My World My Justice Ch. 20

"And a side of MOUSE-TARD!" she adds with a cackle, clearly delighted with herself.

Fucking kill me…

However, Stormfront is very much not amused by this as his face contorts with rage to the point I can even see veins bulging on his forehead. His eyes lock onto me with a hatred that goes beyond just being pissed off, there's something personal burning in those pale blue orbs.

And did they just turn red for a second?

Must be my imagination.

"Mongrels!" he roars, lightning gathering in his hands and coalescing into jagged, crackling spear-like forms. "Especially you, you filthy half-breed abomination!" With a guttural cry, he hurls the electric javelins straight at us, but most seem aimed directly at me.

The first one impacts close to Mouse Protector, who makes another somersault to get away with theatrical flair. "Oops! Too slow, Stormy Boy!" she laughs, letting the subsequent explosion propel her through the air. "Man, I'm having a BLAST! This is more fun than a barrel of SHOCKED monkeys!"

And she's getting worse with those lines.

For the remaining projectiles, I merely stand my ground, puffing my chest forward and taking a heroic pose as the lightning spears crash into me with full force. The impact sends waves of electricity coursing across my suit and body, but I don't flinch since I don't even feel a tickle from the direct lightning strikes. Which is completely expected. Although, the light show is impressive—arcs of blue-white energy dancing across my body like I'm some kind of Tesla coil.

"BEHOLD, VILE VILLAIN!" I shout, mentally preparing as the words pour out of my mouth with more cringy lines. "YOUR ELECTRIC FURY IS BUT A GENTLE BREEZE AGAINST THE STALWART MOUNTAIN OF JUSTICE!" I brush fake specks of dust from my shoulders with exaggerated motions. "THE RIGHTEOUS THUNDER OF TRUTH SHALL NOT BE SILENCED BY YOUR CRACKLING MALICE!"

"OH MY GOUDA!" Mouse Protector shouts from her position. "That was absolutely ELECTRIC, True Might! You're really showing him the power of justice! This villain is about to get GRILLED!"

I will try to ignore her for now, my cripple cape speech is enough, I don’t need another to add to my mental torture. I don’t want cheese themed lines.

Stormfront's face grows even redder, spittle flying from his lips. "You dare mock the pure lightning of the Fatherland with your mongrel blood?! I know what you are, half-breed! Your very existence is an insult to—" But he doesn’t finish that sentence as he throws another lighting strike, expect it impact the pavement instead and that raises a large smoke screen.

However, it turns out the lightning attack was merely a distraction. 

I catch sight of Stormfront diving toward me like a missile.. He crashes into me with the force of a freight train again, but unlike moments ago, I'm more than ready to take him. My feet dig trenches in the asphalt as I catch the cape mid-flight, our hands interlocking in a big test of strength. Causing the surrounding street to crack and break, chunks of pavement rising into the air from the shockwave alone and the windows on the first floor of the building close to us, to shatter immediately.

"HOLY SWISS!" The heroine exclaims from somewhere. "Now that's what I call a SHOCKING development!"

I don’t think I can actually ignore her.

Anyway, we stand face to face, fingers intertwined, locked in a contest of dominance. His eyes maintain that level of hatred towards me, like this is actually a personal affront towards him—I can even see spittle flying from his lips as he snarls inches from my face, rabid. "You dishonor sacred genes with every breath, you filthy race traitor! Your whore mother should have—"

My brow narrows dangerously, as I increase the strength of my grip.

Okay, now I'm actually pissed.

"CEASE YOUR VILE TONGUE, SPAWN OF DARKNESS!" I roar, actually feeling offended this time. "THE NOBLE FLAMES OF JUSTICE SHALL CLEANSE YOUR CORRUPTED WORDS FROM THIS LAND THAT EXCLAIM FOR JUSTICE!"

He seems to get stronger the more angry he gets, electricity crackling around his body, but I don't budge an inch to that slight increase of strength. Instead, I steadily gain ground, pushing him back inch by inch, then feet by feet. I could easily twist his arms off or crush his hands to pulp, then headbutt him or deliver a knockout punch and break his nose, but where's the showmanship in that? Besides, making this racist asshole struggle and grow hopeless as he realizes he'll fail is far more satisfying than a fast punch.

I want him to suffer a little for those comments about my mother.

And accidentally break a few bones in the process, accidentally.

The Neo-Nazi cape's face twists with disbelief at first. "Unmöglich!" he roars to the heavens as his expression devolves to enraged. "You cannot be stronger! Your inferior blood—"

"BEHOLD!" Mouse Protector thankfully interrupts him (because I would have head-butted him if he finished that sentence), appearing on a nearby lamppost with an exaggerated dramatic flair. "The GOUDA guy versus the BAD guy! This is getting CHEESY, but I'm having a WHEELY good time watching justice in action!"

I mentally sigh after hearing that. After this, I should give her a dictionary or something.

However, her arrival triggers the black clouds above us to churn and darken, and a massive bolt of lightning strikes Stormfront directly on his back. The flash is so bright that it could be considered like a flashbang going off, as it was just as loud. But I just blink once to let it pass.

Normally something like that should cook someone alive or at least incapacitate them on the spot, because people are not made to take on a lighting bolt head on. But instead of watching the man collapse I quickly pick up a massive surge of power in my current opponent.

I can see that the lightning has somehow turned into energy that flows through his body before I take notice of his eyes crackle with sparks as his muscles bulge, corroborating his newfound strength, almost like when Muscular (Bane) used his venom to power himself. The pressure against my hands increases dramatically as he finally pushes back with a thunderous roar, stopping my advance completely.

But that surprise doesn't even last a second. I flare my nostrils as I show him a confident smirk.

"WITNESS, FOUL TEMPEST WIELDER!" I declare, pouring more strength into my grip. "THOUGH LIGHTNING MAY STRENGTHEN YOUR EVILNESS, THE ETERNAL FORGE OF JUSTICE HATH TEMPERED MY RESOLVE IN FIRES FAR MORE FIERCE! FEEL THE UNYIELDING MIGHT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS INCARNATE!"

Yeah, I will let my voice go free against this prick. Shame I cannot literally say any bad words or real insults. But I hope they make him angrier than he already is.

"YEAH!" Mouse Protector cheers, pumping her fist. "Show him the SHARP end of justice! This wannabe skinhead is about to get SLICED and DICED! He's in for a GRATE time!"

She's actually encouraging this. Although, I would appreciate her more actively helping me. This is supposed to be a hero team up, even if I don’t need the help since I can take down this idiot easily but it’s the matter of principle. 

Two heroes fighting shoulder to shoulder to take down a threat.

That moment of misguided advantage is short-lived. With just a little more of my strength I resume pushing him back despite him having enhanced himself, watching his feet bury themselves in the road, hoping to anchor himself, but I only keep pushing, leaving a long trail of torn asphalt. The look of shock on his face is priceless as he realizes that even his, and probably, trump card has been rendered useless against me.

"Nein... NEIN!" he screams, his boots smoking as they slide backward across the broken street. "This cannot be! You are impure! Inferior! Your blood should make you WEAK!"

A chunk of concrete suddenly drops from above, bonking Stormfront on the head mid-rant. He looks up, snarling, just in time to see Mouse Protector waving cheerfully from a lower rooftop before disappearing again.

Oh, that’s how she is going to assist. I guess it is the only practical way she can possibly help me without obstructing me.

"The noble power of justice recognizes none other than the pure-hearted!" I proclaim, stopping my advance and then slowly, deliberately pushing him down to one knee. "The only inferiority here is your cowardly adherence to the ways of evil!"

That’s the best not-insult I can say and even I’m surprised by it because it sounded like I hissed at him instead of the joyous tone I always have when speaking.

And then the same lasso from earlier appears, wrapping itself around Stormfront's neck and pulling him backward.

"Come here, boy!" Mouse Protector calls out, and I glance her way to see her pulling her rope with theatrical gusto before she disappears again.

Instead, another small rock bounces off the cape shoulder, followed by another off his other shoulder in perfect rhythm. He whips his head around frantically, trying to locate the source while struggling against both my grip and the lasso around his neck.

However, that concentration of his starts fracturing as he tries to track my companion attacks while maintaining his strength contest with me. His right eye twitches with gritted teeth.

But Stormfront's divided attention costs him dearly. I use that distraction to twist his hands sharply, earning a cry of pain and breaking his grip entirely. Mouse Protector exploits the opening as well as she returns to the end of the rope and with a hard pull, she brings him down to a very vulnerable position. I shoot my arm fast and grab him by the collar of his suit, and before he can even think of something I just spin him around as fast as possible to disorient him, and slam him face-first into the pavement with enough force to bury him.

"YOU ARE NOW GROUNDED, VILLAIN!" I declare as I leave half his body buried in the asphalt, his legs flailing uselessly. "LET THE EARTH ITSELF TEACH THEE HUMILITY!"

Thee? What century am I living in now? No, better question. How do I even know how to use those words?

However, that line of thought is interrupted as Mouse Protector starts clapping and cheering from a distance. "BRIE-lliant! Absolutely BRIE-lliant! He really got the POINT of your argument!"

Lady, please. I don’t want more cringe in my life.

I guess that should technically be the end of this, bad guy down although I probably should have done a little more to drive my point across his thick skull.

However, the supremacist cape doesn't stay down long. Another bolt of lightning comes down hard, and with it another roar of pure fury resonates across the street, unleashing a pulse of electrical energy that forces me back a step as I cover my face to protect my eyes from dust and debris. Passing a hand across my face to wipe off the dust, I quickly recover and get to see my insistent opponent rise from the destroyed road like some kind of electric zombie, blood streaming from his nose, broken lips, and swollen cheeks. 

Yeah, his supposed perfect Aryan features are now thoroughly ruined.

Very fitting for this prick. It just gives me a little satisfaction though.

"I will not be humiliated by a traitor’s spawn!" he snarls, the sky darkening further above us. "Especially not by... by THAT!" He points at me with shaking fingers as he starts rising into the air. "I know what you are! I know whose blood runs in your veins! You're an abomination that should never have been born!"

What?

What the hell is he even talking about? I’ve never seen this piece of shit in my entire life or anything related to his little group of his.

I should just assume this as a madman rambling since he is losing badly and is just throwing a temper tantrum so I won’t gain anything of value from listening to this bastard.

And seemingly in cue with my thoughts he uses his power to manipulate more lightning bolts that rain down indiscriminately, hitting surrounding buildings and street lights, causing transformers to explode into showers of sparks and fire. 

He is actually throwing a temper tantrum.

However, small pebbles begin pelting him from different angles, and all of them are coming from the same cheerful and disinterested heroine.

"Ooh, someone's throwing a bratty tantrum!" She taunts, appearing briefly on a streetlight before vanishing again as he fires lightning at her position and missing. "Looks like this storm is getting pretty HEATED! Time to add some PEPPER to this fight!"

However, the man just kept attacking her blindly.

Huh, that’s quite useful.

While she keeps him distracted with her relentless harassment campaign, I move to the burning electrical poles, tearing them down and driving them into the ground to smother the fires before they can spread. It'll be a hassle to fix the power grid in this area, without counting the road, but better that than letting the whole block go up in flames. Also make sure to put down some scattered fires that crop up from the chaos by stomping them repeatedly since there are no extinguishers out in the open.

I should probably stock up with some emergency tools in future situations like these.

Taking another glance at the mouse-themed heroine, I note her using teleportation powers which clearly marks her as a Mover, however she's moving with speed and using strength that no normal person could manage, not taking into consideration those amazing reflexes, which suggest that she isn’t just a mover but must have another ability that enhances her body to be able to achieve what she is doing.

But that’s not something for me to think about, I will just tell Futaba later and she will answer the doubts, so I continue my fight against the fires.

After extinguishing the remaining fires, I return to what Mouse Protector generously calls a "fight."

"BEHOLD, ELECTRIC KNAVE!" I announce, seizing the opportunity to close distance while he's swatting at more rocks and missing every shot before he dives against the woman. "PATIENCE IS THE GREATEST VIRTUE OF TRUE JUSTICE! AND THE GREATEST FAILING OF ALL WHO EMBRACE EVIL!"

The heroine teleports away just as I arrive, a perfectly timed brick dropping where she'd been standing and bonking the supremacist on the head again as he failed to catch her. A brief moment which I exploit and leap into the air. He doesn't have time to react before I drive my fist into his solar plexus. Of course, I'm careful to hold back enough that I don't punch completely through him and the impact still sends him flying across the street, through a parked car, and into the brick wall of a three story building.

Raising a big smokescreen, covering a large area around the zone of impact.

At that moment is when the entire structure groans ominously, almost like it would collapse and it is when I immediately scan the area, putting all my senses to work to judge the situation accordingly. Action that my temporary ally imitates as we both are checking for civilians who might be around and were caught in the crossfire.

But we hear nothing of the sort.

Thankfully, this entire area appears evacuated. No innocent bystanders in immediate danger then.

That explains the empty streets when I arrived, but that raises more questions. Did Stormfront clear the area himself? Does he have backup? Or was this somehow pre-planned? 

Or was it just a coincidence?

It’s just weird when you think about it, and hard to come up with an explanation.

Before I can think more about the lack of people, the Nazi cape finally erupts from the rubble, chunks of concrete scattering in the streets as he finally exited the place with trembling limbs as he limped his way out. I quickly take notice that his face is a mess, more than enough proof to confirm that he isn’t a brute but only has super strength, meaning just a little more resistant than the average man, but it's his right eye that stands out—nearly swollen shut and taking on a deep disgusting purple color.

He touches it gingerly, and his expression shifts from rage to something else entirely.

"My eye! What have you done to my eye?!" he shrieks, his voice cracking with a different emotion that I didn’t expect coming from this man, fear.

"Aww, did someone get a little BOO-BOO?" Mouse Protector calls out, appearing on a fire escape with a handful of small stones. "Need your mommy to kiss it better? Or maybe some CHEESE to help with the whine?"

She begins flicking pebbles at him again with surprising accuracy, to his bruised face.

"SILENCE!" Stormfront bellows, but there's a tremor in his voice now. He fires wild barrages of lightning in all directions, his movements becoming increasingly erratic as tiny projectiles continue to pelt him from impossible angles. "I will not be blinded! I WILL NOT! Not by mongrel filth! Not by race-mixing scum!"

And then he picks up rubble from the ground and throw it at me with no sense of aim.

It's just a black eye. Why is he having a complete breakdown over a bruise?

"FEAR NOT THE TEMPORARY DIMMING OF THE MISGUIDED SIGHT, VILLAIN!" I proclaim, striding forward through his chaotic barrage. The pieces do little more than make my costume smoke slightly as they explode upon contact. "FOR THE GUIDING LIGHT OF JUSTICE SHALL ILLUMINATE THE TRUE PATH FOR ALL WHO SEEK REDEMPTION! LET THIS BE YOUR CHANCE TO FINALLY WITNESS THE RADIANCE OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MY JUSTICE!"

Translation: Get fucked, Nazi boy.

"That's the spirit, True Might!" Mouse Protector cheers, now juggling three small rocks while teleporting between different perches. "Really LIGHT up his world! Show him justice isn't just about being SHARP—sometimes you need to be SOLID too!"

A perfectly aimed pebble hits Stormfront's damaged eye, and he screams in both pain and terror, his electrical field sputtering wildly.

"S-Stay back!" Stormfront commands, gathering a massive charge between his hands, electricity arcing between his fingers. But his concentration keeps breaking as more tiny projectiles find their mark on his damaged eye. "I am Stormfront! Champion of the Gesellschaft! Scion of the Fatherland! You cannot defeat me! Not some half-breed mistake whose very existence mocks everything pure and—"

"YOUR CHANCE HAS BEEN REVOKED!" I thunder, continuing my slow advance, my hands clench into fists. "LADY JUSTICE NOW SHALL JUDGE YOUR EVILNESS!"

"Y-You don't understand!" he shouts, backing away now as a particularly well-aimed chunk of concrete bounces off his forehead. "I can't— I won't let some filthy bastard be the one to—"

But he doesn't get to finish that thought, because Mouse Protector teleports directly behind him and delivers a shield bash to the back of his head that sends him stumbling forward—right into my waiting grasp.

"Tag! You're IT!" she announces cheerfully. 

I catch him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand. As he starts hitting me in hopes to break away but achieving nothing in return but looking like a flailing chicken.

"NOW THEN, VILLAIN OF HATRED," I declare, staring into his remaining healthy eye. "FEEL THE FULL MIGHT OF MY GLORIOUS JUSTICE!”

I pull my other fist back, muscles coiling with power as I prepare the strike. The words pour out of my mouth like they always do, completely beyond my control. But I approve of them, anyway.

"RISING CREED!"

My uppercut connects perfectly with his chin, and the sickening crack of bones and teeth breaking echoes through the street. Blood and fragments of teeth spray from his mouth as the impact lifts him clean off my grip and sends him rocketing upward into the darkening sky like a twisted firework.

And that felt... really satisfying, actually. I was seriously wanting to do that for a while.

I plant my feet, muscles tensing as I prepare to leap after him and finish this properly. But before I can launch myself skyward, my ally suddenly appears beside me.

"Mind if I borrow your back for a sec?" she asks cheerfully, but doesn't wait for an answer.

She uses my shoulders as a springboard, launching herself high into the air with a cheerful "WOOOOOOOO!" Her enhanced strength propels her up faster than should be possible, easily catching up with the still-rising enemy cape.

High above, just as his upward momentum begins to slow, she raises her shield with both hands, gripping it like a sledgehammer, and brings it down in a devastating overhead slam.

The resounding CLANG echoes across the street as metal meets skull, and suddenly Stormfront is plummeting earthward much faster than he went up, his body spinning like a broken rag-doll.

"TIMBER!" Mouse Protector calls out before teleporting away with obvious satisfaction.

Now that's teamwork.

I roll my right shoulder a few times, working out the kinks and positioning myself directly below the falling cape. My muscles coil with anticipation as I draw my fist back again, timing his descent perfectly. The familiar, unstoppable words build in my throat.

More like borrowing them with a twist.

"JUSTICE—"

Stormfront's body hurtles toward me, unconscious and bleeding, his supposedly superior form nothing more than dead weight.

"—SMASH!"

My punch connects with his face just as he reaches the perfect distance, but instead of sending him flying across the city, I arc my aim downward. The force of the blow drives him into the asphalt like a meteor, creating another crater that spider-webs outward in all directions. The ground shakes, more car alarms wail, and every window within a three-block radius rattles from the impact.

When the dust settles, Stormfront lies motionless at the bottom of a six-foot-deep crater, his body twisted at angles that would make a chiropractor weep. Okay, damn. I might have gone a little overboard with that finisher. Not even Hookwolf got this badly beaten.

But then again, he was just a rabid dog, unlike this prick who made it his life mission to insult me at every possible moment. And my mother, apparently.

Besides, he's still breathing. But he won't be getting up anytime soon.

However, I know he's from the Gesellschaft and might be a troublesome organization in the future, but if this is the best they can produce then I can rest easy. Just a mere annoyance at worst.

Mouse Protector appears beside me, peering down into the crater with genuine admiration. "Holy MOZZARELLA! Now that's what I call a CRUSHING defeat! He really got the POINT of your argument! That was absolutely—wait for it—GROUND-BREAKING!"

Bad puns. So many bad puns.

I guess the saying; ‘misery loves company’ is totally true.

The woman pauses, studying the unconscious Nazi cape with a more critical eye. "Though I gotta say, his face looks a little more... diverse now. You know, with all those different colors from the bruising. Very rainbow coalition of pain you've got going there! Really brings out his eyes—well, the one that's still visible, anyway!"

I merely nod, like agreeing with her but not really. But I guess it's time to wrap this up.

"THE FORCES OF EVIL HAVE BEEN VANQUISHED!" I proclaim, raising both fists toward the darkening sky in triumph. "LET THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL WHO WOULD SPREAD HATRED AND DISCORD AGAINST THE INNOCENT! JUSTICE PREVAILS ONCE MORE!"

And that seems to be the signal for the heroine who holsters her shield and sword on her back in one fluid motion, the straps clicking into place. Then she turns to me with a wide grin, extending her hand while simultaneously bumping my shoulder with the other in that universal friendly confident gesture.

"Well, that was absolutely GRATE! Name's Mouse Protector, defender of justice and maker of CHEESY one-liners!" She pumps my hand enthusiastically. "Thanks for the teamwork back there, big guy! We totally made a fantastic team!"

I doubt we made a good team up but we did team up.

Besides, finally a proper introduction. I already knew her from my memories as a cheerful and joke heroine but introductions are always helpful and don't bring unnecessary questions later down the line.

"WELL MET, NOBLE MOUSE PROTECTOR!" I boom, accepting her handshake heartily before striking a heroic pose with one hand on my hip and the other raised skyward. "I AM TRUE MIGHT, THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEFENDER OF THE INNOCENT!"

And there I go again. At least you can never go wrong with this heroic pose.

“You are truly another magnificent ally of justice!" I continue, gesturing grandly toward her. "MY HEART SWELLS WITH JOY TO KNOW THAT SO MANY NOBLE SOULS STAND READY TO DEFEND THIS FAIR CITY FROM THE FORCES OF EVIL! TOGETHER WE CAN BRING OUR GLORIOUS CRUSADE FORWARD IN DEFENSE OF THE PEOPLE AND BRING JOY TO THE CHILDREN!"

I wonder if this is going to be the standard whenever I meet with a new cape in town.

She giggles at my declaration, clearly enjoying the whole heroic spectacle, a lot more than others who just go along with it. But then her expression shifts to something more practical as she glances back down into the crater.

"Hold up a moment," she says, suddenly all business. "Can't leave loose ends."

Without waiting for a response, she hops down into the crater with grace. I watch as she approaches the unconscious Stormfront.

I wonder what she wants to do.

But that doubt is quickly answered as she begins carefully manipulating the downed cape limbs, straightening out the worst of the twisted angles and repositioning his arms and legs into more natural positions. There's a series of small pops and clicks as she realigns dislocated joints and shifts broken bones back into place. The man doesn't even twitch, so he’s totally out cold. And for that he is lucky because of the crunchy and cracking noises that sound really painful.

Once she's satisfied with his positioning, she produces a set of heavy-duty zip-tie restraints from somewhere on her costume and secures his wrists and ankles. The restraints look military-grade, definitely not the same that I have which I use for common thugs in the streets.

She climbs back out of the crater, dusting off her hands with satisfaction.

"There we go! Now I know those babies won't hold a cape for long," she explains, gesturing toward the restrained Nazi. "But they're rigged with little noise makers—when they snap, they make a real RACKET. Think of them as an early warning system!"

That's pretty smart. Low-tech but effective.

"TRULY, YOUR QUICK THINKING AND FORESIGHT ARE MOST ADMIRABLE!" I declare, nodding approvingly. "SUCH TACTICAL WISDOM IS THE MARK OF A TRUE ALLY OF JUSTICE!" I pause dramatically, puffing out my chest. "THOUGH OF COURSE, NO VILLAIN SHALL ESCAPE SO LONG AS TRUE MIGHT STAND VIGILANT!"

Okay, that might come out more boastful than I intended. But technically accurate, as long nobody pulls some bullshit move or deus ex machina. Because I know this world is filled with so many bullshit powers that it isn’t funny.

However, the moment is interrupted as we finally hear a very specific noise in the distance, sirens which are growing steadily louder. The familiar sound of emergency responders finally arriving now that all the dangerous stuff is over.

Right on schedule. They always show up when the fighting's done. 

Mouse Protector stretches her arms above her head and arches her back with an exaggerated yawn. "Ah, there's the cavalry! Right on time, as usual." She grins mischievously. "You know, I'm actually looking forward to seeing my old teammates again. Wonder how much they've changed since I left the Wards. Bet they're all grown up."

Right, she used to be a member of the wards.

Well, I will just head somewhere else to rest a little and take a shower because my hair is now a mess.

“Don’t wanna stay here for a bit, big boy?”

Well, damn.

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss a chance to greet my fellow friends who carry the same flame of justice!”

“Yay!”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

-Futaba Sakura, Oracle-

Futaba rubbed her chin as she stared at the monitors displaying ABB territory on the city map. And multiple sticky notes, she really hated that there wasn’t good and reliable tracking technology thanks to Simurgh killing any attempt at space projects. But even then she could tell that something was stirring in the downtown coast area, based on messages and a few calls, and she needed boots on the ground to confirm her suspicions.

She reached for her phone and dialed a new number.

"Claw Patrol, Mandalay speaking," came the warm but professional response after two rings.

"Hey, it's Oracle. I hate to ask, but could your team handle a quick reconnaissance of the downtown coast area? Nothing too deep—just a simple in-and-out to confirm or dismiss some reports I’ve recently got."

"Of course! We can have someone there within the hour.”

"Thanks, Mandalay. I really appreciate the help, and sorry for the short notice."

"No need to apologize. We're happy to assist. Stay safe out there."

The line went dead, and Futaba immediately turned back to her screens. Her secure messaging app was blinking with new intel, and what she read made her frown deepen. ABB was moving a small convoy of trucks through their territory—too organized to be routine business.

Without hesitation, she dialed another number.

"Brandish speaking," came the crisp, no-nonsense greeting.

"ABB convoy moving through Sector Seven. Three trucks with armed escort. They need to be stopped before reaching their destination."

"Understood. We will handle it immediately. Do you have specifics on their cargo or destination?"

"Negative on cargo. I'll forward the coordinates to your secure line."

"Received."

The call ended just as fast. Carol Dallon never wasted time with unnecessary conversation during operations, something Futaba both appreciated and disliked, some small talk would have been nice.

However that didn’t stop her as she leaned back in her chair, processing the implications. Her PRT contact had mentioned the very high likelihood of reinforcements coming to Brockton Bay—not just more heroes and officers, but a significant budget increase. The higher-ups were finally taking the Bay's situation seriously, even if their reputation is still pretty bad they still do good.

The fact that Gesellschaft had managed to smuggle Stormfront into the United States was deeply troubling. Someone with significant resources and connections had facilitated that movement, or it was a cape capable of long distance teleportation and both possibilities were equally dangerous.

At least Daniel had proven once again why he was the protagonist of this whole mess. Well, the protagonist in the sense that he was a company agent, and a pretty decent guy because she knew how low agents could fall just to enjoy their many gifts. Although that brought her back to thinking about how to get access to the company perks she was missing, she simply couldn;t force herself to love him and jumping him wouldn’t even work so she needed to think of a way to at least get access to his dimensional home.

But besides that point, his decisive victory over Stormfront, with Mouse Protector's assistance, was another major win for Brockton Bay in general. Despite being dismissed as a joke hero by some, Mouse Protector was incredibly effective at stamping out crime, which was exactly why Futaba had contacted her earlier to keep tabs on the Merchants.

The Merchants had been suspiciously quiet lately after the prison breakout, and in Futaba's experience, that never meant good things. They were probably planning something big and dangerous, which was the last thing she needed right now.

Stormfront's defeat wasn't just another nail in the Empire's coffin—it was a stake through the heart, accelerating their collapse and throwing all her carefully laid plans into chaos. Everything was now on hold as she coordinated efforts to contain the gangs and send them into disarray, preventing them from mobilizing effectively. So far, she'd been successful with hit-and-run tactics against drug houses and labs.

Her secure phone chimed with a new message.

‘Package delivered. Site secured.’

A smirk played across her lips. That was one of the ABB brothels shut down, the women rescued by the police and relocated to safety. Obviously another operation would crop up eventually, but that took time and resources—another expense that would strain the gang operations to keep them occupied.

She slumped back in her chair and sighed heavily. All in a day's work. She really wished she could get an assistant or something, someone to help manage the constant stream of information and coordinate responses.

Unless she got her power back, even if she forgot about it she knew it would help her a lot with processing information.

Her gaze drifted to the PS2 sitting in front of the TV, then to her messy desk cluttered with empty energy drink cans, scattered papers, and tangled cables. A quick glance around revealed her room was equally chaotic—clothes draped over chairs, takeout containers stacked precariously, and a lot of snacks wrappers scattered everywhere and empty bottles.

Right, cleaning day couldn't come fast enough.

But for now, she had to keep working. She leaned to her right and grabbed a can of a Red Bull from the pile beside her desk, popping it open with a satisfying click. The cold liquid provided a much-needed caffeine boost as she licked her lips and turned back to her monitors.

But then her phone rang, breaking her away from her thoughts so she picked up the call.

“Oi twerp, heard you were slumped. Need a hand?”

The night was still young, and Brockton Bay's criminal underworld never slept.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

-Max Anders, Kaiser-

Kaiser's roar of rage echoed through the concrete bunker as he swept his arm across the desk, sending everything—papers, electronics, the ornate rum bottle—crashing in all directions. Glass shattered against the wall as he unleashed a torrent of invective at the absent Stormfront.

"Aryan supremacy my ass!" he snarled, his composure finally cracking completely. "Fucking fanatic piece of—"

His boot came down hard on his laptop, the screen splintering under repeated stomps until plastic fragments scattered across the floor. The satisfying crunch did nothing to ease his growing impotence.

"SHIT!" The word tore from his throat as he collapsed back into his chair, the leather creaking under his armored weight.

He dragged both hands down his face, then gripped his hair, pulling until his scalp burned. The stress felt like acid in his veins, his stomach churning with a sick combination of rage and dread. He'd been formulating contingencies, building new strategies to salvage his position, especially the Empire 88 shaky position, then that fanatical moron had to go and attack True Might.

All because the bastard had seen some social media posts showing the cape escorting a group of children of different ethnicities, alongside an independent hero team from Japan. Stormfront couldn't contain his ideological fervor—had to rush in like some medieval backwards crusader despite Kaiser's attempts to restrain him. The Gesellschaft was sending mercenary support, additional capes, but no—Stormfront had to overestimate himself and charge ahead alone. The fucking idiot hadn't even used his infamous laser vision.

This was the reason he despised, why he looked down on fanatics. Why he killed his psychotic sister and his father.

Kaiser bit down on his knuckle hard enough to taste copper as he recalled the fresh reports. True Might had dismantled Stormfront with surgical precision, with some assistance from Mouse Protector. It wasn't even a hard-fought battle—more like watching a professional boxer destroy an amateur in the ring. Stormfront had gotten the worst of it, rushed to emergency care, broken in ways that would take months to heal. Because it was beyond obvious that they would NOT use a healer to fix the idiot.

Better said, it was far more likely they would do the worst job in healing that man just to keep him down and easily retrained.

And now he was in PRT custody along with other government agencies because, in his zealous haste to arrive in the United states, he'd crossed the border illegally. The irony was so perfect it hurt—a white supremacist taken down as an illegal immigrant.

A hysterical laugh bubbled up from his chest, high and sharp and entirely without humor.

Max was fucked. Completely, utterly fucked.

No grand speeches, no rallies, no public examples would fix this disaster. With this event, they fell. Everyone would start abandoning the Empire now that one of the Gesellschaft's strongest weapons had been taken out like a complete joke. And all because one impatient fanatic couldn't wait a single fucking day.

A knock at his door cut through his downward spiral of despair.

"WHAT?!" he screamed, his voice raw.

Krieg entered, papers clutched in his hands, his gas mask somehow managing to convey reluctance.

"Kaiser... Rune has defected to the PRT."

"HA! GREAT!" Kaiser threw his head back, the sound caught between rage and hysteria. It wasn't funny. Nothing about this was funny.

"And she took Earthshard with her."

The words hit like a physical blow. Kaiser slowly bent forward, elbows on his knees, head buried in his arms, his entire body slumping as the weight of complete defeat settled over him.

"Fuck..."

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AN: Sorry for the delay, it took me a bit longer than it should. I was still struggling to get something I could be satisfied with.