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(Nalini PoV)

Missions.

Missions, missions, missions.

Missions.

I was a little nervous. At Shade they were pretty much the local law enforcement and Grimm defense. That meant relying on students and at times paying hunters out of pocket for their help in dealing with those threats. I wasn't sure I was up for it. I didn't know anything about police investigations. I was more familiar with dealing with Grimm.

It all fell on my team leader. She was more nervous than I was. I could tell. I could feel it in her aura. Roses and acetone were her flavors. It was a big deal. I wasn't one hundred percent sure I was cut out for it. In contrast, my partner seemed confident. Alice did too a little. I wasn't sure how her powers would interact with civilians. I had to be careful around civilians. I was a brute.

We got our first mission. Hands on deck police investigations for this serial rapist who was drugging girls with tranquilizer. We had interviews with the girls.

"What do you remember?" My team leader asked the fourth girl. A rosy cheeked blonde with bright blue eyes.

"Not too much. It's all a haze…" She stammered off.

"That's okay. That's alright. Please tell us what happened to you," my team leader pressed.

"Well I remember drinking. I remember pregaming a little before going to Venom. Then this guy bought me a drink. I don't remember his name and I don't think it was him. Then my night goes dark. I woke up the next day in an alley. I had… there was sticky stuff inside me. There was blood too."

"Were you given a rape kit?" Alice asked.

The girl nodded. "I was tested and it came back positive. I didn't catch anything and was prescribed some plan b. The academy paid for it all. And they're starting to help with therapy."

"That's what those institutions are there for," Tsuki nodded. "What else can you tell us? Did you go out with any friends who might have seen something?"

"N-no. I was alone. I just wanted to have a good time," the girl looked like she was about to start crying. "I guess somebody had a good time." She muttered bitterly.

"We'll catch them. We'll get you justice," Garnet nodded. "Can you tell us any more about the guy who bought you a drink? A name? Aura color or flavor? General description?"

"I don't think it was him though," the girl protested.

"But he might have seen something," Tsuki realized where our team leader was going and rolled with it. "If we find him we may be able to find your attacker."

"He was tall. Dark hair and dark eyes. He had a square face. His aura tasted like maple syrup. It tasted good. I didn't see the color. Venom was too lit up for that. He had high cheek bones. I'd seen him in there before. I think he was staff but was off the job when he was hitting on me."

"That's great!" Garnet exclaimed. "So far all the other girls' descriptions are a little like yours. They can't remember much. This is good. It's a lead."

"Can you really do it? Can you really catch them?" The girl wondered.

"I can see a little into the future. It helps a little," my team leader shrugged. "I don't do it all the time but I think we can use it to help catch them before they strike again."

Tsuki reached out and set a hand on the girl's leg. Bruises on her legs vanished. Tsuki reclined looking satisfied.

"That's amazing!" The girl exclaimed.

"I can do a little healing depending on what phase the moon is in. If you need any more help, come find me around the new moon," Tsuki shrugged.

The girl shuffled out with a backwards glance at my team leader and partner. Garnet nodded. "Venom. We have a lead. Let's start with that."

"Will we have luck with that?" I asked my team leader.

"I can't tell. I think we'll find the guy who bought her a drink. But I can't tell if that will get us anywhere. I think he is bar staff."

"Is he our primary suspect?" Alice asked.

Garnet shook her head. "I don't think so… no… but he's our best lead. I don't think he's our man."

Garnet shrugged off what looked like a thinker headache. Alice let out a barrier and Garnet shuddered into it. I almost did too. It felt good. My aura was stronger. So by extension I was stronger and could do more with my forcefields and probably fly faster.

"Thanks," Garnet murmured. "I'm probably going to be relying on my thinker power a bit."

"I'll do what I can for you," Alice nodded.

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We asked Wolf for directions to Venom and set off into the city. The bar was huge with weathered stained glass and sandstone. We entered and the light behaved oddly. The tall stained windows let the lights in in a swirl of colors. Reds, yellows, blues, greens, even sharp purples all filtered in.

There was an enormous bar with a couple of patrons and a glass dance floor with hexagonal patterns built into it. We gawked for a moment, or at least, I did. There were three floors to the place. On the second there were private rooms and the like. On the third was a balcony overlooking the dance floor. The third floor was mostly empty. It was the middle of the day. There were few people out and partying.

My team leader led the way to the stairs leading up to the third floor. A guard swung a rope before her and us. I wasn't sure who he was for. We were all armed and tough cookies. He looked like he was armed with a simple machine pistol. Maybe a submachine gun.

As we tried to enter the third floor we were frisked. I was armed with dust crystals of various typings. I ate them to augment my force fields. Usually lighting or fire but I could make water and wind and earth work as well.

We were relieved of our arms. It made me uncomfortable but what could I do? Garnet shot one last look at her weapon but then she turned and matched up to a office. She knocked. We only had to wait a second before we were let in.

"What can I do for some of Shade's finest?" The woman, Cleopatra asked us. She looked busy but reclined and took us in. Her hair was multicolored. Green and blonde. Her eyes were bright and brown. She was armed with a small rod. It was about a foot long. At a guess it was a hard light blade. Sheathed as it was it didn't do anything besides sit looking golden.

"We're after a serial rapist... They've hurt four girls over the last two weeks. We got a lead on your staff. We just wanted to ask him a couple questions," Garnet answered. She sounded a little nervous at first but she got into her flow easily enough.

Asp clicked her tongue. "I don't employ rapists."

"He's not a suspect but he might have seen something," my team leader shot right back. "We just want to talk to him."

"Do you have a name?" Cleopatra wondered.

"We have a description and aura flavor."

"Alright. Just so long as it's quick. I don't like having cops around. Even if they are children."

I bristled slightly at her words but could do nothing.

"Let's hear that description," Asp pressed.

"Square features with dark hair and dark eyes. Maple syrup flavored aura."

"Sounds a stray like one of my new boys. Ashton Fulmin. He's working at the moment. Bar security. I'll call him up." She reached over and pressed a button on her desk and spoke into it.

We waited a minute or so. Then a boy with features matching our description entered. He had a lot of aura. I could taste the syrup. But also a hint of fallen leaves. It was a softer flavor.

"Boss?" He asked. "Ladies?"

"These girls are from the academy. They have some questions regarding a serial rapist."

"I'm not saying shit to some cop."

"Please? Some girl you talked to got hurt. You might be our best chance to catch them," my team leader begged.

He flinched. "Which girl?"

"Her name was Ao. She was a blonde with blue eyes. She was raped near here a couple days ago. She said she came in and met you."

He frowned a little. "I never caught her name but the timeline could be right. I'm not a suspect. Am I?"

Garnet shook her head.

"I bought a girl like that a drink but she left with some other guy she was dancing with."

"Can you give us a description? Aura color or texture? Anything? That's probably our man," Garnet pleaded.

"I was never close enough for aura flavor or color. His color scheme was green. He had green hair and green eyes. He had a fox tail. I thought he was going to get lucky. He was good looking, I suppose. She was pretty wasted. I won't lie. But that was none of my business. She wasn't raped here, was she?"

"Near enough," Tsuki answered swiftly.

"Fuck. Well if she was drunk consent gets a little hazy," he protested. "Calling it rape might be extreme."

"She also had tranquilizer in her system," I explained for him.

"Well fuck. I hope you catch the bastard," he nodded. "We're pretty careful about drinks here so if it was spiked it probably wasn't here."

"Thank you so much," Garnet murmured.

"I'll put his description up and if he comes by again I'll hold him for you girls, shall I?" Asp decided.

"That would be great!" My team leader explained. "Let me give you my number."

We left the room and began to descend to the first floor. We got our gear back and I was immediately more comfortable. Garnet was too. Being unarmed in front of Cleopatra had made me nervous.

"So what now?" I wondered as we stood around in bright colors in front of Venom.

"We put the word out. Through the academy too. They have to have systems in place to catch wanted people," Garnet decided.

"It's a good plan but it may not be enough," Tsuki agreed.

Garnet winced. "I know but without more witnesses we can't do much. I can't see far enough ahead to know any more. My power is mostly combat oriented. Short term sight. And I don't know if Asp was lying to us. I wish my brother were here. He'd know what to do."

"We can put out other feelers," I suggested.

"Where?" Alice wondered and I came up blank.

"Let's start with the academy and see where that takes us," Garnet affirmed. "It's a good start. Faunus are a minority and we should be able to pinpoint him off that alone."

"It's a good plan. You did well," Alice encouraged my team leader and her partner. She winced again.

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-WG