Chapter 47

Johann idly toyed with the ten valis coin in between his fingers, rolling it back and forth. They had made good money on the Batgirl job, even if they hadn't wound up actually killing the Spectre. He was pretty sure that Ottar wasn't lying about the Spectre still being alive, even if he hadn't actually seen hide or hair of her.

That Ishtar familia member - she'd been his lead. He'd gotten too rough with her, she just had been so fucking slippery, it had gotten him frustrated. He'd pulled back, but it was probably too late, even with Oliver playing the good interrogator. It had put up her defenses, so he hadn't gotten anywhere. Since then, there hadn't been any sign of "crime fighting" in Daedalus. Not even the Ganesha familia had involved themselves in it, to try to fill in the absence. The fragile state of peace that the Batgirl had created was fraying at the edges, as people found out they could commit crimes again.

Was that what Ottar wanted? What the Freya familia wanted? There were stories about how Freya lived only to make people tougher. Maybe somebody in Daedalus Street had caught her eye, so she'd decided to set about improving him or her?

Poor sucker, if so.

Oliver approached him. "She's back," he said, and Johann understood instantly, his hands sliding into his gauntlets in a heartbeat. Sorry, Batgirl. There was money to be made.

* * *

Cass felt good, as she held the squirming man in her arms. He had been about to attack another man, to steal his things. "Bitch, you couldn't have shown up a week ago, when I was the one being robbed, you cunt?" He was furious, even some hint of righteousness in his words and body language.

She felt bad about that. He had been stolen from. He wasn't lying. But she hadn't been here... but that wasn't her fault. Drake said... he said that, when things really weren't your fault, you couldn't be held responsible for them. He wasn't making excuses. Sometimes when people said things like that, they were making excuses. But Drake wasn't. He meant... sometimes, it was an excuse. He said that. People said, they couldn't do anything, but they didn't try, and they could have, if they had tried. But Cass had tried. She had tried to not have her arms and legs broken. She had tried to heal as fast as possible. So Drake said, it wasn't her fault.

"Sorry," she said, her voice quiet. "But... you shouldn't steal... anyway," she told him, dragging him along with her. She got all the way to the Ganesha familia, where she handed him over, feeling her lips curl into a smile behind her mask. "Thief," she told the Ganesha familia member.

"Thanks," the woman in question said, even as the man in question strenuously denied it. "Do you really think that you're the first guy to try lying to the Ganesha familia?" She asked, a frown on her lips. He was quiet for the moment.

Cass... headed back to Daedalus Street. She leapt up onto a rooftop, soon escaping from anyone's observation. She felt as her body accelerated, as her footsteps became far more rapid, thump thumps becoming pitter patters as she danced across the rooftop. Sometimes, she'd make some absurdly long leap - and it didn't matter if somebody saw her in the midst of it. Drake said it was because... of... in-er-shuh? She understood, though. A body in motion, stays in motion.

Somebody spotted her, as she flew through the air, her feet hitting the rooftop and taking a quick few half-steps as she tried her best to decelerate. Her arms swung out around her, teetering as she caught herself. The person who saw her - she had caught them, out of the corner of her eye.

It was the one with the cat ears and the knives, from the last time. She recognized him in a heartbeat, his body language unmistakable.

Part of her - part of her she didn't like, part of her she didn't listen to - said that they would hurt her again. Beat her again. The rest of her said - she'd win. She'd use what she learned last time, to fight harder. Her fingers curled into a tight fist. Fight faster. The man. He had looked alone. There was a chance she could get him alone. She could win against him alone.

She clambered over the edge of the rooftop. The man was gone, but he couldn't have gotten that far. There was part of her - a part of her she did like, but didn't listen to - that said she should let him go. She didn't like that she had lost to the two of them, the last time, but she could have won. If she did better this time, she would win. So let him go, and tell his friend, and then she would fight them again.

But that was probably dumb. She leapt to an adjacent building, peeking over the edge for the man. He wasn't visible. He had only been visible for a second or two. Had he realized she was here? She jumped across buildings, leapfrogging around as she searched for him. After a minute or two, though, she knew she had lost him, and let out a heavy sigh.

Then she returned to her patrol, leaping across buildings in near-silence, her eyes searching for any sign of someone who wanted to hurt someone. She couldn't help but smile, though, as a few long minutes stretched out, and even with her enhanced speed, there wasn't anyone like that. Some of them would have, but even though she had been gone... people still thought she might appear. There was a sense of... pride, at that? In Gotham, she hadn't ever been able to do something like that. To change things, for good. She could only save the people in front of her.

She could do more, if she could do this. Especially if she broke through to Level Four on her fall-na. Which she would, if she beat the catfolk man with knives, and the human with gauntlets. Probably.

A bird landed in front of her, and she halted. It was Rei. It turned into Rei. "Yo. Drake's worried about you," Rei said. She was one of the Rei clones. The Rei clones moved a little differently than the original, even though they were the same as her, because they knew they could/would... just die, if they had to. "I mean, so's Bitch and stuff, too." Rei was also worried about her, but didn't want to say it, because she didn't like saying things that made her look 'weak'.

"Okay," Cass said. She knew Drake and her co-wives would worry about her, but she had to do this. She couldn't leave Daedalus Street to turn back into... what it had been. Not having seen that she could change that.

"Nnrgh," Rei said. "You know these windy streets are too tiny for me to actually turn into a Goliath here, right? I mean I'd just crush this building, probably. It's not like the locals are paying for maintenance," she said, idly kicking at the roof beneath her.

"I know," Cass said.

"Bah! Whatever! Fine, be an idiot!" Rei said, turning back into a bird and flying off.

Cass stared at her for just a moment, before going back to running across rooftops, looking out for criminals on the streets below. As she leapt from roof to roof, she caught sight of the catfolk male with the knives, and hit the rooftop, pausing for just a moment. He wasn't alone, now. She could tell by his body language, he was with the human male. She had run that battle over, and over, and over, in her head, when she had been recov-err-ing. Noticing her mistakes. Noticing how the two moved. They probably had a... Skill? Or maybe they were like... her, but, in a different way. They knew where the other was, and going, without looking, or thinking.

She was hesitating. She didn't... like that. They had broken all her limbs. But that wasn't important. She had to beat them, to protect Daedalus Street. She couldn't... patrol it, if they were here.

She moved, leaping from one building to the next, skidding across the surface, then repeating the process, hopping off to the opposite side, and pausing for just long enough that she felt it, before aiming herself like a cannonball right at the human male with the gauntlets. His eyes widened in surprise, bringing up his gauntleted hands in defense, before her own gauntlets slammed into them. She felt the mutual pressure, as the force of collision went through both of them - he fell backwards, and his gauntlets had been dented. Her gauntlets were okay. They were really strong.

Should she thank Syr for the gauntlets? Syr would like that.

She managed to land on her feet, and the catfolk behind her lunged with the knives. Once again, he wasn't trying to kill her, just to box her in and push her back. If she pushed too hard, though, he would try to kill her. She knew that. So instead, she let him guide her, as he tried to force her away from the gauntleted man. She snapped a hand out at a critical moment, one gauntleted fist wrapping around the knife - and he promptly let go, producing another knife from his waistband in a heartbeat. He had... about ten extra knives.

She could tell the human male was back on his feet and behind her, by the way that the catfolk moved. "Don't have to fight," the catfolk said, half-heartedly. He meant she could just surrender, and they could break her arms and legs again, and that would be all.

"Do," Cass said. The man behind her lunged, trying to take advantage of her blindness, but she heard his movements and could see the hint of them in the catfolk, so she ducked and stepped backwards, moving inside of his guard, grabbing him around the waist, hefting him up, and using his momentum and her own strength to send him hurling towards the catfolk. The catfolk managed to slip to the side before the impact, but only barely, and he'd lost his poise. Cass stepped in, and- the catfolk reached for something, a new weapon, device? Area of effect, dangerous to himself, that was all she could glean from his body language, so she tried to rush forward before he could use it.

He hurled it in the space between them, and she saw it was a glass sphere filled with some liquid - then it hit the ground and exploded in light and flame. He danced back, but she was already surging forward, so she wound up halfway flying across it. The metal of her armor heated very quickly, and where it touched her bare skin - mostly the bare skin of her hands - there was a searing pain, and she felt the desire to hiss in agony, but restrained it. She managed to get herself to her feel, the scalding heat in her hands driving her to push on, gritting her teeth and snapping out - not to grab the catfolk's knife, but to grab his wrist.

He yelped in pain, his free knife hand taking aim at her stomach, ready to stab her again and again. She had to release the wrist to dart back out of melee - and the human was back on his feet, more cautious this time, but she could hear his quiet footfalls and recognize his location in the catfolk's own body language.

It was a repeat of the previous fight. She was going to lose. No, she refused to lose. She lashed out at the man behind her, aiming to grab his wrist, and she succeeded, making him let out a cry. "Goddammit, bi-" he started, even as she halfway swung him around using the grip, twisting him, angling him towards the catfolk to avoid getting stabbed herself. He stumbled along with her, free hand trying to slam into her face, and she managed to dodge around it - then she felt something hit her in the armpit, where her armor was weak, a knifepoint thrust into her flesh.

The catfolk had got her. She ignored the pain, slamming her elbow down towards her side, in the process knocking the knife out of his hand. Blood began to flow from the fresh wound, but she kept her focus without even letting the pain show, keeping her hold on the human in her grasp. She reared back and gave him a powerful headbutt - the mask she was wearing cracked from the force, but at least it helped ensure that most of the pain was inflicted on him, making him stumble. She swung him around, interposing him between herself and the catfolk, but she knew it wouldn't be too effective - the pair was too coordinated, the man would dodge just as the catfolk struck...

By this point, the searing pain in her gauntlet had reduced by a lot, and the human male, in his squirming movements, tried to strike her again, hand lashing out with a degree of aim that shouldn't have been possible, probably thanks to whatever talent the pair had.

She caught movement in the corner of her eye. It was Aisha, and a member of the Ishtar familia. One who was very tall, and who moved like she had been taught how to fight by Drake. Aisha lashed out with her sword for the catfolk, and Cass felt a sudden panic as she saw that Aisha had every intent and willingness to kill the man, who hadn't yet realized she was there. She hurled the human in her grasp to one side, running forward with desperate energy to interpose herself between the catfolk and Aisha, grabbing the sword in her gauntleted hands and keeping it from coming down on the catfolk.

"No... killing..." Cass said, as Aisha's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden movement.

The catfolk man seemed confused, more than anything, by Aisha's sudden appearance, and she could hear him taking a few steps back to take in the situation. The man did much the same, once he'd recovered his footing.

"You're bleeding," the Ishtar familia woman said, a lot of concern in her tone of voice. Cass could see her out of the corner of her eyes. It looked like - the woman loved her? And didn't want her to be hurt? There was Drake, and Syr, and Freya, and now this woman too... She tossed the healing potion towards Cass, who caught it out of the air. "Please don't kill anyone," the woman said to Aisha. "Cass really, really hates it."

"Tch," Aisha responded, drawing her sword back. "A wound like that is serious. It could kill you. You can't seriously let it go, can you?" Cass just nodded in response to that.

At that point, the man behind her started to move, and she dodged to one side. She hadn't been able to see him, but she could tell by Aisha's reaction his general location and direction, as she spun around in place to get a better look at the pair. They had decided to attack, and now the catfolk was coming right at her, knives in hand. She simply smashed the healing potion into her armpit, breaking the glass and sending the fluid splashing about, and she could feel as the pain there lightened. A moment later, he was in melee, and she was blocking and countering his knives with her own gauntlets, at first with the backs, and then finally managing to grab one in the thrust, her fingers clamping down on it.

He let go, hand going for his waistband, and once again, she slammed her forehead into his own, disorienting him as her mask completely shattered in the process, making her momentarily woozy herself. But her father had taught her to fight through pain, and she brought out a kick towards his leg, sending him tumbling backwards. He avoided actually falling, but she was still following through as he dodged and fell back on the defensive, his knives waiting for their moment. He didn't even spare a glance back at the human - he was all too aware of the man's current condition, facing off one of the strongest Level Threes in Orario, solo.

Cass felt a smile pull at her lips. The catfolk just scowled at that, pissed off - then he started to take off. Cass followed after him, her speed growing with each footstep, as they fell out of view of the other fighters - and then she caught up to him, slamming into his backside at superhuman speed before falling back to a normal speed as the pair rolled and spun on the ground together. She managed to find her footing quickly, faster than him, and was on him in a moment, pinning him to the ground beneath her, slamming her knees into his upper arms to keep him from trying to stab her.

He let out a melancholic chuckle. "Fuck. Should've called it in after last time," he said. Cass tilted her head. It wasn't him, who wanted this? He was directed to by a third party. Rewarded by a third party. She frowned.

"Who... made you?" She asked.

He shook his head. He wouldn't tell. He was... professional. He also... was afraid. Someone... strong? Dangerous? He let out a small laugh. "You could let me go? Promise to leave you be," he said. He didn't think she would accept - but he would leave her be, if she let him go. He had decided... this was all too risky, for whatever he was getting for it.

"Why?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Money." People that money could help. Her lips squirmed as she faced that reality.

"You... hurt people. Me. And because... I couldn't..." she started, trailing off. He nodded in acceptance. "I think... you could be better? If you wanted to be?"

He looked up at her. His expression didn't suggest that he had much of any interest in doing better. He was more bewildered that she was taking this direction, than anything else. "Might could," he agreed.

"There's money... in the Dungeon." He shook his head, and she tilted hers. "No?"

"Not from an exploration familia," he said. She frowned. "Guild has a bunch of rules, makes it tough to make money." Tough meaning, he didn't think he could get much that way. Even though he was very strong, and so was the other one, and they fought well together.

That wasn't right. But it also wasn't an excuse, to do crimes... she thought she should ask Drake? He was... good at simplifying things. But Drake wasn't anywhere nearby.

There was a huffing noise from behind her - it sounded like the Ishtar familia woman from before. She spared a glance over her shoulder - the man under her made a perfunctory attempt to escape, which failed. "Ah, good, you're okay," the other woman said. "I was worried about you."

"Have we... met?" Cass asked the woman. She seemed to care a lot about her, which was strange, since she'd never met her before... she didn't think... maybe it was like with the nameless girl, or Noriko, where their family members were 'here,' too?

"Oh. It's me," the woman said, and Drake let his Riss-plen-dent Dess-tin-ee, which was like a disguise but much better, fall. "We took down the other guy. Aisha didn't kill him, don't worry," he added. Cass nodded. She hadn't worried. The man under her would have known if Aisha had killed the other man, and Cass would have known if she planned to. She wouldn't have left, if she had.

The catfolk under her remained silent, hoping that the distraction of Drake would give him a chance to escape. Instead, Cass asked him the question in her head: "He... was only doing it... for money, and won't... do it again," she said. Drake didn't seem to understand. "He needs... money, for the people... he cares about..." She paused. "We could... let him go. He won't... try again."

"Did he know what he was doing was wrong?" Cass glanced down at the man, and nodded. "Then does it matter why he did it?"

"It matters..." Cass said. If it had been someone else saying that, she would have felt like they were trying to force her into a certain thing. But Drake wasn't like that. "He can be better. He wants... to be better. I think."

"Yeah," the man said, quickly, but it wasn't terribly convincing - even to Drake. "I would rather not be a criminal."

"Then why are you now?" Drake asked, rather pointedly.

"Not from an exploration familia." Drake just kept staring at him. It was... a trick, Drake knew. You just... let silence... so they talked. "Guild charges through the nose, for guys like us."

"So, you're a criminal to make more money, not to make money," Drake pointed out. The catfolk man wriggled beneath her, more out of discomfort than anything else. "Also, you tried to kill Julia."

"Who?" The man asked.

"Spek-tur," Cass provided.

"Fuck. Well." He paused. "Yeah." He didn't say more than that. Didn't even say he was paid to - but he was. By who? Was Nyx... still around? "Sorry. Won't try again." He wasn't... really sorry. He was just... hoping he could get out of it. But he... really wouldn't try again.

"Somebody paid you to do this," Drake said. "Who?" He just shook his head - Drake glanced at Cass, who also shook her head. There was no way he'd tell. No threat could get through. "So if they paid you to go after somebody else, would you do it?"

The man under her hesitated, and Cass frowned. He wanted to lie. Because the truth was, if he was paid to attack somebody else - he would. "Yes," Cass said. "He would."

"No," the catfolk lied. Cass's frown remained firmly fixed on her lips.

"Liar," she said, poking his forehead with one gauntleted finger. "Then... I think you should... go to jail," she said. Drake nodded in agreement. He had also wanted that, for this man, but had helped Cass work through it. She knew... if it had turned out, the man really wanted to reform... Drake would have tried to help.

She removed the catfolk's knives from his person, tossing them far out of reach, and forced him up to his feet, holding his hands behind his back as she began to frogmarch him. She knew he couldn't fight unarmed.

When she handed him over to the Guild, she felt... satisfied. Happy. She wished that the man had earnestly wanted to reform, but he hadn't. She turned to Drake, as they left the Guild structure that served as a jail for higher Level adventurers. "How did... Aisha handle... the other one?" She asked.

"Ah. Well, Julia started tasing him from behind, then I used my poison technique. Since he had to deal with Aisha, too, he wasn't able to dodge as well as he should have been. She's really strong." The way he said it, it was almost more fear than respect. "He's already been handed over to the Guild," he added.

Cass nodded. Drake seemed... very stressed, despite that. He wasn't lying. Was he... worried about who had done it? He was worried about something... something dangerous... she couldn't help him find out... who was behind them... but... well... she wondered if he'd like... "Do you want to... do sex things?" She asked, quietly, glancing up at him. He was tall.

He cleared his throat in response, seeming surprised. She didn't normally... suggest it... or if she did, it was because he was thinking about it. "Ah. I would love to," he said, but he didn't mean it, because- "but, uhm, there's this whole situation in Rezianal right now."

Oh! His other body! That was what he was worried about... obviously. "Oh... sorry," she said, ducking her head.

"No, no, it's great," he told her, taking her hand in his, and squeezing. "Thank you for the offer. After that's handled, okay?" She felt her cheeks flush with heat, but nodded.