Chapter 6-1

Sunsets in Brockton Bay are considered by many to be quite beautiful. Not as beautiful as those on the Pacific coast, but the mountains surrounding the city still make for a spectacular display.

I've never been able to enjoy them, though. Sunset meant that night was coming soon, and night meant that the city's population of crooks and villains were about to come crawling out of the woodwork. For ordinary people, it was the time one should get inside and lock the door. For Wards on patrol, it meant that the real work was about to begin.

Spending the evening patrolling with Aegis had been a stroll through the park so far. Then again, we were supposed to stay in the downtown area where it's relatively safe. With the sun still up and the shops open, the local security was enough of a deterrent to keep most of the bad guys away. Now that the night had fallen, though, things might actually get interesting.

Of course, Aegis was quick to remind me that boring patrols are good patrols and that I shouldn't be itching for a fight. I actually took offence to that. He made it sound like I was actively looking for someone to beat up for shits and giggles. I'm not some psycho, dammit! The way I saw it, crime was going to happen anyway. If we're there when it happens, at least we'll be able to stop it. Of course, our fearless leader didn't see it that way. I guess he didn't feel like doing the paperwork afterwards, especially when stopping a single crime didn't really make much of an impact in a city like Brockton Bay. Still, we're superheroes. While I don't mind running across the rooftops for a couple of hours, it doesn't accomplish anything. I'm here to make the city a better place, not to get some exercise in.

Two hours in, and I finally got what I asked for: I picked up the sound of two very shouty men yelling at a third, demanding the content of the register. A burglary. "Aegis, I'm picking up a robbery a block from here."

"Armed?"

"Can't tell from here. Still, in Brockton Bay…"

He nodded. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Go, I'm calling it in."

I jumped from the roof and ran to the scene of the crime, leaving Aegis behind. It was in a twenty-four hour liquor store on the edge of downtown. Go figure. Vulnerable wouldn't begin to describe it. The store was practically begging to be robbed.

I peeked inside and relayed what I saw to Aegis over the comms. "Two men with pistols. Revolvers, I think. No gang colors, no costumes. Just some random crooks, as far as I can tell. Guns are pointed at the guy behind the counter. There are three others in the store, probably civilians too afraid to run."

"Good. Can you tell me anything else about the gunmen?"

"I don't recognize them, if that's what you're asking." Me knowing the Undersiders was a fluke. It's not like I'm on friendly basis with every criminal in town.

"I mean, can you tell me about their posture? Are they going to start killing people if we interfere?"

That was actually a good question. The two men were being ridiculously loud, to the point where the police would probably have heard them on their own. Their hands were also shaking like mad and their skin looked wrong. "They're shaking like a reed. I think they're either on drugs or suffering from withdrawal. Looks like they're trying to get some money for their next fix."

"Makes sense. This sort of thing happens a lot. Will they open fire if we spook them?"

"Probably. Don't think they'll hit anything, though."

"Can't take that chance. I'll stay here, you sneak in and deal with them."

"On my own?" I could handle it, sure, but it surprised me that he trusted me enough.

"I wanna see how you do. Just try not to get anyone killed, please." As patronizing as it sounded, it made a sort of sense. Half the reason I even joined in the first place was because I wasn't sure I could restrain myself after what I did to Lung. Last week, that hadn't been that much of a problem: I'd only fought people that could take the punishment. These two idiots might not be so resilient. I'd have to test myself at some point.

"Roger that, boss."

The two robbers had their backs turned to the door. Sloppy, if you ask me. Clearly, they had never watched any crime dramas, or were too mentally compromised to care. The shopkeeper saw me, but thankfully had the presence of mind to pretend I wasn't there. Hopefully, the old, pudgy man wouldn't try to be a hero and let me handle it.

Now, how to deal with them. I didn't have enough time to find another path, so I'd have to go through the door. Knocking them off their feet with a sonic blast could work, but there'd be too much risk of collateral damage. I could sneak up and taser them like I did with the PRT troopers last week, but that was risky for the crooks. I don't know a lot about drugs and how they affected the human body, but sending a massive electrical current through a drug addict seemed like a bad idea. I could try to grab one of them by the neck and suffocate him, but I wasn't sure how to do that without accidentally choking him to death. While I didn't feel much sympathy for the crooks, I didn't want to seriously injure or kill them either. Armed robbery isn't a capital offence, nor should it be.

Baton. I'll whack them on the head with a baton. They'll probably end up with a concussion, but I think that's more than acceptable, given the situation.

Sound ceased to exist around me. I opened the door, carefully moved in behind the first crook, and whacked the ash-skinned idiot on the back of the head. He turned around and received another strike across the jaw and a third on his lower leg. Finally, the moron realized that he should be collapsing like a sack of potatoes and went down. I quickly relieved him of his weapon and stuck the pistol in my utility belt.

Unfortunately, idiot number two had spotted me. He grabbed the shopkeeper and pointed his gun at me. Before I realized what was happening, my hand was halfway to the pistol on my belt. I controlled myself and turned to face him. No shooting the guy, not until he pointed the gun at one of the civilians.

"I-I-I don't wanna hurt you, but I will." He stammered. "J-J-Just let me get the money, and we'll be gone. No one gets hurt, okay?" Nervousness, combined with whatever he'd been snorting lately, caused his hands to shake so much, he'd probably miss, even if he did manage to pull the trigger.

"You know I can't do that, right?" I made my voice even and calm. If he started shooting, people would get hurt. Well, unless he tried shooting me. That tiny, little pistol of his probably wouldn't even make a dent in my shields. "I'm a Ward. You're a robber. I have to take you in."

"Don't! S-S-Stay back! I'm warning you!" He sounded so desperate, I was worried he might fire the gun by accident. On second thought, that might not be a bad thing. If I charged him, he might shoot someone who couldn't just walk it off, but if I could get him to empty his pistol on me first, I could take him in without any problems. I moved slightly to the side so there was no one behind me and dampened the sound around the man's gun. Guns are loud and I didn't want to cause a panic.

I took a step forward and continued. "This isn't up for debate. My teammate Aegis is outside, the police is on its way…You're going to be arrested. There's nothing you can do to…" I was cut off by a flash of light. He actually shot me. Once again, the urge to shoot back boiled up inside of me. I folded my arms in front of me and shook my head. I'm seriously messed up, aren't I?

The crook seemed shocked. I took another step forward, and he shot me again. And again. He kept shooting until his gun clicked empty. Then he pulled the trigger a couple more times, as if he was trying to convince the universe that an empty pistol can still fire bullets.

What an idiot.

He stared at me with this empty look on his face. For a moment, I actually felt sorry for the guy. He was screwed. Shooting me certainly counted as resisting arrest, possibly even assault with a deadly weapon. That, along with armed robbery, would probably get him jail time. Sure, he hadn't hurt me at all, but I don't think a judge would care. Laws are laws and this is about as open-and-shut as a case could get.

The shopkeeper took the opportunity to pull himself free from his grasp. Before the crook could try something else, I pulled the now-empty pistol out of his hands and bent him over the counter. A minute later, the poor idiot was handcuffed and ready to go. I looked around and saw the civilians slowly crawl out of their hiding places. Some of them were brandishing camera phones. Job well done, I suppose.

Well, that was easy…

Then again, neither of them had been capes. I suppose I shouldn't expect every outing to end in a fight to the death. Then again, that was probably a good thing. My luck was going to run out sooner or later.

Aegis came through the door, inspected the scene, and nodded in approval. "See you've got it handled." He said. "They give you any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't deal with. Are the troopers coming?"

"Just the regular cops. These guys don't have powers, so it's their jurisdiction." He turned around and sniffed the air. "Why does it smell like gunpowder in here?"

"Oh, one of them tried to shoot me." I replied with a shrug. "I let him."

"You let him shoot you…" Aegis echoed.

"Dirtbag number two spotted me taking down his friend. He tried taking the shopkeeper hostage. I had him empty his gun on me so he couldn't hurt someone else."

"Riiight." I got the distinct impression he didn't approve of my chosen strategy.

"He had a crappy, old revolver. I can take a bazooka to the face and walk away. There was no way in hell he could have hurt me."

Aegis clearly wasn't happy with it for some reason, but he didn't press the issue. At least, not in front of the cameras. "You really need to stop stealing my gimmick." He eventually added.

"Just trying to live up to your good example, boss."

He smirked, before guiding the crooks towards the door and towards the approaching cops. The policemen quickly took the criminals off our hands and started taking our statements. It felt more like an interrogation, though. Why were they being so hostile? Weren't we supposed to be on the same side?

Then I remembered that Brockton Bay's police department never really got any attention in the media. With capes being so much flashier and more sensational, it wasn't all that surprising. If this thing made the newspapers, the cops probably wouldn't even be mentioned. I remember feeling sorry for the PRT guys, but these people probably had it even worse. At least the PRT has an army of capes on speed-dial as well as Tinker tech equipment. The ordinary police didn't have that. They often took much the same risk as we and the troopers did, but without powers or the support we had. As insult to injury, we get all the good press too.

No wonder they hated our guts.

"Don't worry too much about the cops." Aegis whispered to me. "They're always cranky."

"Can't say I blame them. We're sort of stealing their thunder."

"We're just doing our jobs here. Cheer up, we did good." Almost as an afterthought, he said: "Even if you did get shot. Again."

I sighed. This was becoming a running gag, wasn't it?