Hey guys, long time no see! Sorry its taken so long to get back into the swing of things, but once high school lets out I should be able to write a lot more often.

Also, I have received several other OCs since the first chapter; while I do enjoy your ideas, guys, I kinda have all the heroes I need... but if you like you can try sending in an evil conduit, or simply rewrite your OC to make them more villainous; I need a few more enemies right now! Besides, who knows; they might have a change of heart sometime down the road...

Anyway, on with the chapter!

We'd told Bogo about what the heat conduit had mentioned once we'd returned to the station, which seemed to disturb him - the police forces had already had to break up several anti-conduit rallies, and the potential for a 'Conduit army' would drive them crazy. Thus, he decided to restrict the information for now in order to prevent the anarchy that would follow such a report.

Instead, he asked us to search some more, try to find some more evidence, and if possible a location, or even a name.

James had also decided to join the group, having been given the same deal and accepting it to make up for his mistakes, according to him. We all traveled around the city as much as we could, trying to find any more conduits or clues about the 'fat bastard' the heat conduit had mentioned. unfortunately, we didn't find anything while out on patrol.

Once we'd returned to the station, however, we received some news - a weasel matching the description we gave of the heat conduit was found murdered in a deserted area of Tundra Town, with most of the ice and snow surrounding the body having vanished mysteriously... almost as if it had become so hot it melted. I opted to head down to the morgue and take a look, both as a prime witness and because Johnny opted out, saying he didn't think his stomach could handle seeing a corpse.

I took one look and instantly recoiled - whoever had killed the poor guy had really done a number on him. Numerous slashes and puncture wounds were evident across his body, the killing blow having been several holes in his throat; he'd bled out in seconds.

Returning from the morgue, I made a quick stop at the restroom to empty my stomach before rejoining the group.

"It's him." I said, certain my face was bright green under the black fur. "Whoever did it's most likely a conduit... we're pretty tough, so you'd have to deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time to kill us." I paused to take a few deep breaths, trying to get my stomach back under control.

"His element was heat... was there anyone admitted to a hospital with severe burns?" Judy suggested. I shook my head.

"Conduits can heal by absorbing their elements; assuming he did get hit, he could heal himself if he found a suitable source. And even then, Conduits have an advanced healing factor - if we wait long enough, almost anything will heal on its own."

Judy frowned as everyone did their best to think up other ways of trying to find the culprit - though we were all distracted as a loud BOOM shook the entire precinct.

I know it's not much, but I have a lot on my plate right now and can't spare too much time; so, for now, I'm stuck making shorter chapters like this. Once I'm free, however, I should be able to make them longer.

Anyway, like I said before: if possible, send in some villainous conduits! I'm in need of a few.

Until next time, guys!