed something else and I rather like the look. As for the rest of his gear, I hope my choices in Enchantment make sense. I took some suggestions and combined it with what I thought he needed. Oh, and in case you can't tell, the Enchantment on his sheath is a Wind one. I plan to leverage that quite a bit in the future.

Yes, I did the bank robbery. Why? Because it was a good way to expose Lucas to both of his other planned Sekirei. And no, Haihane will not be one of them. Shes actually Grue's Sekirei.

I actually plan for a few Sekirei to show up with the Villains because its unreasonable to believe that all 108 of them are good. There won't be many who are actually evil of course, but a couple are a definite possibility.

My choice to have Lucas go by Vergil might be a tad on the nose, but its fitting. Why? Figure it out.

The Undersiders escape went similar to canon and I dare say we'll find out more in the next chapter when Lucas and Taylor meet the rest of the Wards and we get a second bird to spread her Wings.

I wasn't sure who I was going to have save Dinah, but I knew from the start it'd be a Sekirei. I considered Miya on her way back from shopping, Homura out as...Homura and even Tsukume, mostly so I could type her screaming 'Bringeth it!' at the top of her lungs, but I eventually decided to use Karasuba so I could have her meet Taylor and Lucas at the PRTHQ and freak everyone out with the revelation that the Black Crow has a Daughter.

Final point, there are a couple of characters I'm not sure what to do with quite yet. The first is Madison. I know I want to redeem her, but I'm not sure if I should have her just Trigger, or if I should have her be a Sekirei as well. If the latter, I'm not sure who I should have be her Ashikabi, although I am tempted to use Lucas, just for the resulting fallout. I probably won't though.

The other character is Greg. I know hes a bit of a joke, but I find myself unable to just make him completely useless. I'm considering making him an Ashikabi, possibly for Madison, but I'm also toying with the idea of using Musubi or Tsukume. Thoughts?

And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!

EDIT: changed Taylors Cape name to Entoma. Why? Because why not.