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Villain of the Void by a-shifty-sword

Dishonored & Worm Xover Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Adventure, Words: 134k+, Favs: 3k+, Follows: 3k+, Published: Jul 3, 2021 Updated: Jun 1, 2022

615Chapter 4: 1-4 Induction

I hummed as I reorganized some files in Dr. Takemi's filing cabinet. Tae was usually pretty good about keeping it organized, but sometimes, when she got really into her work, she'd put files anywhere. But my good mood couldn't be diminished.

Last night I found an E88 member for my experiments. [Drain] was useful for weakening them until they couldn't fight, and then, when they looked at me in a panic, I took off my mask and used [Hypnotic Gaze] on them.

That was the first thing I discovered, it didn't work through my mask. I'd need more experimentation to discover if it was a matter of them needing to see my eyes or if anything in the way would stop it. I also discovered it didn't happen automatically on eye contact, but I had to give it a mental push to activate.

Needing direct eye contact made it a little trickier to use, but it was a restriction I could work with. As soon as I used the ability, the thug went still. Nothing happened if I blinked, but if I looked away he seemed to come out of it. So long as I looked at him, he remained hypnotized.

Which matched what the skill description said and meant the other part was likely to be just as accurate. It specified that I could make changes to their behavior. That left a lot of things on the table that I couldn't affect, but I didn't worry about that. Instead, I started trying to change the gang member.

I started out big, just to see what happened when I tried to make a change beyond my limits. "Leave the E88 and start putting all of your energy and money into helping impoverished minorities" was too big of a change, and I was surprised to actually get feedback in my mind saying as much. I could feel the suggestion fail to take hold.

"Tell me the location of all the Empire hideouts that you know of" didn't work either, but it felt different. Probably because it was a command instead of a behavioral change. Annoying. I rephrased it to "Become a coward who will give any cape who beats you any information they want" and I felt that one work.

Though, almost amusingly, instructions to start to lose loyalty with the E88 and reconsider his life, were too big of changes to work. He must have been a bit of a coward already.

I tried a few other things, ways to get him to sabotage the E88 and weaken them, but most of them didn't take. He was too loyal to them. The one that did work was the suggestion to frequently forget to lock doors that he should. I doubted that it would be useful, and most likely he'd just get caught and punished, but it was something.

After I put my mask back on he snapped out of the trance and looked at me in fear. "What- what do you want?" he asked. There was panic in his voice, but he didn't have the energy to raise his volume.

"Tell the location and function of the nearest Empire base," I instructed him, the mask making my voice more sinister.

"T-t-there's a safe house a few blocks over," he told me in a stuttering voice. "Some-sometimes guys spend the night there after a job. They store drugs and money there too." He gave me the address of the place and I nodded.

"Congratulations, your cooperation has bought you a bit more time in this world," I said. "But if you tell anyone what you told me, I will personally make sure that you regret it."

"I-I w-won't!" he protested. "I swear!"

I just nodded at that and left, heading straight home. I had gotten everything I needed for that night. [Drain] seemed to help reduce my need for sleep, but I suspected I would need to use it on several people to skip sleeping entirely. It meant I never stayed out all night, usually returning to grab at least a few hours of sleep.

Last night I could hardly sleep though. My intentions for my new ability were far from pure, and I planned on using them to make my daily life more comfortable as well. But I had to be careful about it. I could rush things. I still couldn't change anything too much.

But, a little after lunch, I finally implemented my plan.

"Hey, Dr. Takemi?" I asked during a quiet moment when no one was around.

"Hmm?" she replied, looking up from her work at me. Our eyes met and I used [Hypnotic Gaze] on her.

I could see her shoulders relax as she entered a trance and I breathed a sigh of relief. Even knowing that it worked, doing it to her had been stressful. But now I could give her the command I wanted. I thought long and hard about the command I should give her. I had a couple of backup ones as well in case it turned out to not work, but I was confident it would.

"You actually want to cook and you find cooking to be a satisfying use of time," I tell her. I felt it take hold, so I continued. "You especially enjoy it when I eat food that you made." That also took hold, and I allowed myself a grin of victory.

I cut off the ability by looking away. I could have done more, but I wanted to see the effect of something a bit more harmless first. Takemi blinked as she came out of the trance and a flash of confusion crossed her face.

"Sorry, I zoned out for a second there," she apologized. "What did you need?"

"I just wanted to know if you had any requests for dinner tonight," I said.

She thinks about it. "Don't worry about it, I'll make dinner tonight. You've been cooking since you got here despite that not being part of our deal. Let me cook for tonight. I'm actually not a bad cook, I just usually get distracted by work."

"Sure, I'd love to try your cooking," I replied, internally cheering. "Any ingredients you need me to pick up?"

She shook her head. "No, we should have everything." She glanced at the time. "Why don't you go ahead and head out for today? There shouldn't be much more to do around here."

"Alright," I agreed. "In that case, I'll see you for dinner Doc. I look forward to it."

As I left I took out my phone and sent Melissa a text to see if she was free today. She replied immediately that she was and we arranged a meeting spot. We were just a couple of teens who wanted to hang out and talk about magic and void gods. Nothing suspicious about that.

I decided against using [Hypnotic Gaze] on her though. I had looked up her father last night using the phone, which I felt was safe to do because one of the apps Melissa sent me provided my phone with so much security it would take a Tinker to remotely hack into it. I discovered that David Shield was indeed a Toybox member but he did a lot of work with the PRT. He even was responsible for creating Lady Might's gear. Apparently, they were old friends. So he ended up living mostly in Brockton Bay instead of remaining in Toybox's secure pocket dimension.

Which meant that she was far too hot for me to risk Mastering. Though she was also hot enough, in the physical sense, that I really wanted to. Thankfully normal seduction was still on the table, and I was an important source of information for her. I could use that to my advantage for sure.

A couple of nights later I found another rune. I had decided to come back to the Boardwalk at night and comb it over. Even at three in the morning there were still people at the boardwalk, mostly focused on the few bars there were, but they were easy to avoid. There were plenty of shadows to hide in.

It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. One charm and one rune. The charm was easy to get, it was being used as part of the decorations of a storefront that had a bunch of beach-themed trinkets strung up on a line over their door. I'm surprised it lasted so long out here, meeting Melissa clued me in that there are people aware of the Outsider here who would recognize it for what it was. But I guess there aren't many, and hiding in plain sight is effective.

The rune was far harder to get. It was tucked away under the boardwalk itself. Thankfully there were a series of support beams underneath that I could walk along. It was slow going because I had to be very careful. The beams weren't designed to be walked on, so the footing wasn't very good.

The trip made it clear that I jumped the gun on getting [Hypnotic Gaze]. It would have been much easier with [Blink], even if it started out super weak. A few short teleports would have made this trip super easy, and delaying [Hypnotic Gaze] by a day wouldn't have been a big deal at all.

I got to it eventually though. The rune itself was wrapped up in a ragged cloth and stuffed into a hole carved into one of the support beams for the Boardwalk. I immediately unwrapped it and used it to get [Blink].

[Blink] - Teleport to a targeted location within a small distance within line of sight. Has a long cool down.

Ouch. It having two upgradeable features was worse than I expected. It made the skill quite the sink for charms. I immediately use the charm I found earlier to reduce the cooldown. I'd rather have rapid-fire but short-ranged teleportation than longer teleportation with a big cool down, at least in the short term.

-x-

Name: Cain

Race: Human

-Skills-

[Void Soul] - Passive. Prevents many forms of esoteric detection and targeting.

[Pocket] - Store small objects in an extra-dimensional pocket space. Has a medium amount of total storage room.

[Drain] - Swiftly drain a target of their stamina, restoring your own.

[Hypnotic Gaze] - Directly lock eyes with someone to put them in a hypnotic state that is maintained so long as eye contact is made. Small changes to their behavior can be made via verbal instruction. The target will forget the hypnosis and a few seconds leading up to it.

[Blink] - Teleport to a targeted location within a small distance within line of sight. Has an extended cool down.

-x-

Extended didn't sound much better than long to me, but I'd trust that it was, and the best way to find out how long it was in practice was to try it out. I turned my attention to the way I came and tried to use the skill.

Unlike the game, there was no helpful marker showing exactly where I'd end up. But I could still mentally aim the skill anyway. I could feel it in the back of my head, the targeting and how far I could go. The distance was disappointing, my range was maybe ten feet. But it was better than nothing.

I teleported and appeared where I had aimed, almost losing my balance. There was no sensation of movement, just the world changing around me. I suddenly became very aware of the waves below me. Falling in from here wouldn't be dangerous, but it would be extremely annoying to have to go back home in soaked clothes.

But I also noticed that I could tell that the skill was on cooldown. There wasn't any sensation of it decreasing, so all I could do was count as I waited for it to be ready again. I counted to twenty before I was able to target the skill again. Not great, I'd have to invest in the skill as soon as possible, even if it meant not holding on to a charm for new powers.

I made my way back to the topside of the Boardwalk using a combination of short teleports and carefully walking. I was fully prepared to call it a night and go home after that, but as I turned to leave I saw a large mass of something floating through the air and heading in my direction.

I immediately hid even as I tried to get a better look. As it passed I saw that the floating mass was a rusted and beat-up car, and sitting on top of it was a figure in red and black robes. I didn't recognize the costume, but I recognized the power. Rune of the Empire 88, her power allowed her to telekinetically control any object she placed her mark on.

I looked around and didn't see anyone else. No other large objects, no other people or capes following her. I frowned. What was Rune doing out here alone at this time of night? With a thought, I teleported up to a nearby rooftop and started carefully following her.

Following her was difficult with how long I had to wait to teleport. I thought about moving to the ground, but I was worried about not being able to see where she went if I moved down to below the buildings. At least this way I was able to see her even when she put a decent amount of distance between us. There was only so far she could go unless she was going out over the ocean.

She did come to a stop eventually, but I couldn't tell where or why as I was a couple hundred feet behind her at that point. I rushed to catch up even as she slowly sank down behind a building and out of sight. I cursed and kept heading in the direction I last saw her, but thankfully there was enough noise to lead me to where she landed. As I approached, I realized it was the sound of yelling.

"-out Parian! I know you're in there!" Rune yelled from atop her floating car. "Stop resisting and join the Empire already, you bitch!"

I came to a stop behind Rune. Parian? That was the Rogue, someone who is neither a Hero nor a Villain and uses their power for themselves or for a profit, who could control fabric right? I looked at the building that Rune was yelling at. It was a store named "Parian's Apparel." Huh. I didn't think she actually owned a store. Then again, this world was pretty different from the Worm that I knew.

Rune's actions were more than a little confusing though. Her plan to recruit Parian, as she was obviously trying to do, was to come out by herself and yell at her? I look inside and see the yellow shape of a single person in the building, slowly approaching the window. Parian most likely. It was definitely a woman. I could see a larger shape behind her, one that looked like an 8-foot tall teddy bear. I could see her dolls through walls as well? Convenient.

Rune kept yelling as I thought over my options. There was no real reason for me to interfere. I could walk away without consequence. So the question was, what did I gain to benefit from it? Well, there was that little point of brightness in Parian's shop. It was a charm, I was sure of it. Taking care of Rune might earn me enough goodwill to get inside to grab it. Or it might not. But it wouldn't be too much effort to take care of Rune, so it was worth a shot.

The top of the car is within range of my [Blink], so I quickly teleport behind her and wrap one arm around her neck in a chokehold. She immediately starts thrashing, but my other hand grabs her flailing hands and pushes them forward as I use [Drain] on her.

All of a sudden she stopped resisting. "His...mark?" she choked out, apparently still able to breathe. But a few seconds later she passed out, stamina drained completely. I glanced at my hand, the one that was holding her hands away from me, the one with the Outsider's Mark on it. Did she see it too? Her final comment suggested she did, which was interesting. Was she a worshipper of the Outsider as well?

I would have to ask her later, because, at that moment, the car she had flown over here crashed to the ground. Thankfully she was only ten or so feet in the air, so there was no serious damage done. But it made a pretty loud noise, and I was knocked over by the impact.

As I got to my feet, the front door of the shop opened up, revealing Parian. She was wearing a costume that covered every inch of her skin and made her look like a Victorian doll. It was actually kind of creepy.

"You didn't have to do that," Parian said, voice slightly muffled by her mask. "I'm used to it at this point."

"Used to it?" I asked, confused.

She sighed. "The Empire has been trying to recruit me for months. But they don't really consider it a priority, so they just assigned Rune to the task. She failed the first three times she came to talk to me, and since then she comes out here once every few weeks, drunk in the dead middle of the night and yelling. She doesn't actually do anything though, I fought her off the last time she tried."

"I see," I replied. "That sounds annoying."

"It is," she said with a tired sigh. "So I'm grateful you shut her up early." Even with her mask on, I could see her look me up and down. "I can't say I'm very tuned into the local cape scene, but I don't recognize you. Are you new?"

"Yeah," I answered. "The name's Raven." I had finally decided on a cape name a couple of days ago. It was tempting to go with Corvo, or Crow, or something that directly referenced Corvo himself. But it left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm wearing his mask, and I also bear the Outsider's Mark, but I'm not Corvo. So, Raven. I'm similar, but different.

"Hmm," she said. "Well, I've heard worse cape names." I frowned, but she continued. "That's a nice mask, though the rest of your costume needs work."

I sighed. "I know," I admitted. "I'm working on getting the money together. I don't suppose you take custom orders?"

"No," she replied. "Not usually. But I'll offer you a deal. I have something I think would suit you pretty well. If you take Rune back to Empire territory and drop her off on a roof or something, I'll give it to you."

An upgraded costume just for carrying an unconscious girl for a bit? "Deal," I agreed.

Parian nodded. "Stay right here then, I'll be right back." She headed back into her shop, and I noticed that her doll stood on the inside of the door, no doubt ready to prevent me from entering. It only took a minute for her to grab what she wanted and make her way back to me, and to my surprise, she was bringing the charm with her.

She came back outside and floated the bundle of cloth she was carrying to me, not risking getting too close. Her paranoia didn't really match up with how she was speaking to me, but maybe that was normal. Be polite and friendly, but don't take any chances. You never know what a cape might do.

"Thank you," I told her as I spread out the bundle of cloth. I immediately grimaced, glad that my mask hid my expression. Here I was trying to separate myself from Corvo, and Parian gave me a coat that looked so much like his. It wasn't a copy, and if it were a cosplay I'd say it was inaccurate. But it was the same style.

It was a long coat that went down to my knees made of dark gray fabric with white trimmings. It buttoned around my chest but the bottom was open around my legs. It even had a hood that could be pulled up. It looked very old-fashioned, and with the right accessories, I'd even call it perfect for a steampunk outfit.

Speaking of accessories, right on the chest was a charm, serving as an accent. It changed the look of the outfit from a relatively plain Victorian coat to something a little more sinister.

"It's a nice coat," I commented.

Parian shrugs. "I made it on a whim months ago, but not one has been interested in buying it, so it's been collecting dust. I'll gladly hand it over to not have to cart Rune across the city again, and as thanks for shutting her up quickly."

I nodded and put it on. It was a weird fit over my hoody, but I can tell that without that extra layer of cloth, it would be perfect. I'll have to fix it later, but I'm not gonna start changing clothes right now.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to do repairs?" I asked her. "I don't plan on getting in many fights, but it's bound to happen sooner or later."

"Sooner, most likely," Parian confirmed. Even as a Rogue, she no doubt had her own scuffles. "And I might consider it. For a price, of course."

"Of course," I agreed. I really needed to figure out a stable source of income soon. "Are you sure you don't want me to take her to the PRT or something?"

"Absolutely not," Parian denied. "I'm afraid that if Rune actually got arrested doing this, they'd take it out on me, and I don't want that kind of trouble."

Ah. That was probably true. "Good thinking," I agreed. I grabbed Rune, arranging her in a princess carry. "Well, I'll be off then. Just inside of Empire territory is good enough, yeah?"

Parian nodded. "That's usually as far as I take her."

I nodded as well, and then I turned my head back to the rooftop. Time to see if I could bring another person with me when I [Blink]. Thankfully, the skill activated. Good, I thought that would be the case. In the game, you could still do it when carrying unconscious bodies. I'm glad that was the same.

Parian went back inside and I started heading for Empire territory. Why was I doing this? Well, two reasons actually. One, it was worth the new coat. Now I actually look like a cape, and that matters.

But more importantly, I was interested in Rune. She may be a Nazi, but she had recognized the Outsider's Mark, and that needed further investigation. Not to mention she was a girl about my age, and I had [Hypnotic Gaze] to possibly rid her of those Nazi tendencies. Once I've upgraded it more at least.

Once I was a few buildings away, I consumed the charm on the coat and used it to reduce the cooldown on [Blink] again. The description then read as it having a "moderate" cooldown, and in practice that turned out to be about ten seconds, half as long as the last step. It was definitely helpful, as it took me almost ten seconds on average to walk across a rooftop so I could [Blink] to the next one.

Thanks to [Blink], it didn't take me too long to reach Empire territory, and without running into anyone too. I put Rune down, sitting her up against an AC unit on top of some office building. And then is when I should have left. But I didn't. Instead, I paused and considered my options.

Teenage girl or not, Rune was not only part of the Empire 88, but she also recognized the Outsider's Mark. And I couldn't let something like that slip by. I needed more information. So, I didn't leave. Instead, I looked around for any sign of people or capes. Seeing nothing, I crouched down next to Rune and started patting her down.

Her robes weren't very thick, they probably would have been too hot if they were, so it was easy to pat her down. I can immediately tell she's wearing normal clothes underneath her costume, including a pair of jeans. And in the pocket of those jeans, I feel a rectangular lump.

My heart was pounding. This was a massive violation of the unwritten rules and would have the Empire, and maybe the other factions, calling for my blood. But I reached into her robes and felt along her pants until I could pull the object out of her pocket. Sure enough, it was a cell phone. It's pretty impressive that Rune, as a girl, had a pair of pants that could fit a cell phone in the pocket. Then again, from the brief look at her clothes that I got, they seemed kind of punk-styled, so maybe that's why.

My heart may have been pounding, but the rest of me was strangely calm as I opened her phone, using her own thumb on the fingerprint scanner to unlock it. I immediately started digging through it, looking for as much information as I could.

It wasn't a straightforward process. It's not like she kept an autobiography on here. But by looking through her social media, I found out a lot. Real name, Tammi Herren. Was definitely into punk music and fashion, and was estranged from her parents. She went to Winslow high school, and she tweeted vague things about her 'job'.

Going into her texts was more interesting. I recognized the real names of several capes she exchanged texts with, all of them Empire, and there were definitely some things here that could be incriminating.

There wasn't anything incriminating in her gallery though. Some racist memes, pictures of her with friends, that sort of thing. But there was something very interesting buried in her gallery. A dozen selfies of herself completely nude and posing in front of a mirror. This was definitely something useful.

I use my own phone to make a throwaway email account and use her phone to send all the photos to that email account. They were pretty hot, and they could potentially be used as blackmail material. Though I'd rather avoid that if I could.

Lastly, I pulled up her map, which was just as invasive as they were back home, thankfully. Digging through the settings, I was able to find the places she visited often. I marked them all on my phone to investigate later, as some of them were likely tied to the E88.

I didn't think there was anything else I could get out of the phone, so I put it back in her pocket and fixed her robes, hiding that I ever searched her. And then I left, but I didn't go far. I hopped over a few roofs and found a dark place to hide that could see where I left Rune. I may have gotten everything I needed from her phone, but not everything I needed from her.

I spent the next hour waiting for her to wake up while on my phone. I moved the photos I grabbed from her phone to a place where I could access them quickly, but a casual look through my phone wouldn't reveal them. Then I spent some time looking up the locations that Rune had visited frequently. Many of them were pretty normal. Stores, Winslow, and various public places. But there were a lot of residential homes as well, and Medhall was a frequently visited location for her.

I finally saw her move though, so I put up my phone and slowly moved around the corner. I could watch her through the wall thanks to my mask, and doing so would hide me completely. I watched as she stood up, looking a little shaky. She looked around, presumably in confusion, before moving to the edge of the roof and looking down. I watched as she made her way around the perimeter for a while before I realized she was looking for a way down off of the roof.

I guessed she didn't find one because a moment later I heard cursing, even though I was a few roofs away, and I heard the sound of metal screeching before she started floating. I peeked around the corner and saw her on the AC unit I had left her up against, the only thing on the roof big enough to sit on. I guess she tore it out to use as a vehicle.

She started heading in a direction, and I followed her. Of all the residential locations she visited, I wasn't sure which one was her house. But I was interested in finding out. If she recognized the Outsider's Mark, there was a decent chance that she had a charm or rune, or maybe even multiple.

Was I really going to massively break the unwritten rules just for a chance at more runes and charms? Yes, I was, and I would again. I needed power, direct and indirect, if I was going to prevent the annihilation of the planet. And I believed that the end justifies the means.

Keeping up with Rune was a little tricky. My teleportation still needed more upgrades before I would consider it up to something like this. I had to keep an eye on her while also making sure to stay out of sight of anyone else we crossed paths with. It was late enough that there weren't many people awake at this time, but it's still a city, and that number definitely wasn't zero.

Still, I managed it, and it became easier as we entered a neighborhood. There were fewer places for me to hide, but fewer people to avoid as well. I'm surprised she headed directly home, floating the entire way, obviously using her power. Did she believe in the strength of the unwritten rules that much? Or was she just too tired or drunk to care?

She came down in a backyard with a tall fence, getting off of the AC unit when she reached the ground and entered the house. But more importantly, I saw the tell-tale glow of a rune in her house. I snorted quietly. Rune had a rune. It was appropriate.

The question was, do I sneak in and grab it now? Or come back later. We're a bit further out than I normally travel, and with her cape life, trying to figure out a time where I can sneak in and guarantee she won't be here would be hard. Doable though.

But I had a better idea, one that got me that rune sooner rather than later. She's tired right now, she's probably going to go straight to bed. And even if she doesn't, it would be easy to sneak up on her, knock her out with [Drain] again, and put her to bed. Then, when she's sleeping, I could search the house and leave. She'd wake up in the morning, and with any luck she'd have no idea that anything weird happened.

I waited until I saw her silhouette upstairs before I approached the house. It was actually pretty nice. Two stories, a nice lawn, and a nice patio set of furniture. There wasn't anyone else in the house though. Did the Empire pay for this? It's not the sort of place a teenage girl can normally have all to herself.

I'm about to start picking the lock on the back door when I spot a sticker on it. I cursed because it meant she had a security system. I didn't know how to disable those. And I didn't have the right tools to open one of the windows, something I'd have to fix later.

My eyes moved upwards. The upper floors were unlikely to be alarmed. I saw a balcony with a set of doors there, and from here it didn't look like there were any stickers. But they were also fairly close to where Rune was. I could wait until she went to sleep. But I'm pretty sure that was her bedroom, and while she was in that area, I don't think she was in the room those doors led to. But the room they led to was almost definitely the room the rune was in. Plus, it was getting late, and I wanted to get back home to sleep as well.

I decided to risk scoping it out. I [Blink] up to the balcony, to a spot beside the door that couldn't be seen from inside unless you were at a very specific angle. I peeked inside the room. Sure enough, it was a bedroom, dimly lit by a bedside lamp. I could see a pile of clothes tossed on the bed, but the bedroom itself was empty. Except there was another door that was slightly cracked open, and from it, I could see light and steam. I pressed my ear up against the wall and I heard the sound of running water.

Perfect. She decided to shower before going to bed. I looked around the room more. There was another door on the right, and the rune was right behind it. It was probably a closet. I could slip in, grab it, and then leave without her knowing I was ever here.

I tested the door and found it unlocked, so I silently slipped into the bedroom and made my way to the closet. The sound of the shower was loud enough to cover my tracks, so I was able to move a little quicker than I normally would while sneaking. I crossed the room and opened the closet door. But it wasn't just a rune I found, it was a whole shrine, dedicated to the Outsider. Which meant one thing.

"Well well, we meet again so soon," I heard a voice say behind me. I turned to see the Outsider casually sitting on Rune's bed. The sound of the shower has stopped, but I knew from experience that time has stopped. The Outsider wouldn't brook any interruptions. "I wasn't sure if you would make the choices required to reach this shrine so soon. But I see now that it was never a question, this is just the kind of man you are. What do rules matter to you? You have a goal, and you will do whatever you feel you need to do to accomplish it."

The Outsider grinned. "Or so you believe. But all men have limits, lines they won't cross. Where are yours, I wonder? I'm excited to find out, and there will be a perfect chance to do so here, and now. You see, you haven't realized it yet, but you have a choice to make. Rune, sweet Rune. She's been interested in me since she first heard a story about me from a family member when she was eight. Her parents didn't approve of an interest in such things, but that only made her fascination with the occult grow stronger."

"Where is this going? What choice?" I asked.

"She believes that her power was something I granted her, you know," he continued, head turned in the direction of the bathroom, ignoring my questions. "She wouldn't ever admit it, and a small part of her knows that it isn't true. But she desperately wants it to be true." He turned back to look at me. "She knows quite a bit about me though, nearly as much as your other friend. Back when they were in power, the Nazis were very interested in harnessing the power of the Void. They weren't very successful, but the knowledge they gathered has persisted, and most of her compatriots believe in my existence."

The fucking Nazis knew about the Outsider? That was annoying, but it made sense. It wasn't the first time I'd heard of Nazis being involved with the occult. "I still don't see what the choice is," I said.

"Rune doesn't know much about you, but she does know you bear my mark," the Outsider continued. "And she plans on spreading that information in the morning. The Empire has enough knowledge of me and my powers that they could potentially use that against you. I'll say it plainly. If you do nothing, Rune will share what she knows, and put you at a disadvantage."

Ah. Shit. That could actually be a problem. In the games, there were ways that enemies could prevent the player from using their powers, discordant songs played on music boxes. If the Empire could make something like that, and if they knew it would work on me, then I would be fucked.

"Unless I do something to prevent her from telling them," I said out loud. That was the choice. Don't do anything, accept it happening. Or do something to silence her.

"I look forward to seeing what you choose," the Outsider says with an all too pleased smile before disappearing.

It wasn't a choice, not really. I couldn't accept a disadvantage like that. But there was another choice there. How do I keep her from talking? That one had several options, none of them good. But I'd have to pick one, and soon.

I turned back to the shrine and stored the rune in my [Pocket]. I'll decide what to do with it once I get out of here. But it was at that point I realized something. The Outsider was gone, and time had resumed, but I still didn't hear the sound of the shower.

I turned quickly just in time to see Rune step out of the bathroom. Or maybe I should refer to her as Tammi because she was definitely not wearing her costume. Or anything at all, except a towel around her head as she dried her hair. My eyes quickly took in the sight of her nude and still wet body. She was lithe, with pale white skin and just a hint of lean muscle. Her boobs were average-sized, and so were her hips. Her hair was blonde and her eyes were green. And they were looking right at me, slowly widening in shock.

Before she could say anything I whipped off my mask and made eye contact with her, putting her into a trance with [Hypnotic Gaze]. She instantly relaxed, becoming passive, and I let myself breathe a sigh of relief. That was far too close.

Not that I'm out of it yet, this is still really bad. I'm clearly a cape, and I've now Mastered another cape in her own home. She might not remember that part, thanks to the effects of [Hypnotic Gaze], but there's no getting around that she'll remember that I've been here.

"Forget you ever saw me," I commanded her, but it failed as I expected. That was a command, not a behavioral change. "Become loyal to me," I try instead. That didn't work either, it was too big of a change. Double damn.

I racked my mind and tried a few other variations, but none of them worked, and eventually, I had to accept that my hypnosis wasn't strong enough to prevent her from talking, not on its own. I grimaced. I would need to take more villainous steps.

"Become less loyal to the Empire, thinking that they're all assholes who treat you like a kid," I commanded. That did settle in. Good. "Become more loyal to the Outsider, he gave you your power after all." That also worked. I paused. The next part was where my plan got kind of skeevy, but I didn't see any other way of doing things.

"Become deathly afraid of your nudes being leaked," I instructed her, and it worked. I don't stop there though. If I'm going to do this, I'm going all the way. "Be turned on by being blackmailed." That didn't work, it was too big. "Start finding situations where someone else has power over you arousing." Interestingly, that worked. So I had to be less specific? Or was that just closer to her existing fetishes? Either way, I'm glad I could get it to work. Sex was a useful tool. If she was turned on by the situation, she'd be even less likely to go to someone for help.

Just a couple more. I couldn't make big changes, but if I layered a bunch of small ones, I could achieve a specific goal. "You're intimidated by me, and will take my words and threats seriously," I suggested. Another success. "When threatened, you acquiesce easily and don't even think of trying to get out of it." That one was a failure. Damn.

I tried a couple of variations of that, but they didn't work, so I gave up. I'd just have to hope what I have is enough. Now I had to do the much harder part and build on the foundation I just made. I pulled out a knife and pointed it at her as I put my mask on, ending the hypnosis.

She came back to her senses quickly, and she opened her mouth to yell, but froze when her eyes latched on to the knife.

"Now now, let's not make a scene," I said in a relaxed manner. I definitely didn't feel relaxed, but I needed to sell a specific image. "I'd hate to cut up that pretty body of yours."

Her eyes shifted slightly from the knife to the Mark on my hand. "You're the guy from the pier," she said. "You followed me?"

"Not many recognize this Mark," I replied. "Or can even see it at all. You caught my interest."

She swallowed nervously, and her eyes moved from the knife to the open closet. "You...wanted that?"

"I did," I confirmed. "And I want more. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to leave without doing anything to you. And in exchange, you'll keep quiet about what happened here tonight, about me, and you'll send me the location of any charms or runes you know of, even if they're ones owned by the Empire."

She looked back at me. "And if I don't?" she asked.

"Oh, I believe you're smarter than that," I replied. "But let me make it clear. I know where you live, and I know everything about you. I can and will come back, and that visit will be much less friendly." She tensed, but I wasn't finished. "Of course, that only works if you don't go into hiding. So I made sure to think ahead and collect some insurance."

She looks scared now. "Insurance?" she asked.

I pulled out my phone and pulled up the nudes of her I sent to myself before turning the screen to her. "Your phone needs better security," I told her. "It would be a real shame if these photos were leaked, wouldn't it? How would your classmates at Winslow react to seeing these I wonder? I can't imagine it would be very fun for you."

Her already pale face lost all color as she became even more scared. "You wouldn't," she claimed, but her wavering voice gave away her fear. "The unwritten rules-"

"Are something I'm already breaking pretty badly, no?" I say. "Besides, I don't have to say that they're Rune's nudes. I can just make your life as Tammi living hell. I wonder how close you are to your friends. Would Jessica support you? Or would she cut ties between you to save herself?" I picked the girl present in the most pictures alongside her that she posted to her social media accounts. Just to really drive home the point that I knew everything about her.

It worked too. Rune started shaking in fear. A part of me felt bad about it. But the feeling of relief and satisfaction that this was working was far greater.

"You can't," she breathed.

"And I won't, so long as you play your cards right," I say. "All you need to do is two simple things. First, don't breathe any word about me to anyone else. You didn't see me tonight, not at the Boardwalk, not here. You've ever heard of me, and you have no idea that I'm the chosen of the Outsider." I made sure to slip that last bit in to paint me as a champion of the Outsider. I increased her loyalty to him earlier, so that would be yet another thing to give her pause, to prevent her from talking.

"Second, I want more runes and charms," I continued. "Don't ask why. It should be obvious that the one who bears his Mark should want them." From her expression, I guessed she didn't really understand why, but that was my intention in the first place. "You Nazis are all about occult stuff right? I have no doubt the Empire has some, probably collecting dust and not doing anything. All you need to do is point me in the direction of them, I can handle collecting them myself. So long as you do this, we never have to interact again. But if you tell anyone, if I get the smallest hint that you've talked, then you'll face the consequences. Understood?"

She nodded, shaking. I really spooked her. Good, that meant she would listen. "Check your sent emails for how to contact me," I said. "I expect to hear from you soon. But right now, what you're going to do is go back to the bathroom, count to two hundred, and then come back out and continue your night as normal." She nodded again, and I flicked the knife. "Go, now."

She stumbled into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I didn't waste any time and immediately left the way I came, jumping down from her balcony and then using [Blink] to leave her backyard.

My heart was pounding and adrenaline rushed through my veins, but there was a grin on my face. I pulled it off, and more than that, I came out pretty far ahead. And that was an exhilarating feeling.

The next day Takemi closed the clinic for lunch and finally did what she promised she would a few days ago and took me to Leblanc. Truth be told, I was a little nervous. I had looked up the Phantom Thieves online after meeting Akira. They weren't quite the same here as they were in their home universe.

There wasn't a lot of solid information on them, and even their alignment was debated. Some called them vigilantes, and others called them villains. They mostly committed robberies or tweaked the noses of villains or people they felt deserved it.

Their powers weren't quite the same either. None of them had Personas, none that were visible at least, but their powers did seem to vaguely match the themes of their original counterparts. Joker, their leader, was a little special though. He had expressed a wide array of powers, but he only ever seemed to use one at a time. The current theory was that he was like a mini-Eidolon, and he could choose from an array of powers, but he could only have one, his pool was smaller, and switching was harder or slower.

The comparison to Eidolon made him pretty popular, but not enough to draw too much negative attention. The Phantom Thieves were slippery too, they easily avoided capture whenever they appeared, and people weren't quite sure how. None of them had powers that would lend themselves to stealthy escapes or evasion. Their fans claimed it was just skill and good planning, and it was definitely possible.

All in all, they were a pretty skilled group. So going into the place of business and possible home of their leader made me a little nervous. But I didn't let it show. I didn't have anything to worry about, for all they knew I was a friend.

It wasn't a far walk from Takemi's clinic, and she led me through the relatively unassuming front door. Inside was just as I remembered from the game. A few booths to the left, and a bar to the right. There was even the Sayuri painting on the right wall.

Akira himself stood behind the bar, frizzy black hair and a confident expression partially hidden by his large glasses. "Tae!" He greeted us. "And Cain. I'm glad to see you both."

"Cain here seemed doubtful about the quality of the combination of coffee and curry," Tae said with a smile. "I figured it was about time I opened his eyes."

Akira chuckled. "A completely understandable concern, but trust me, we make it work. The house special for both of you then?" Takemi nodded, and the two of us sat down at the bar.

"It definitely smells good," I commented. It was true. The smell of spicy curry and bitter coffee was thick in the air, but they mixed together to complement each other. I didn't really doubt it would be good, but it was hard to imagine it before now.

Within a couple of minutes, Akira slid two plates in front of us and placed two mugs of coffee next to our plates. The two of us started eating, and it was pretty good. A little different from any kind of curry I'd had in the past, but in a good way.

"Now take a sip of the coffee," Akira suggested after I had taken a few bites. I shrugged and did so, carefully drinking the hot liquid.

That was...it was… "Huh," I said out loud.

"Weird, right?" Takemi said with a grin. "But in a good way."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I can't figure it out, but it's good." It was probably the most confusing flavor I've ever tasted, but it was definitely one I enjoyed. I turned my attention to the food, periodically taking a sip of the coffee.

"I think you have a new regular," Takemi said to Akira.

"Probably," I admitted.

"You're always welcome, we're open bright and early and until late evening," Akira replied with a smile.

Another customer, one sitting at a booth, called for Akira and pulled him away from us, allowing Takemi and me to concentrate on eating. Though we also got to talking, as we usually did while eating together. Somehow the conversation ended up on the topic of my workout routine.

"I may be a doctor, but fitness is a pretty specific field of study," Takemi commented. "If you really want to have an efficient workout, you should look into getting a gym membership and finding a personal trainer. Or doing the research yourself, though that would take some time."

I nodded. It made sense. "I just need to figure out a stable source of income," I said. I had a few hundred dollars, but that was just what I robbed from gang members I knocked out.

"Not necessarily," Takemi argued. "Well, a little bit for a gym membership, but there are a few cheap local ones, and you can pay for individual sessions with personal trainers. Pay for one or two of those, enough to make a workout plan and learn the basics, and then follow it on your own for a bit."

Huh. I hadn't known that was an option, but it made sense. "Any gyms around here you would recommend?" I asked her.

"No, I've never been to one," she said. "But Akira might." She turned to Akira, who was a little ways away, in the small kitchen area. "Hey Akira, Cain here is looking for a local gym, one he can use on the cheap but still has personal trainers to help him make a workout plan."

"Oh? Yeah, I know a few places," Akira said as he turned to us. "Are you looking to play a certain sport? Or get in shape for a particular reason?"

"Not in particular, no," I said as my mind scrambles to come up with a reason that isn't 'for my cape activities'. "It's just, my body and mind are all I have, so investing some time and effort into my body is worth it." I paused. "Though maybe some self-defense classes would be nice too. It's a dangerous city."

Akira nodded. "That it is. In that case, I'd suggest the Clear Bell Gym. It's not too far from here, about a ten-minute walk. Ask for Lin Lin, she's a genius when it comes to fitness and martial arts, she can help you with anything you need. Tell her I sent you, she might give you a discount."

Lin Lin. The name was vaguely familiar, but it definitely wasn't from Persona. Then again, any familiarity could be a coincidence. This part of Brockton Bay had a primarily Asian population, so a name like Lin Lin didn't necessarily mean anything.

"I'll check it out," I promised. "Thanks a lot, man."

"It's not a problem," he replied. "Lin Lin helped me a lot too. You're absolutely right, your body is a valuable tool, and taking care of it and sharpening it is a smart move."

Hah. I'm sure he found it very useful in his cape activities. But if he did, that means I would as well.

I watched the warehouse below me, eyes tracking the people as they entered and left the building. There weren't too many people here, but they were active. It seemed like a shipment of something was being brought in, something that required several trucks.

I wasn't interested in that though, I was only interested in the charm that I could see in the building. Rune was already proving her usefulness. She had sent me the address earlier this evening, saying there was a charm there, but also warning me of the activity that was likely to be here tonight. She could have left that out, hoping to catch me off guard, but it appeared as if my threats and blackmail were working extremely well and she wasn't taking any chances. Good.

I felt safe watching the warehouse though, for one simple reason. My new skill, obtained using the rune I got from Rune last night.

-x-

[Hide] - Slightly suppresses your presence, allowing you to hide better. Skill cannot be used while moving.

-x-

Granted, slightly wasn't very much. But when combined with my coat and an already dark spot, I wasn't too worried about being seen. I'd have to give it a few upgrades as well. Maybe using the bone charm in the building I was watching.

But it wouldn't get me into the building. I'd have to wait until they left. I decided to scope out the nearby area instead of waiting here. I'd check back every thirty minutes or so, but this wasn't an area I had explored yet, so checking nearby places for runes and charms was a good idea.

Fifteen minutes later I'm looking up and down a different street when I hear a noise behind me. The sounds of footsteps on the rough roof of the building I'm on top of. I quickly turn around to an expected sight.

Nana Shimura, more notably known as Lady Might, the current leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, was standing behind me, arms crossed. "And who might you be?" she asked. There was no concern in her voice, just simple curiosity.

My heart rate skyrockets, but I don't let it show. Instead, I slowly stand straight and turn to face her completely. "Raven," I say. "I'm new."

"Raven, huh?" she replied, looking me up and down. "Kind of generic, but it fits. Hero, or villain?"

"Hero," I answered immediately. I'm not getting in a fight with Nana fucking Shimura. I tap my mask. "I know the mask isn't very heroic, but it was a gift from a friend, and it matches my theme."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "And what theme is that?"

"A spy in the dark," I replied. Thankfully I had already prepared a cover story for interacting with heroes. "My powers don't lend themselves to fighting very well, but I can cover a lot of ground without being noticed. I've been using it to gather information. Or, I've been trying. It's been slow."

"That sort of investigation usually is, ask any police officer," she said. "What do you plan on doing with that information?"

I shrugged. "Once I have something workable, tell you guys?"

"And what's something workable?" she asked.

"Uhh," I paused, unsure. It didn't help that I hadn't actually planned on telling the PRT anything.

Lady Might sighed. "You sound like you have good intentions, but this sort of thing is better done with a support network. People who can guide you, point you to where you'd be the most useful."

I could recognize a pitch when I heard one. "Like the Wards."

"Like the Wards," she agreed. "But I take it from your tone that you're not interested in that. Why?"

"Personal reasons," I replied, my tone a little terse. I hadn't prepared a good reason for that.

"Related to that friend you made your mask?" Lady Might guessed. I paused. I could probably spin something like that. But it seemed she mistook me pausing for me freezing up. "If that's the case, I won't pry, I'll just ask you to make sure you think over your options carefully. It's dangerous to be alone."

"I'll manage," I replied. Getting talked down to like this, like I was a child, was really annoying.

Lady Might sighed again, making her disappointment clear, but I was beyond caring. "So, do you?" she asked. "Do you have anything 'workable'?"

Did I? Hmm. I did just learn the location of an Empire 88 safehouse. One I wanted to infiltrate, but couldn't because it was too hot. But if the PRT came in and cleaned things up a bit for me, I could sneak in and grab the charm.

"Maybe," I said. "A few blocks over there's an Empire 88 place. I watched them unload a few trucks, transporting something there. Not sure what, they were in crates, and I didn't see any capes. But it didn't seem casual."

"And you're sure they were Empire?" Lady Might asked, obviously a little interested. "Not just some late-night workers?"

"The Nazi imagery wasn't subtle," I replied. It wasn't even a lie, they made no effort to hide what they were.

"And when was this?" she asked.

"About fifteen minutes ago," I said. "They might still be there, or they might be cleaning up. Not sure. I didn't get too close, there were too many people moving around with their guard up."

"Hmm," she mused. "It's a bit late at night, but I'm sure I can scrounge up a few people for a late-night raid. Where exactly is this?"

I listed off the address Rune had sent me and she nodded as she lifted a hand to her ear. "Console this is Lady Might. I have a lead on a potential major Empire safehouse that just received a large shipment of something. Are there any capes available to join me in a spontaneous strike? No, no confirmed capes, but with the Empire that doesn't mean much, so assume two or three will show up. Holding."

"Just like that?" I asked her. "You haven't even seen the place."

"Call it a hero's intuition," she replied. "I believe you, every word you've said."

I guess technically I hadn't lied, not really. But that was a technicality. If this was her intuition, then it needed some work. Still, it worked out in my favor, so I wasn't going to complain.

Lady Might's attention was drawn back to her earpiece. "I suspected those two would be available. Yes, have them meet me at my current location, the three of us will be enough." She turned back to me. "So, we have a few minutes until they arrive, would you indulge an old woman's pestering?"

I scoffed. "I don't know your age, but from what I can tell, there's no way I'd call you old."

She laughed. "I suppose it's all relative," she said mysteriously. "I was just curious about your information gathering skills, and wanted to give you a little quiz."

I narrowed my eyes at her, a meaningless gesture considering my mask. But fine, I was willing to see what she had in mind. I gestured for her to continue.

"Just one simple question," she assured me "Who do you think are the two capes coming?"

Before I even started trying to figure out the answer to her question, I tried to figure out why she was asking it, and if I should even try to get it right. It was a test, obviously, but an unclear one. She wanted to see my deduction skills. Maybe get a clue about my power? I could see her thinking I'm a Thinker, just based on what I said. Or maybe she actually did just want to see if I was any good at what I claimed to be doing.

Either way, I think answering her to the best of my ability was fine. If she thought I was a Thinker, then that just meant she was less clear about my actual abilities and would tread carefully around me. If she thought I was competent, she wouldn't lecture me as much. A win-win.

Now, could I actually figure it out? I've looked over the members of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, and there weren't any additions outside of Lady Might. Considering the time of night, and Lady Might's comments, I had two strong guesses.

"Miss Militia and Armsmaster," I said.

She raised an eyebrow on that. "And why those two?"

"They're both experienced heroes with noted abnormal periods of activity," I explained. I was relying heavily on my metaknowledge, but I could pass that off as information gathering and deduction. "The two of them are more frequently seen doing late-night patrols than the other Protectorate members. The current theory is that Miss Militia is one of the rare Noctis capes, and Armsmaster has some tinker drug that lets him get by on less sleep."

It was hard to make out because she tried to hide it, but there was some reaction there. I pretended not to notice and shrugged. "Besides, you said that the three of you would be enough, even with an unknown Empire cape response. To me, that hints that you have a lot of confidence in their abilities, and those two are the most experienced and talented capes other than yourself. Honestly, even if half the Empire showed up, you three could probably handle them."

That was mostly flattery, but not entirely untrue. Individually, they were extremely competent heroes, at least in combat ability. Working together? Well, it would depend on what half of the Empire showed up, and it wouldn't be easy, but they had a very real chance of coming out on top.

"I see," she said, rubbing her chin. "A well thought out answer. One that is completely correct as well, scarily so. What did you say your power was?"

"I didn't," I replied, causing her to smile ruefully.

"I see," she repeated. "Well, my backup will be here soon. Do you want to join us?"

Really? An invitation to join the raid? I know she's a hero, but that's far too trusting. "No," I replied. "As I said, I'm no good at fighting. I'll simply be nearby, watching. I want to see the fruits of my efforts."

She nodded. "That's understandable, and maybe even wise. Sometimes action is needed, but not every hero needs to bust heads." She floated upward. "Watch closely then, and see what can be achieved when you have a team that can back you up."

I watched her float away and down off the side of the building. Shortly after, I heard the sound of a motorcycle, strangely muffled, and through my mask's lens, I could see two people riding a motorcycle. Armsmaster and Miss Militia.

They spent a moment talking before the three of them took off towards the safehouse, Lady Might flying and the other two on Armsmaster's bike. I took off after them, teleporting from roof to roof.

They got there well ahead of me, and I arrived to the sound of conflict. I watched from my previous hiding spot, and quickly realized there actually were Empire capes here, or they had arrived while I was gone. Victor was there, fighting alongside the grunts, zooming across the battlefield. That likely meant Othala was here as well. Victor was a skill vampire, able to drain people of their skills, permanently. Othala, his wife, was a power granter, able to give a single touched person one of several powers. I couldn't remember the full list, but apparently superspeed was one of them.

I spotted her, or who I assumed to be her, in a truck. She was the only girl here, besides the heroes, and she was dressed in a skintight outfit. Not many non-capes wore something like that, not unless they were trying to look like a cape. And her being close, but out of sight and in a relatively safe location made sense.

But most importantly of all, no one was inside the building. The fighting was happening entirely outside. Which meant this was my best chance, but my window was closing rapidly. Just Victor, even empowered by Othala and backed up by minions, wasn't nearly enough to do more than delay the inevitable. Maybe if he got some backup, which might be what he's stalling for, but otherwise this fight would be over soon.

I make my way to the opposite side of the building, out of sight of the current fight. A little risky when one hero could fly, but she was mostly at ground level, and I managed to avoid her sight. The door is locked, but there's a window high up that isn't. I used [Blink] to teleport up and I clung to the windowsill as I pulled it open before sliding inside.

The first thing I did was unlock the door so I could escape quickly. Then I looked around again and made sure no one entered the building while I was getting in. They hadn't, so I rushed to where the charm was.

The inside of the warehouse wasn't all one big room. Instead, it was separated into quadrants, all separated by a big door, one big enough to drive a truck through, and a normal door for foot traffic. The section I entered was the one with the charm in it, and it was filled with large metal shelves that stretched to the ceiling. This wasn't a safehouse at all, it was a giant warehouse filled with the Empire's goods. How it hadn't been detected already was a mystery, but then again I didn't know how these things worked, and I didn't care. I just wanted my charm.

My prize was in a plastic tub stored fairly high up on a shelf. I had to [Blink] up to it to reach it. But once I got up there and opened the tub, I was able to claim the prize as mine. I grabbed it and teleported back down to the ground, and headed back for the door. It was tempting to see if I could grab anything else of value, but with a fight going on just outside, I wasn't going to risk it.

That was until a duffel bag caught my eye. It wasn't on a shelf, but instead, it was resting on the ground right next to the normal door that led into one of the adjacent sections of the warehouse. My curiosity got the best of me, and I diverted towards it.

I looked around again as I approached it. No one was even close. In fact, most people were down on the ground, with only the heroes, Victor, Othala, and a few grunts still standing, and there were several walls between me and them. Which meant I could safely investigate the duffel bag that my gut was telling me was worth searching.

As I unzipped it, I grinned. My gut had led me right, and inside the duffel bag was a jackpot. A stack of money, a handgun, two magazines, and two boxes of ammo. I'm not sure who collected this in one bag, or why it was here, but I wasn't going to question it. Probably an exchange of some sort, or an emergency bug-out bag. I just shoved everything into my [Pocket], which was starting to get a little full now. I'd decide later if I'd upgrade it next, but for now, it was time to leave with my treasure.

I left out of the door at a sprint, making sure to [Blink] even further away. Despite what I said to Lady Might, I had no intention of sticking around and watching how the fight turned out. I was going to take my spoils and head home, knowing I did a good job.

I'd have to thank Rune later. She might be pissed it ended up with heroes finding the place, but I got what I needed and more, and I could only call that a win.

A couple of nights later I struck out to Empire territory again. I had avoided it for a couple of nights, letting the heat die down a little, but my searches hadn't found anything of use. I was going to have to start branching out further if I wanted to keep finding runes and charms.

Rune had been pissed, as I had guessed, but also as I had guessed, she wasn't in a position to argue. She hadn't sent me any more locations yet, but I wasn't expecting them daily. I'd rather have a slow consistent drip than her being caught, and I told her that. She seemed relieved, though it was hard to tell through email.

As I was teleporting roof to roof, I noticed another person on a distant roof. I instantly crouched down, hiding below the lip of the short wall surrounding the roof of the building I was on. My mask let me watch them from a distance though, which was how I had noticed them at all. I hadn't seen them before they came into range of my mask's highlighting ability.

I checked them out. It was a girl, probably a teen, in a skin-tight outfit. She was holding a weapon, a crossbow. That narrowed it down quite a bit. Unless Flechette was visiting from New York, there was only one person that matched that description that I could think of. Shadow Stalker.

Shadow Stalker was a Ward, technically. She was on probation after she was caught nearly killing someone with her crossbow as a vigilante, after which she was forcibly turned into a Ward. She could shift to a shadowy state where she weighed less and could pass through walls. This property even applied to things she was holding, even her crossbow bolts, for a time.

She had a few weaknesses. Electricity was deadly to her in that state, and pepper spray and other dangerous gases were super dangerous to her as well. She was a skilled fighter though and had a fucked up mentality that caused her to seek out prey to support her own self-confidence.

As I watched her silhouette, I noticed something interesting. It was hard to tell with just her and her weapon highlighted, but she seemed to be switching out the bolts on her crossbow. That would be pretty confusing if I lacked metaknowledge, but I can make an educated guess.

As a Ward on probation, she was forced to use tranquilizer bolts, but she much preferred the cold steel of actual bolts. She had some stashed around the city that she used on unauthorized patrols.

I grinned. There was an opportunity here. I pulled out my phone and set it ready to record before slowly approaching Shadow Stalker. I was betting if I followed her, I could record something very incriminating, and there were all sorts of ways I could use that.

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AN: Cain got quite a bit done in this chapter. Don't worry, he won't be getting new powers every chapter for the entire fic. But he's still building a foundation for his powers, and until we have his basic kit, his growth will be pretty quick, all things considered.

This chapter also changed a lot from what I originally had planned, but definitely for the better. The Rune scene originally went very differently, in a much more boring way. Instead, I decided to use it to show the differences between Axton and Cain. It's a small thing right now, but it's the first big divergence from something Axton would do. That gap will grow over time, and I'm excited to explore it.

Cain's already at the point where choosing what to upgrade is getting really tough. Because they're all good options. Does he put more into [Hide], start making that really viable for stealth situations? Or does he upgrade [Blink] more, since it's so quickly becoming one of his most valuable tools? Or does he take [Drain] another step up from pretty damn good to scarily good? And of course, a stronger [Hypnotic Gaze] would be invaluable and could have made the situation with Rune far smoother. Oh, and his [Pocket] is starting to get full, it might be time to upgrade that some more.

This sort of indecision and opportunity cost was exactly what I intended when I designed his system this way. He's always chasing possible improvements, always making small steps up in strength, always having to choose what he needs most at that moment or to get him even more charms and runes.

Anyway, if you don't read my other fic, that one is on a small break while I plan out the next arc, because my writing speed is faster than my reading speed, and I'm still working through the Konosuba novels. But that just means I can focus on this for a few chapters, so look forward to that.

The next chapter will have a PHO segment. Drop your desired forum name if you want a cameo. I have no idea how many I'll need, but I'll take as many as I can get, that way I have options.

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