Chapter 42

"To our first team takedown." After seeing the news of Rattis Elliot being brought down by Kid Owl and the return of the Badger to Maryland, Robert poured champagne for himself, Nell, and Chloe in the M.R.C. underground headquarters.

"Hopefully not our final." Much to Luke's amazement, Nell said.

"Don't worry, I'm going to be here for a while." Chloe stated.

"Does that indicate you finished what you left Maryland to do?" Robert inquired.

"Not quite. That enterprise, in fact, is what brought me home." Chloe stated.

"Meaning?" Nell inquired, knowing that he was still lacking something.

"I've been looking for my biological father, Winston Conner," Chloe explained.

"Why would you do anything like that?" Chloe, that jerk abandoned you when you were three. "Why would you want to be associated with him?" Nell inquired.

"He reappeared in my life shortly after you departed for training." I thought he was truly interested in reconnecting with me, but it turns out he was only interested in me because Jacob Borge had adopted me. He was hoping that I could assist him with his business. Then I realized that his company was only a front for him to be a mob leader. My mother had me adopted to protect me from the anguish she was certain he would bring into my life. And then I discovered he's the reason my mother died." Chloe stated.

"Wait, your father murdered your mother?" Nell inquired.

"She appeared to get caught in the crossfire between him and another gang." But, in any case, ever since I discovered the truth about him, I've dedicated my life to bringing him and his entire organization down." Chloe stated.

"And you've been on the quest for him ever since." Chloe nodded as Robert spoke.

"I recently received word that he was returning to Maryland, so I followed." Chloe stated.

"Chloe, I'll assist you in bringing down your father because Maryland already has enough problems without his adding to it." But we're not going to kill him. After all, King Owl lived under a set of rules." Nell stated.

"So, you're not sure?" Chloe stated. "No what?" Nell inquired.

"My King Owl left Maryland because he broke his code," Chloe explained.

"Did King Owl injure anyone?" Nell inquired.

"No, he murdered someone." Only those he considered family, namely myself and Microsoft X, were aware. That's why he departed, vanished, or died, whatever you choose to call him. He couldn't bear being King Owl or living with himself after what he'd done."

Chloe stated.

"Who did he murder, my master would never do something so heinous without a reason." Is he a good man?" Robert inquired.

"Have you ever pondered why no one has heard from the Ice Lord in the same amount of time as King Owl has been gone?" They put it together after Chloe requested.

"King Owl assassinated the Ice Lord?" Nell inquired, her feelings conflicted. On the one hand, his master had murdered someone, but the Ice Lord was the reason Anthony became Nichole and Microsoft X went missing.

"To be honest, I wasn't surprised when he told me. The Ice Lord was the one villain Bruce could never fully defeat. Every time he locked him up, the Ice Lord escaped. They'd been fighting for years, and I think King Owl knew deep down that his conflict with Mark Fable wouldn't stop until one of them died. That's exactly what happened in their last fight. Mark finally pushed King Owl too far and killed him with his Data 3 method." Chloe stated.

"It now makes clear why King Owl left after Microsoft X also vanished." He attempted to seize control of the M.R.C. in order to hold everything together in this verse," Nell remarked, and Robert agreed.

"But, Chloe, no matter how much he deserves it, we can't kill your father." Nell stated.

"I'm aware, and I'm not going to murder him." But before I put him in jail, I'm going to burn down his entire empire. He was assisting the Ice Lord in destroying my mentor, my leader, and nearly causing my father to have a heart attack. "I'm going to kick his a$$." Chloe stated.

"And I'll assist you as long as you assist me in getting Nichole into the M.R.C. Rehabilitative Center." Nell decided not to disclose Nichole was Chloe's sister because he didn't have complete proof of that yet.

As they shook hands, Chloe remarked, "Deal."

"I need to make a phone call right now." As he proceeded towards a side room, Nell took out his phone and phoned the familiar number.

"Hello?" The voice of Microsoft X said at the end of the call. "Hello, this is me. Nell." Nell stated.

"Nell, the mission is complete." I was surprised to hear from you. "I had faith in you." said Microsoft X.

"I'm calling to inform you that one of this reality's modifications has led one of your other X soldiers' past troubles to enter my city." Nell stated.

"Which one?" inquired Microsoft X.

"The Badger has arrived." But I have to say, Chloe isn't who I thought she was in the Central Verse." Nell stated.

"How is it different?" He could hear Microsoft's worried voice, and he couldn't blame him.

"She's not the sociopath she once was." "On this verse, I'm owing it to the fact that she wasn't raised by a crime leader," Nell explained.

"Really?" said Microsoft X.

"Instead, Chloe was placed for adoption as a newborn by her mother, and she was adopted by none other than Jacob Borge." She's now a true hero." Nell stated.

"I'd always suspected that Chloe had a nice heart. It feels good to know I was correct. Keep a watch on her, but if she begins causing trouble, let me know and I'll send someone to help you take her down." said Microsoft X.

"I'll keep it in mind, but I don't see it as a problem." Nell smiled as he hung up the phone and returned to his crew.

He had to admit that, aside from Robert and her old two pals, he'd never really understood the point of having a team or why Jayden, Christian, Jordan, Helena, and Yoshi had them; he believed it would just slow him down, but now he saw the benefits. Having someone in the field to keep an eye on his back was convenient. Perhaps there was something to this team thing after all.