At the Brockton Bay Library, Haru stood at a terminal and browsed the internet.

Haru muttered to himself aloud, no doubt adding to the mystique of his long black coat, feminine looking ponytail, and heterochromia. "Oh, so that's what they meant when they asked whether I was a cape. Am I a cape? I don't really have any superpowers...unless you count the whole AT field thing. And they have secret identities. This world is crazy. Also, I had forgotten how useful Wikipedia is."

Apparently this world had a bunch of superheroes and supervillains and even angel-like monstrosities that occasionally attack the world. Instead of fighting them with EVA units, heroes and villains would work together to fend them off until the next attack. Collectively, they were referred to as 'capes', referencing the traditional superhero costume.

The Parahumans Online forum was a rich trove of trolling, speculation, shoutouts, and Youtube videos. As he browsed the Parahumans wiki, Haru considered claiming a cape name for himself.

"Nahhhhh."


Seated behind her desk, Director Piggot addressed the female ward, "So, Shadow Stalker. What do you have for me?"

Compared to the business suit wearing Emily Piggot, Shadow Stalker wore a black costume with a simple black mask. Whereas Director Piggot was overweight with an out-of-date bob haircut, Shadow Stalker was thin and lithe. Although Shadow Stalker's face was concealed, both women had serious expressions on their face.

"There's a new cape in town. I'm pretty sure he was male. Fell from the sky and liquefied the earth to stop his fall. Wore a black coat. Long red hair. I think he spoke Japanese at first before switching to English."

"Why didn't you investigate further?"

"I was in my civilian identity at school and around other civilians. It would have aroused suspicion if I questioned him too much. Also, he seemed confused and unaware of where he was."

"Maybe a Case 53?"

"He didn't have any obvious abnormalities in his appearance. I wasn't able to stick around and learn whether it was amnesia. Wait, no, his eyes were different colors. I remember that much."

"And you mentioned that he might be a candidate for the wards?"

"I couldn't find him when I came back to the school as Shadow Stalker. All I know is he seemed like a teenager with maybe mover or shaker powers. I'm reporting it cause regulations say I am supposed to inform you when unknown capes appear, Director Piggot," Shadow Stalker stated with a large amount of effort placed in maintaining due respect.

"You haven't given me much to work on," remarked Piggot.

"Just doing my job, Ma'am," the ward replied with a smirk.

Piggot smiled herself, "Since you're so good at your job, I'll be sure to schedule extra patrols for you this week so that you'll have more chances to identify your mystery cape."

Shadow Stalker scowled. "Yes, Ma'am."


Haru posted on the missed connections section of the PHO forums.

"To Bugs:

At library. Thanks for tip.

-Don't Call Me Trippy"

It wasn't long before he received a reply in his thread.

"To Trippy:

I want to thank you again for saving me. Will I see you again?

-Bugs

PS: What am I supposed to call you then?"

Haru changed the tab from the wiki article on Leet and Uber to reply to Taylor.

"To Bugs:

Just call me Haru. And sure, I got nothing better to do. Gonna do some exploring first before I step on anyone's toes.

-Haru"

Unfortunately, his time on the computer ended before he could read Taylor's reply.

"To Haru:

If you need a guide, I could meet you at the library. Just give me the word.

-Bugs"


"Hey, you, are you okay?" asked the police officer as he poked the sleeping boy that was laying on the park bench.

It only took a split second for Haru to disarm the police officer of his collapsible baton, trip the officer, and steal the firearm out of the falling officer's side holster.

"Woah, woah! What the hell?" the policeman yelled from the ground at the boy who was pointing the firearm into the policeman's chest.

"Sorry about that. Habits. It's a good thing you didn't have any killing intent." After removing the magazine, Haru tossed the unloaded handgun back to the officer on the ground. "How can I help you, Sir?"

The middle-aged man stared at the boy. "How old are you, kid?"

"I dunno, like fifty if you count everything, I guess," Haru offered with a shrug.

The man scoffed at the suggestion that the impertinent boy could be older than himself. As he checked his firearm and retrieved the magazine that Haru had gently placed on the ground, the man said, "You are not fifty years old. And that means you should be in school. What's your name, kid? No funny business."

"My name is Taylor Hebert, sir. Are you going to take me to school then?" Haru lied impassively.

"...Yeah, just wait a second." the officer asked, wary of being attacked again. He spoke into his shoulder radio, "Dispatch, I have a truant teenager with me. Can you look up a Taylor Herbert for me? Herbert? Hebert?" The frustrated man pointed at Haru. "Which is it?"

Haru simply shrugged.

"Alright. Let's see some ID."

"Dun got any."

Before the police officer could become suspicious, the radio crackled, "Taylor Hebert, repeated absentee from Winslow High."

"Yeah! That's the high school I go to. I got lost on the way to school and decided to take a nap. I don't have a cell phone or gps or anything so can you take me there?" Haru asked, sincere about getting lost in the city amidst his lazy wanderings. The crows on this world were not as cooperative as he was used to. He was going to look up the school in the library later but a free car ride was more than welcome. Maybe the real Taylor would be there.

"Get in the car, kid," ordered the grumpy man. "And don't touch the gun."

"Can I at least drive?"

The officer groaned and opened the back seat door of this patrol car. Haru had already seated himself in the shotgun passenger seat, despite the door having been locked and the boy having been behind him only a second before.

The police officer stared at the boy and double checked with his hand to make sure his weapon was still holstered. "In the back, kid."

"Aw."


Outside Winslow High, the police officer said, "And give me my baton back."

"You're seriously no fun, dude."