"Cleave!" Missy screamed as Berith slammed his trident into the machine, only for it to slam, stop, and spark against some sort of blue light that covered it. Berith was quickly slammed by a claw and batted away, causing Missy to wince and grab at her chest in pain.

Well that didn't work. Also that blue light apparently stopped Theia from affecting the Mecha directly judging by how her Persona's attempts to do so failed. Squealer had built this machine with ways to counter her in mind.

While Missy was still recovering, Squealer's vehicle quickly closed the distance between them only to be intercepted by Jack midway. His great sword also struck the light though he was able to bleed the machine's momentum with his Persona's help.

"Dantes!" Jack shouted as he reared his blade back and slammed it against the mecha along with his Persona's fist. It didn't pierce the light but the sheer force was enough to push the machine back for a brief moment. That moment was all that was needed for an array of small missiles to strike and explode on the mecha.

They didn't do much damage but Father's attack was enough to cause the shimmering blue light that surrounded the entire machine to flicker for a brief moment before it solidified again.

"It's a force field!" Clara shouted over the line. "It seems to absorb kinetic energy but not heat and can only take so much force at once. Try something other than physical attacks."

Well that would've been nice to know earlier. Especially now that the mecha was quick to turn and immediately pounced on the two Persona Users.

Missy ducked under a swinging tail and futilely swung her katana at one of the treads before putting her Evoker to her head. Her blade would bounce off, but her Evoker would work as always.

"Jack Frost!"

Missy attempted to freeze the machine in place but it immediately crushed through any ice her Persona created. She was forced to jump away when a giant claw slammed at where she had been standing. The damn thing that was strong enough to leave a claw shaped imprint on the ground. A direct hit without a Persona to make her body resistant to physical attacks would turn her body to mush.

The Merchants were never known for their restraint but it seemed that Squealer was very intent on crushing her. That much was clear by how much the Mecha began chasing her, trying to crush her with its body and whatever limbs it had. Thankfully the parkour lessons she got from Mona were coming to use and Missy used the environment to her advantage. Even with Theia preoccupied, Missy was still able to leap, balance, and duck through rubble as Squealer continued chasing her.

"Stop jumping around dipshit!" Squealer shouted before her Mecha slammed its arms into the ground. The sheer force caused the surrounding structure to shake and sent Missy flying upwards where she was left open to the Mecha's swinging tail.

Thankfully before it could make contact one of Father's missiles slammed into it, pushing it aside. Then Jack leaped up into the air, caught Missy by the arm, and used his strength to fling her away.

"You are Squealer's primary target," Father replied as he punched through a large chunk of rubble thrown in his direction with his fist. He then raised that same hand, opened up his palm, and fired a laser. It went through the forcefield and left a scorch mark on the Mecha's body. "Your defeat or death will allow her to escape. We will cover you."

"Figured," Missy replied as she watched Jack get grabbed by the waist with the Mecha's tail and then thrown away. She winced as he slammed through the wall of a nearby building. He was tough and would probably be fine, but damn that looked like it hurt.

She put her Evoker to her head. "Suzaku!"

The crimson bird would emerge and Missy would ride its back into the sky to avoid the charging Mecha. She breathed a sigh of relief at the respite only for the Mecha to rear its back and fire a barrage of gunfire and missiles into the air.

"Ooh anti-air armaments. Squealer came prepared. Wonder if I should install some of those in Father's-"

"Not now Clara!" Missy screamed as she quickly took evasive maneuvers. Eventually she had no choice but to use Theia to redirect the sheer amount of projectiles trying to shoot her down, but that meant the Space they used to entrap Squealer's vehicle reverted to its original state.

Squealer noticed this and immediately tried to drive away only to be intercepted by Father. The Villain attempted to run the robot over only for Jack to emerge from the rubble, leap into the air, and slam his blade into its tail.

Missy immediately took that as a chance to land and have Theia recreate the entrapment they had set up. It was just too dangerous for her to stay in the air, but the ground wasn't seeming that much safer either judging by how Squealer was already going for her again.

"Diego!"

Furious winds, beyond what Missy could ever with her own Personas, enveloped the battlefield. They coalesced into a single point, picking up all the rubble and concrete into a giant mass, before slamming it into the Mecha and toppling it over. The Mecha was already quick to get up, not quite as damaged as you'd expect, but that gave Missy time to reach into her vest and pull out a large pellet that she immediately threw down. The resulting smoke from her homemade smoke bomb ensured her obscurement as she dashed away and hid around a nearby building. If Squealer was going after her then it was best to not give her that target.

"Thanks Mona," Missy whispered on the line.

"Focus on keeping the Mecha trapped, I'll deal with this," Mona replied before making his appearance. He leapt high into the air, posing midair, before landing in between Jack and Father. "A Villain needs to be taught a lesson after all."

Everyone on the battlefield apart from Missy paused to stare at the new combatant. The new combatant whose triumphant pose quickly turned awkward as he realized how confused everyone around him was.

"Is that a talking cat?" Jack asked.

"Doesn't compute," Father commented.

"Wait Mona- isn't that your pet Missy!?" Clara shouted over the line.

"I'm not a pet!" Mona screeched. "I am a brave warrior and Phantom Thief!"

"Fucking shit, must still be on something," Squealer commented before charging again with her Mecha.

Still in hiding, Missy decided to observe the battle for now. Jack and Father were holding their own, their sheer bulk and physical prowess allowing them to take hits from the Mecha even though they weren't dealing much damage. It was Mona though that was the most impressive. He was almost dancing along the battlefield, using his small frame to just hop around everywhere and avoid everything Squealer tried. Gusts of wind would propel him at unexpected angles as he moved, Diego's saber would carve past the forcefield and take out small chunks of the Mecha with his blade, and his slingshot would fling out smoke pellets that would block out Squealer's vision.

"What is this fucking cat!?" Squealer screamed.

"I told you I'm a Phantom Thief!" Mona shouted before pushing himself off of Father's arm and slicing into the Mecha's tail with his Saber. He tore out a good chunk though didn't quite sever it before he was pushed off and landed on the ground.

Mona was clearly much more experienced and skilled than they were, the damage he was doing to the Mecha was proof of that, but he was still fragile. One mistake and he could be knocked and there was only so long he could keep chipping away at the Mecha before he got tired. It meant that Missy needed to figure something out to end it quickly or at the very least speed things up.

But what?

Missy put a hand to the ground and felt the dirt underneath her. She glanced up at Thea who immediately nodded.

Now that was an idea.

Clara watched the live feed from the laptop that had been provided to her. The feed from Daddy was a bit staticky and the audio wasn't that good now that he was busy fighting. Probably would have to improve that in the future. That and maybe try to copy some of those force fields Squealer used on her Mecha.

That Mecha was… an impressive thing, as much as it pained Clara to admit. There was a lot that she could learn from it and its creator. The same person that had-

No. Daddy was back now. He just needed help remembering. She would help him remember. That's what a good daughter did after all.

Clara winced as a piece of Daddy's armor was torn off by the claw. Thankfully she had designed those pieces to be strong but detachable as needed so there wasn't too much damage done. Still if this kept up there was a good chance that Daddy could get hurt badly again. He was almost out of his munitions and was now focusing on trying to punch the Mecha, which was just really dangerous. She would have to strengthen his fists or provide him a proper weapon to use later.

"Diarahan!"

Oh. Turns out Mona could heal too and was helping to get Fang healed back up to fight some more. Too bad that healing wouldn't work on Daddy. It was also still really weird that Missy's cat could talk. Also fight. Also summon Personas. Also turn into a cartoon form and-

Was it even a cat at that point? Questions for later. Particularly for Missy.

And speaking of, where was she? She hadn't appeared in Daddy's view for a while now. She definitely didn't run off. Theia was still around cordoning the area and also Missy was like the last person to run away from trouble. That was true even before she got her Powers. She wouldn't be the one to start fights at school but she sure as hell wouldn't stop or get away from them once she was involved.

So what was she doing?

That particular question was answered when Missy's voice could be heard shouting across the battlefield.

"Hey! I'm right here!"

It was clearly some sort of trap, but Squealer didn't hesitate to turn her Mecha around and immediately had it leap into the air. The thing soared, it was practically flying as Missy squeaked and quickly ran out of the way. When the machine landed though the ground underneath it suddenly began cracking. The cracks rapidly expanded until the ground gave away and the Mecha sank into a hole.

Huh. Good job Missy.

For Missy, carving out a hole in the ground with her Personas had been… well it hadn't been easy. By the time she was done a lot of her previous adrenaline had worn off. Now there was a soreness to her limbs and a weight to her eyes. Thankfully the hole didn't have to be particularly big, just enough space for Thea to begin shifting the foundations of the earth and warping the material so that the Mecha sank down even further.

A sinkhole. Missy and her Persona had created a sinkhole and also mixed in some makeshift quicksand to boot

While Squealer's Mecha attempted to climb back up to the surface Missy jumped off the edge of the hole and put her Evoker to her head. "Genbu!"

Genbu didn't need to use skills or spells. Just the weight of a falling giant turtle was enough to slam right down on the Mecha and push it into the ground further. Missy then jumped off the turtle's back, dismissed Genbu, and had Theia grab her as the rest of her team began blasting the Mecha with everything they had.

Missy smirked as the machine was bombarded by spells, explosives, and bullets. Once they tore that Mecha apart and dug Squealer out she could finally go home and-

"Drop down!"

If Missy had been any less tired she might've noticed the tell-tale signs of static building up in the air. If she had been a bit more rested she would've dived away, rather than go wild-eyed as the force field around the Mecha suddenly grew brighter in intensity. If she had slept anytime after that fight with Chorus then maybe she would have reacted to Mona's warning in time.

There was an explosive flash of light that made Missy shriek before she even felt it. First Theia, then her, an electric pulse that felt like thousands of needles were stabbing into body all at once. Her limbs failed as she fell to the ground, a twitching mess.

"She's getting away!" Clara shouted as Jack and Father picked themselves up. Both of them were much tougher than Missy was and didn't have a crippling weakness to electricity. Mona on the other hand did, but he had been able to avoid the blast entirely.

Missy tried to pull up her Evoker, only for her arm to spasm and drop it. Without Theia stopping her, it was simple for Squealer to get away.

"You okay there Menina?" Jack asked.

Missy groaned as Mona began to heal her wounds. The healing didn't do anything about the ache in her bones and how dry her eyes felt. "Just go after Squealer I'll catch up."

"No. We'll go after the Mecha but you need to get some rest," Mona told her.

"Bu-"

"I should've checked on you before we started this mission." Mona shook his head. "A Phantom Thief needs to be well rested, of sound mind. Otherwise you're going to make a mistake when it really matters."

"I'm fine Mona."

"You should've been able to dodge that blast. You're getting slow and that'll get you killed."

"Missy's vitals were… concerning," Father commented before this. "Along with the damage she just took, it would be best if she went back to recuperate."

Missy finally began to realize that no one was taking her side on this. Even Jack simply shook his head when she looked at him pleadingly. That just made her clench her fist.

There was no point in being stubborn about this. She could argue as much as she wanted, but she was actually tired. Physically and mentally. Even after being healed by Mona there was a throbbing in her head and a weariness to her spirit, a telltale sign that she had been overusing her Persona for the last few days.

"Fine," Missy conceded as she finally had the strength to put her Evoker to her head. "Just go."

Theia shrunk as much Space as she could, hopefully enough to let them catch up to Squealer. They all gave her their goodbyes and promises that they'd come back soon, before stepping through. Space would revert back to its original state and Missy would be left standing there alone.

It didn't take long for Missy to find the nearest gathering point for the Protectorate. Even if she was resting, she didn't want to immediately head back home while everyone was still out there. Especially with news of how Squealer was driving towards the more populated parts of the city.

At least here Missy sort of felt like she was a part of things. Could even try to heal a few people if needed.

Unfortunately, the troopers only had to take one look at her before immediately having one of the medics check up on her. Was it the way she moved, her bloodshot eyes, or just how scuffed her clothes were? Either way they were putting in a lot of effort just over some fear that she was going to topple over or something. Once they had confirmed that she was mostly fine, they tossed her into the back of one of their vans with cushioned seats. And to add to that…

Missy looked down at the blanket, food, water, and even a coat to use as a pillow that had been provided to her.

It was a lot to be given while still out on the streets, kinda reminded of her of the treatment she got back in Lagos. How was Lagos anyway? She hadn't even looked up things up there after she had helped out.

Missy took out her phone and was about to look up news about the place when she heard a loud noise.

An engine? Coming from above her?

She looked up and saw the armored figure on some sort of hoverboard descend and land on the ground nearby.

Oh yea. Was that the new Ward? Hadn't really had the time to watch the press conference announcing him. Some sort of Tinker right? What was his name again?

"Console this is Kid Win," the Ward said while speaking on his comms. "I'm going to recharge my hoverboard."

Missy almost snorted but held herself back. Look he was a fellow Hero and deserved just as much respect as she did but… that was kind of a dumb name wasn't it? Like there had to be other Cape names he could've used right?

Like Armsmaster was cool or Miss Militia. Even Missy… had…

"I still don't have a Cape Name."

"Sorry, what was that?"

Missy looked up at the Ward who had gotten closer to her while she was distracted. "Nothing. Any news out there?"

"Most of the Merchants have been dealt with or ran away. All the Heroes are now going to help out with Squealer. Hopefully stop her before she does too much damage to downtown."

If Missy had been there then maybe she could've helped out, but no. Apparently everyone agreed that she needed her rest.

"They better catch her," Missy grumbled.

"They will. Squealer's alone now. We'll catch her."

Missy snorted. "Then she'll probably escape again. Kill more people."

"I'm sure they'll keep her in jail this time," Kid Win replied awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you. Missy. I'm Kid Win."

"What's it like being the new Ward?" Missy asked.

"It's awesome. I'm working with Armsmaster and I have my own lab. What about you? Being on Open Cape and an Independent?"

"It sounds cooler than it actually is," Missy shook her head. "Being a Hero is hard, so good luck out there."

"Thanks?" The Ward scratched his neck awkwardly. "You've been through a lot even though you're younger than me."

"You're saying I'm a kid?" Missy asked plainly. He didn't even look or sound that much older than her.

"No! I mean- yes-, but I'm a kid too and." Kid Win took a deep breath. "I admire you. You haven't been a Hero that long but you've already done so much. I think your Powers are really cool too and well you're sorta like my Senior with being a Hero, right?"

Missy's mood improved a little. Just a tad bit. It was one thing to hear that all the time in school, but to hear that from another Hero who was older than her was nice. Especially if they actually looked up to her. "I can give you some pointers if you want."

"Nice," Kid Win said as he plugged his hover board into a cable and sat across from her. "Armsmaster told me I should talk with you anyway."

She raised an eye. "Why?"

"You can do so many different things with your Projection and just watching them could give me a lot of inspiration and ideas for my Tinkering."

"Has Armsmaster been getting ideas from me too?"

Kid Win nodded. "Yep. He showed me some of it too. Most of the stuff is still in the experimental stage or needs approval by the PRT but they were really cool."

"Any examples?"

"Classified. But it's all cool."

"Okay then. I mean I could show you some of my Personas later. Can't do it right now, everyone's telling me I need to get some rest."

Speaking of rest.

Missy popped open the pill bottle and gulped down one the Tinkertech drugs Armsmaster had given her. She was going over the suggested prescription… but this wasn't the first time she did that. It was better than dealing with the headaches.

She looked down at the bottle. Only like a quarter of it left. Probably have to see Armsmaster soon if she could get a refill.

After that she made a bit of small talk with Kid Win. He seemed nice enough, a bit shy, but that was probably because he was still getting used to the whole Hero business.

They didn't talk long before Missy was suddenly contacted on her line.

"Missy where are you?" Clara asked, her voice panicked.

"At the gathering point between 15 and West Avenue," Missy quickly stated. "Clara what's wrong? Did you guys get Squealer?"

Clara told her everything that had happened while she had been left behind. By the end of the story Missy had already gotten up with her Evoker ready, prepared to meet them halfway.

"What's wrong?" Kid Win asked.

"Everything," Missy replied, her voice shaken. "Everything's gone wrong."

A/N

Next chapter will recount the events of what happened while Missy was absent.

It won't be pretty.