13 Chapter 13 - Silas

Being hunted was one thing, but stopping a delusional teenage girl from getting herself killed because she finally stopped hunting me directly? That was a whole new slice of crazy pie. This particular outing was no exception.

Metallette wasn't exactly trying to be discreet, not to mention she was practically a celebrity thanks to her family and her so-far-successful hero career. Watching from above and behind, all I had to do was watch for the dark, waving hair that was a key feature of all the Railon family. If her hair was closer to brown than it was black, I almost would have mistaken her for Kaity more than once.

Our only important stop of the day was the industrial district. Filled with old and new warehouses, smaller factories, and the city's Superplant. Ever since society hit the Evolution, wiring power in wasn't always an option. Each major city had a Superplant, designed with the best equipment for safely absorbing energy that electrical class evolved were able to output. What was with all the reminders of Kaity on these trips? Hannah had started each search she conducted at the hospital, and branched out to any major place linked to Kaity.

I had thought that this way of searching for him wouldn't have been fruitful. Kaity had always said that she hadn't seen her stepfather in years. Then again, she also never mentioned his identity until it was extremely important. It was funny to think that her step-father had once been part of High Solis' inner circle, and now we were both so very against her.

When Hannah finally stopped again, my heads-up-display from the helmet told me the building was registered as abandoned, though almost always meant occupied by some temporary squatters at best. At worst, Railon would be walking into a villain's lair. At this point I figured she was actually looking for one.

Just like every other abandoned building she had investigated, I waited on my rooftop perch for her to emerge with the same look of disappointment and determination. Honestly, the stories of stakeouts and stalking were really over exaggerated. I sent most of the time with half of an eye on the building and the rest of my brain on just how I was going to get her to call off this ridiculous hunt. If Void Star was going to be found, it was going to be by some of High Solis' higher ranking investigators that were equipped for the job, not a teenage girl with a need to keep proving herself over and over again.

It was getting to the point that Hannah had been in the warehouse for a little too long that the doors swung open. I was expecting the elder Railon sister to come stomping out, disappointed as usual, but this time, she was dragging two men behind her. They had been trying way too hard to look like villains, dressed in all black and as shady as they come. It occured to me that they were both conscious and struggling. She had been nice to these ones.

She materialized her metallic staff in her hand and wrapped it around the two, extending it as needed and fusing the two ends together. With the two secured to a handrail, she pulled something from her pocket.

That shouldn't have seemed odd, but I recognized what she had in her hands, though my zoomed vision let me know she didn't. The small rectangular device matched the very same one that I had seen a little over a year ago. I don't think I would have even noticed it if I didn't recall every moment of that night with clarity. I moved without thinking, rushing down from the nearby roof, I bolted for her. I would not let that device out of my sight.

"Where did you get that?!"

Announcing my presence might not have been the best idea in hindsight, but it felt really good.

Metallette's head snapped up to look at me, and I was almost sure I was going to get what I needed from her. I would apologize later, but if it was a radar capable of detecting Evolved, I wasn't going to ask for permission.

From what I understood of her powers, she had the ability to form and manipulate that metal staff. Presently, that left her primary weapon wrapped around the two men in black coats.

With a flick of my wrist, the shields that had bridged the roof and the ground dissipated and a new shield formed beneath the radar. I tried to knock it out of her hand with another wave.

"Uh uh," she taunted as she tossed the device to her other hand, "that's not for you. Though, I was going to use it to find you if I can figure out how it works."

As I watched, metal sprouted from the air in the form of a staff again. A second staff. I was so sure that I had been at an advantage here, but I hadn't been right. Kaity would have corrected me, told me the real limits of Metallette's abilities. She was way too good at that sort of thing.

I threw a few more fistfuls of energy in her direction, but she either evaded them or batted them away with ease. Until now, everything had seemed like a truly simple difference of power. This battle was one of wit and power, almost like we were evenly matched.

It didn't take me long to realize that I actually did have a better ability thanks to the armor, but it was practiced skills that made up our difference. I was swinging wildly, retreating and attacking without much aim. Every swing of her staff, step of her foot, or shift of her weight was intentional. I wasn't surprised by the time she had closed the gap, and I had taken more than a few blows from her weapon.

Still, skill could only make up for so much. My goal wasn't her defeat, but the radar.

Placing a shield behind Railon, I dove to tackle her. I heard a small cracking as she was smashed between my heavy armor and the unmoving forcefield. The radar dropped from her hand as she grasped at midsection, gasping. I guessed I had knocked the wind out of her and cracked a rib or two.

As she gasped on the pavement from my lucky blow, I picked up the radar. It hadn't been a rib that broke apparently. The screen of the device was shattered, and the casing had a split running along one of the corners.

"Sorry, but I can't have this sort of thing in anyone's hands. I know what it does, and I might even know who made it." I wanted to tell her more, to try to get her on my side, like Emma. Now just wasn't the time. "It shouldn't exist in the first place."

The laugh caught me off guard. I had almost forgotten about the two men.

"So the stories are true." The man closer to me was grinning, almost hysterical with what looked like joy. I wasn't sure why, but his smile was a mix of friendly and unnerving.

"A basic playing superhero, and it sounds like he's heard of us."