"He killed a CHILD, Max. A child you brought in to your war. Olivia was barely older than Tammi, and she died too. So I will repeat my question one more time, and you have better fucking answer me straight. Tell me what happened."
Kayden glared at her child's father as she spoke. She floated a few inches off the ground. Light wisped off her form like steam from a kettle. Her teeth ground together, her hands balled into fists. He had manipulated her. Lied to her. Used her. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, an attempt to keep her rage in check.
The office room mixed a brutalist style with the decadence of a disgraced monarch. The red, lush carpet filled much of the room, with various degrees, accolades, and awards for the company hung on the dark wood paneled walls. A baseball bat and trophy were displayed to the side, placed by the largest window. A great structure made of twisted metal stood on a pedestal opposite the window. Max had made it as an attempt at art, and though Kayden had seen him receive more than a few compliments from well-meaning business partners, she knew that Max had little opinion of it. He viewed it as more of a tool for any confrontation in his office, a way to conceal any spikes he had to use.
Max Anders faced away from her, towards the window. A black-out curtain had been pulled down, so no one from outside could see her use her powers. His head tilted down, his arms folded behind his back. The only sign he heard her was the steady tap of his shoe against his office's carpeted floor. A sign that he was deep in thought, one Kayden recognized from their time together. It did not happen often. Max Anders always seemed infuriatingly in control of every situation she had seen him in. Even now, with the death of a child on his hands, he did not look worried. She would have preferred him to yell out in anger at her over how poorly last night had gone, or blame her somehow. As it was, he looked to have accepted the deaths without a single emotion.
"The situation is not preferable." He spoke those words in a tone that had his signature drip of condescension. Kayden's fists grew tighter. "I regret the events of last night. Things could have been handled better."
"Is that an attack on me? You promised to help me in cleaning up this city. You promised professional aid against ABB safe houses. Not sending two teenagers and a bunch of incompetent idiots. I don't know why I believed you. You promised you would allow me to keep my distance from all of this, and then you send out goons with red arm-bands to follow me. I am not part of the Empire any more, Max. And after tonight, give me one good reason I should even allow you to be part of my life."
"I can not allow you to leave with our daughter." The man spoke with such a firm tone that Kayden made herself rise. Her brightness increased, her body tense to respond against Max's implicit threat.
"Try to stop me."
"I apologize," Max began to turn around. "This night's events have weighed heavily on me. That wasn't a threat. Not from me, at least."
Kayden kept her power at full-throttle. She had seen her ex-husband put others at ease - before ramming spikes through their feet and into their hearts. She would not let her guard down, but she did not make any sudden moves.
"Explain."
"We have good, loyal men on the force. Most police here understand the proper way of things, even if not all their superiors do." Her daughter's father strode over to his desk, shading his eyes as he walked. "One of our men responded when they found Andrew, Olivia, and Tammi's, ah, remains."
His fingers grasped against his desk in the blinding light from Kayden, until they found their target. Max slid the sunglasses on as he continued. "Contrary to the PRT statement, the three of them were not followed home by Oni Lee."
The monstrous assassin had mostly fought the Empire's soldiers and their capes. Kayden had not seen him for most of the night, as she had been preoccupied with Lung. She had only spared the time for a few blasts at various money-laundering locations for the ABB, as Lung had put up a strong enough fight to distract her until they both retreated. It had been why she had gone to Max in the first place - she had found various locations that laundered ABB funds or housed one of their brothels, but had known that she could not hit them all in one night and deal with the dragon. Max promised to take care of the locations pro bono, in exchange for only their whereabouts. She should have known his offer had been too good to be true.
"What, then? Some insane vigilante?" Kayden could acknowledge her own status as a vigilante would be cast into doubt after last night, but at least she was not a monster.
If she killed, it was always someone who had done nothing but inflict pain upon her city. Gangbangers and ABB thugs that hung out at high schools in attempts to corrupt the youth. Pimps out on night walks with their hoes. Drug dealers, using their product to turn skilled and hard workers into lazy junkies who only thought about the next pills they could pop. She would never harm a misguided child like Rune. Nor a young, independent woman like Olivia. She had seen Andrew and her out on one of their dates only a few nights ago. The thought choked her up, a tear springing unbidden to her eye. She remembered when Max and her had gone on dates like that. Kayden had helped Andrew with his powers when they had first met, and set up his position to take skills from those who would not or did not need them any more. He had his faults, and she had never gotten fully along with them all, but she knew that deep down, they were good people. Perhaps a little deeper for Andrew, but even he had his moments.
And they were dead. Beheaded by some cruel monster.
Kayden forced herself to return to the present, Max shaking his head. "No, as far as we can tell, Oni Lee did kill them. However, he did it while they slept. In their civilian identities. Then he beheaded their corpses, dressed them in their masks, and created that vulgar display."
A pit began to form in Kayden's stomach. "He broke the unwritten rules?"
Max offered her a rueful smile. "It seems you were a little too effective last night. The ABB is desperate, lashing out in it's slow death throes. But you must be wary of the death throes of a violent beast."
"So he followed them and broke the rules?" Kayden needed confirmation that her worst fears would not enter reality. Her heart sank when Max shook his head.
"We have reliable eye-witnesses on Oni Lee from our soldiers during the time the trio went home. No, I'm afraid it's much worse." His shaded eyes went to her face, and Kayden dulled her brightness, feet landing against the carpet. "Our man on the force overheard Armsmaster summon New Wave, and some of the conversation after. The PRT believes that Lung has gained some sort of Thinker able to pierce secret identities."
Eyes wide, Kayden whipped her head to the office door. She almost flew through it before Max spoke again, his voice rushed.
"She's safe! Our daughter is safe. Crusader and Alabaster are by your apartment, along with a police presence I got by calling in a few favors. She will not be harmed, no matter what it takes to protect her."
Crusader and Alabaster. She got along with Justin more, and had little interaction with Alabaster. The regenerator was emblematic of the worst parts of the Empire. But… but his regeneration and Justin's clones would provide the most effective counter against Oni Lee that Empire capes could provide. Any of the more overt capes could bring accidental harm to Aster. She had brightened in her panic at the thought of her daughter being targeted. She kept up the brightness when she turned to continue the conversation with Max.
"Police presence?" she inquired.
"Officially, they're in the building to investigate a minor robbery that we had a low level member commit. Unofficially, it's most of those sympathetic to us, with a hefty donation to the department to keep the investigation going for as long as we need. 6 officers, one detective. All armed."
Kayden's eyes narrowed. "And do I need to do any favors for you to keep that protection?"
Her ex-husband's face fell a little, though Kayden had known him to try that in a bid of sympathy before.
"She's my daughter too, Kayden." He sighed. "If it's alright with you, I would keep Theo over to your house as well, just so he too is protected by Crusader and Alabaster. That is the only favor I ask."
"Oh." He sounded genuine, at least. "Of course. Theo is always welcome to stay, and I could use the help with Aster."
"Good. Thank you, it puts my mind at ease to know he's safe." Max left his position, walking around to behind his desk. He pulled forth some paperwork, and gestured for Kayden to sit opposite of him. "We have a few other things to discuss."
At the offer, she turned her power down to a minimal level and sat down. Max drummed his fingers on his left hand, and shuffled papers with his right. A blatant power play on his part, one that rapidly burned through what little good will he had earned through his earlier actions. At least he did not spend too long on it. He finished quickly enough, moving a pile of Medhall documents to the side. A singular sheet of paper remained before him.
"The relevant information from the morning's police report." He grimaced. "Not the best reading, but important to have."
"What about it?"
"I understand you wish to keep yourself divorced from the Empire, and I plan to respect that."
Kayden snorted at his words. If he truly believed that, he would not have sent his soldiers dressed as they were.
"Still, as the saying goes," Max continued, "The enemy of my enemy is my ex-wife. Or something like that." He gave a small smile at his joke, one that Kayden did not return.
"Get to the point."
"As you wish. If you find out any more information on this suspected Thinker, I only ask that you share it with us. In return, we will do the same. I do not have any planned offensives at the moment, as I wish to recoup some of our losses from last night. All the same, if you're in a dangerous position, don't hesitate to call."
"I see." She fidgeted in the chair. Somehow, he had gotten the better of her in this conversation. She knew it. All their conversations ended that way, one of the many reasons she had divorced him. But she could not pinpoint where, exactly, she had lost the battle of words.
With a single, abrupt movement, Kayden stood. "I'll talk to you later, Max."
He gave her a lazy nod, and looked to his papers. She hoped he would ask her to stay, or ask her opinion, but this dismissal hurt a bit more. She shoved those feelings to the side, and left the building out through the window. The moon hung high in the sky. Not quite midnight, but close. The clouds that covered Brockton's sky at this time of year had abated, if only for the night. What stars could fight through light pollution shone down from above, though most of the street's illumination came from the streetlamps. In this part of town, the city had enough money to keep them on. A scan of the area to confirmed that no one outside had vision on this window. Besides one man in a trench coat, reading a newspaper, the street was deserted. She lit up and sped off.
The anger and fear that pulsed through her form continued through her flight. She sped by her apartment building, slowing just enough to look in through her windows as she passed. Aster, safe and sound, on Theo's lap as he fed her. Kayden knew she would do anything to keep her child safe. Theo was a good kid too, he did not deserve to be caught up in his father's business, or to become the victim of some crazed, indiscriminate killer.
She banked left in her flight-path, and continued on towards ABB territory. After a dust-up like last night's, both sides tended to lick their wounds for a few days. Kayden knew her former husband, and knew that he would take some time to plan. As despicable as it was, she knew he'd use the deaths of Rune and Othala - pretty, young, blue-eyed and blonde haired women - to incite Brockton's white population. Plenty of people knew the reputation of the ABB, and a culture of fear would descend with the recent murders. Though she disagreed with their views, the Empire had some class about the crimes they committed. They did not stoop as low as their competitors, and did genuinely try to protect parts of Brockton from the horrors the other gangs brought.
Kayden saw some other flier approaching, and fast. She readied her hands. The ABB did not have any airborne capes, nor did any of the other gangs, but it always paid to be careful. As the other cape grew closer, Kayden allowed herself a sigh of relief. She could see blonde hair and a clearly feminine form. One of New Wave's girls, no doubt. She did not wish to stay and chat with the other unaffiliated hero, and sped up. The two passed each other without a comment, though the blonde did pause as Kayden passed. She waved in response to the pause, and continued on her way.
It would be a long night, and perhaps a futile one, but Kayden felt she had to search for that teleporting psychopath. She began to cross ABB territory, hands held ready to blast, but without a use of force yet. Her view allowed her to see a small, unmarked van pull into a parking lot near the center of the Azn Bad Boyz gangland. Unmarked, windowless vans in Brockton were disturbingly common, but this one set itself apart with its fresh black paint and lack of graffiti. She watched as two figures exited the back, before the van drove off. One in a grey costume, with a hood that draped over his figure. The other with clear high-heeled boots and a cloak. Of course Max would send out his own to investigate for the Asian thinker. Purity angled herself downwards, and descended to meet the duo. She had gotten along with them well enough when she had been with her former husband, and knew they were consummate professionals.
Max had his problems, yes. But he had given her child the best protection he could, and had sent out two of his most effective and intelligent capes to search for this Asian thinker. Kayden could feel some warmth towards her ex spread through her thoughts. It did not hurt that the few grey hairs she had seen only added to his appearance. She shook her head to clear those thoughts as she landed, and spoke to the two Empire capes.
"Fog. Night." A short nod to acknowledge each of the two capes. "May I join you tonight?"
