Chapter Four

To say that the Hundred Power Duo felt awkward was an understatement. They shifted in their seats uneasily and didn't talk, unsure of what to say. They were sitting in the corner of a café (a harder spot for Barnaby's fans to see him at and bother him) silently debating about what to do with their baggage.


"You understand the types of problems we've been having lately at the police station, yes?" The City Police Commissioner asked the three heroes as he led them away from the paramedics and his subordinates.

"You mean besides it just being bombed?" Wild Tiger asked. Barnaby could have punched his partner for his stupidity.

"You mean the suicides?" The blonde clarified, hoping that he would jog Kotetsu's memory of what they watched on the news the other day.

"Yes. The courts don't believe that these gang members have been killing themselves off." Clarkson lowered his voice so he wouldn't be heard by unwanted ears. "They're actually accusing the police department of killing the criminals before they're convicted and want to put a stop to the 'vigilante' work by the officers."

"Is it true?" Ivan asked before he could stop himself.

"Absolutely not."

"Then where are the suspicions coming from?" Barnaby asked, his interest genuinely piqued.

"Prosecutor's are putting forth many reasons, such as they way these men killing themselves as unusual, but they're biggest defense is that not all confirmed members of this gang are killing themselves when taken into custody. Only members who come through this specific department end up killing themselves."

"What gang is this?" Kotetsu asked.

"It's actually the Touro Mafia." Clarkson answered quietly.

"How are they killing themselves?"

"Biting off their tongues." Everyone's stomach seemed to roll over in their bellies uncomfortably.

"How could the courts even let this case go through?" Origami commented, thinking the whole thing over once he regained his composure. "At least if the criminals were hanged, then you could argue that the officers were involved."

"The prosecutors know that we have a NEXT working for the police. Their position is that Eden is forcing the men to commit suicide."

"But that's not how her powers work!" Tiger protested.

"I know and I've explained it all to the judges." The graying-haired man gave a harsh cough, caused by his being upset over the whole situation and the smoke in his lungs.

"But the prosecutor's reasoning is strong and you can't dismiss them." Barnaby guessed the troubles this man was having with his unorthodox employee.

"So now I'm going to ask a favor." Clarkson looked uneasy and shifted his weight between his feet. "Could you Heroes watch after her while I clean this mess up?"


And that was how Kotetsu and Barnaby were stuck babysitting a teenager. They awkwardly fidgeted in their seats under the not-so-friendly hazel gaze of a girl they knew almost nothing about. She did not seem happy about having guardians watching her.


"Hear me out." The Commissioner explained. Reluctantly, the Hero team listened. "She has no parents and Detective Verre usually follows her around for her safety." He went on to explain that she was a very unruly girl despite her mellow demeanor. Since she was a small child, she would scare off nannies and sitters.

Her father used to work on the police force. He was the previous City Police Commissioner before James Clarkson took it over about seven years ago, after the man died. When her powers developed shortly after her parents passed away, she would throw tantrums and run to the police station, demanding to watch interrogations and see the criminals come through. Since she needed to be watched anyway, Clarkson allowed it and had Detective Verre on part-time babysitting duties; he didn't scare easily and could keep an eye on her as he worked. The situation ended up working like a charm; Verre's main duty was interrogation and Eden's powers naturally helped him with his job. She calmed down as she grew older.

"But Verre is my head interrogator; I can't have him gone half the day just to make sure the girl stays away while this investigation on her takes place."

"Haven't you told her what's going on? Doesn't she understand she needs to stay away?"

"Yes, but it's that stubbornness of hers and her wild age. She's completely confident that they won't convict her and insists on putting criminals away. If I had known what type of trouble she would have turned into, I would have kept her as far away from the police department as I could.

"Which is why I need a couple of Heroes that can tame her just until the whole situation is dismissed. She's in school most of the day, five out of seven days a week. I'll send Verre off to escort her home every night. She will only be left to you for a few hours most days. Can you keep her out of my hair?"


Eden was sipping on a strawberry milkshake, looking content enough. Neither Kotetsu nor Barnaby ordered anything though. They chose the milkshake for her since her angry silence was most unhelpful to them (and they hoped it would be a distraction from her irate glaring). The high school had let out just thirty minutes ago, so the Duo had a long day ahead of them until dinnertime when her usual chaperone would take her back. She was still dressed in her school uniform: a white short sleeved button down shirt with a reddish brown skirt and short tie to match.

She pulled away from her milkshake long enough to sign thank you to the men and went right back to drinking her milkshake.

"Oh! I know what that sign means!"

"It means 'thank you', Old Man." Kotetsu gave a long sideways glare at his blonde partner. He didn't need Barnaby telling him what it meant. Eden gave a small smile, clearly entertained by the two.

Just then, another high school girl walked up to the table that the trio was sitting at, her hands on her hips and holding her black school briefcase. It took half a second before the men recognized who the girl was; her natural brown hair and eyes were very different from the blue they usually see her in.

"What do you two think you're doing?"

"How did you find us?"

"You're in a café where one wall is a window to the outside." Karina pointed to the long wall of glass for emphasis. "And you chose a spot that's close to my school." She finally looked over at Eden now, her face much more friendly than it was towards the pair. She looked her up and down and noticed that she was wearing the same clothes as her.

"Oh, we go to the same school." Then it hit her. "You're the quiet girl…" Karina had a class or two with her and knew there was a reason as to why she never spoke, but she had forgotten. She never had to do oral reports or presentations. The short hair girl extended her hand out to her all the same. Karina happily shook it.

"She can't talk." Kotetsu said.

"That's right. You're mute." The words left her lips with a hint of sadness in them, a bit embarrassed that she brought it up. But the girl just took her hand back, pulled out a pen and notebook from her own school bag and wrote something down. She presented it to Karina to read.

'No need to be sorry.'

"Well, okay then." The female hero smiled, which in turn made Eden smile. "But what're you doing hanging out with this odd couple?"

"Stern Build's City Police Commissioner asked us to keep her out of trouble, Miss Nosey!" Kotetsu blurted out, a little peeved at the name calling.

"Her name is Eden and she's a NEXT." Barnaby managed to say more calmly. "Mr. Clarkson doesn't want her around the police station and asked us to keep her out."

"That still doesn't—" Another written message was presented to Karina from her schoolmate. She had written it while the three were talking.

'It's a long story. I'm not allowed to work.'

"What is she writing to you?" Kotetsu extended his hand to take the notebook, but Eden pulled it just out of reach. The elder man sneered at her childishness.

"Huh. You have to tell me the details later. So, you two are babysitting?" Karina's eyes flashed with amusement, ready to laugh.

"It's nothing extensive." The younger man explained. "Just a few hours until her proper caretaker can watch her again."

"So, what are you going to do for now?" The men looked at her for a moment, completely silent, and then shrugged their shoulders. "Well, what if you two get called for Hero business? You can't watch her while you're trying to save people."

"Kotetsu will stay behind."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Wild Tiger would not allow this. "No way, Bunny! I'm an excellent Hero, and I will not be forced to sit back while innocent people are in danger."

"Your less-than-impressive Hero rankings tell a different story." Though Barnaby did not say it with malice in his voice, his matter-of-fact tone don't did not take the sting out of the insult. Of course, the pair argued for some time afterward now, Karina shaking her head with a disappointing look on her face and trying to calm the two down. Eden took the opportunity to quietly stand up and throw away her milkshake, but instead of heading back to the table, she headed for the front door.

The girl was looking over her shoulder back into the café, making sure the Heroes had not yet caught on to her slip away (and they hadn't) when she bumped into a man in front of her. They both stumbled back a few steps. Eden turned to see who she had run into.

"I'm sorry!" The young blonde man said. The girl couldn't believe her luck. "Oh! Hi, Eden!" Ivan Karelin gave a warm smile. When he moved to stand closer to her, he was almost a whole head taller than her. He was dressed in his casual civilian clothes but the mute had no trouble figuring out who he was.

"What're you doing? Where are Kotetsu and Barnaby?" The young man did a quick look around before he noticed what Eden was trying to do. She tilted her head towards the ground, looking up every so often to try and look cute. It wasn't working on him. Ivan knitted his brow in disappointment and offered his hand to her.

"Trying to give them the slip, huh? You know you can't be around the police station for a few days." The girl stood quiet, looking at the man's left hand and then back to his face. If he couldn't find the superhero duo, then he would take responsibility for her himself (not that he needed to; Eden knew he would find the other heroes just a few yards away).

But after a few more moments of unresponsiveness from the girl's end, Origami moved his right hand to lie over his chest and rubbed it in a circular motion, a pleading expression on his face. 'Please?'

Eden's eyes widened a little bit and she tilted her head to one side. She had never met anyone who wasn't deaf who could sign; it just wasn't common knowledge. As she pondered how much Ivan knew or for how long he could sign, two adult men and a teenage girl walked out of the café to meet the attempted runaway.

"See? I told you she didn't get far." Barnaby commented to his partner as they exited the café.

"My goodness! That was still too close!" Kotetsu sprang forward and placed his heavy hands on Eden's small shoulders, jolting her out of her thoughts and making her stumble from surprise. The only father hero spun her around to face him as he bent over to look her in the eye.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't go back to the police station; you know that." Of course, he received no reply. Eden just adverted her gaze, looking annoyed (it reminded Kotetsu of Barnaby, for some reason), only daring to look him in the eye every once in a while. A few moments of awkward silence passed among the group before an epiphany hit Karina.

"I would try to run too if I had you guys as my babysitter." Her comment earned her some not-so-friendly stares. "I mean, she must be completely bored with you two. If she's a workaholic like you guys are implying, then she needs to be entertained; having some fun."

All eyes turned to Eden for a moment. She eyed everyone back, a little confused, but she slowly nodded her brown head anyway.

"See? She just needs her mind taken off of work. So let's all do something fun!" Kotetsu and Barnaby gave questioning glances to each other. Having too much fun may give her room to slip away, but what if all that she needed was something to distract herself with? The duo certainly didn't have anything better planned; sitting and staring at her wasn't desirable for anyone either.

"It's settled then." The Ice Queen declared. "Ivan, did you want to join us too?" She was going to escort the odd trio and help manage their activities, but she knew that the shape shifter was under no obligation to take care of the rogue girl. The blonde man became a little flustered.

"Oh, I don't think so. I don't wa—" Ivan's jaw dropped just a bit when Eden spun herself around to face him and looked him right in the eye, hazel meeting indigo. She laid her right hand against her chest and made the same circular motion that he gave her just a few minutes ago.

'Please?'

Barnaby carefully observed the silent exchange the two were making, confused and intrigued by what they were saying to each other without having to say anything. Kotetsu and Karina saw it for a moment too, but were brought out of their thoughts when Ivan finally answered.

"I think I could tag along for a bit, if it's no trouble."

"Not at all, Ivan!" Kotetsu happily exclaimed. "The five of us will have a great time!

"So… what are we doing?" All eyes fell on Karina. She rolled her eyes, scoffed at the dubious men around her and finally explained the first event for their job of entertaining Eden.


A/N: Yay! More Tiger and Bunny characters! Sometimes, the characters end up leading the story and forget my script completely. That happen to some of you?

But anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. Thanks for the favs, comments, and follows. :)