Where in the world? By theArcanist

Prereq: Transfer

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"It's almost time, sir."

The police chief bit down on his cigar, his jaw working in annoyance. He glances at his watch - 11:57.

Three minutes until Neverman would strike again.

It always started the same way - he'd send a calling card ahead of time, his infamous mask wrapped in a feathered cloth. The first time it came across his desk, he'd dismissed it out of hand - what sane person wouldn't? The crazy bastard claimed he'd steal the Signal Tower. Not the communication equipment inside, not any of the art adorning it, no, the tower itself - he(if it was a 'he', the chief still wasn't completely sure on that matter) made that point very clear.

He'd laughed and sent a small squad to pick up whatever silly vandals would come to deface the tower - he'd seen it plenty of times before.

Until, that is, it actually happened.

At the appointed time, he appeared and gave some grandstanding speech about how this was his 'stellar debut' and how the police present should be 'honored to behold it' or some crap like that. He didn't really blame his men for not picking up what he was saying, because by all reports the theft wasn't all that subtle.

And by 'not subtle', I mean 'he used a goddamn fucking earthquake to knock the tower loose from its foundations.'

And then - I swear I'm not making this up, there's Dustcam footage and everything - the entire tower fucking levitates and flies off.

Oh, but at least he was gracious enough to return it the next day - with a note taped to the front door about how he was 'so grateful he got to make his call.'

Smug asshole.

And now, he was threatening to steal the leaves from every tree in the southern reach of Forever Falls. Why? Fuck if he knew. Maybe he'd 'return' them the next day in the biggest leaf pile in Vale's history. Maybe giving him a stroke was how he got his kicks.

But this time, that punk was going down. Not only had he mobilized half of his precinct, he'd even managed to convince a few teachers from Beacon to help with the stakeout - Forever Falls was one of their prime training spots, after all.

And then, as the clock struck midnight, he heard it. That smug fucking laugh.

"Police Chief Calico! How good of you to join us!"

Just like always, the taunt seemed to come from everywhere at once, making it impossible to pin down his location.

But this time - he was ready. He'd spent the weeks since receiving the calling card carefully planning for this day - organizing patrols and setting up surveillance equipment specifically to ensure there weren't any blind spots.

"Get ready, lieutenant. If 'Neverman' so much as sneezes in Forever Fall's direction, I want to be the first to know."

Another chortle echoes into the chief's ear. "Sneeze, you say? Well, why don't we test that little theory?"

A sneeze - enormously loud and booming, and exaggerated - echoes across the forest. In its wake, a massive pale of wind swept through the valley. Calico had to brace himself against a rock to keep himself from being swept away, but his attention was immediately drawn to the trees around him.

'Oh, you have GOT to be joking.' The force of the wind was shearing away every last leaf, and they were spirited away before disappearing into the midnight sky.

"Oh, excuse me, Chief! I think I may be coming down with something..." An echoing laugh... and then silence.

He bites down even further on what remains of his cigar - almost hard enough to cut it clean in two.

He'd made a fool of him - again.

Questions pelted his mind - how did he elude his sentries? How'd he control the goddamn fucking weather? Why leaves, of all things?

But above all else, one question stood out - where in the world was the Neverman now?