Right, always run

Cole wandered into the Apartment complex casually slipping past a camera being pointed at him. Honestly, for a place that was as high-end as this, the security was actually pretty shit. That should be expected as Coil sent Tatteltale to a place where he could infiltrate as he pleased.

Cole started wandering up the staircase taking another device out of his inventory. This one was exactly like the EMP that he gave to Lisa earlier but on a much larger scale. Cole set it down on the stairwell and started to walk his way up the stairs.

He needed to take out all the electronic devices in the building so this would require a larger boom. Not something he could keep in his hands. He absently sent his cell into his inventory learning his lessons from Lisa's lack of one.

Any other gadget was also stored in his inventory but right now he was not dressed as The Phantom Thief. No, he was dressed as just a regular civilian heading home from work.

A loud explosion sound rang out from below him. The Lights that were guiding him went out immediately. The once bright and clean stairwell shifted into a dark nightmare. The building seemed to come alive as people shouted and screamed at the sudden turn of events.

Cole simply reached the Floor he was looking for and opened the stairway access. Beyond that door was a small floor filled with four apartments. He could already hear shouts and movement from the other apartments so he quickly slipped into Lisa's apartment before anyone could spot him.

Sure, he was not technically suspicious but the people on this floor certainly knew their neighbors and he was not the 5'6 blonde they expected to see entering this place.

So it was just easier to slip in when they were not looking for him.

The apartment was sparse and looked far too clinical for a place that was occupied by a teenager. But when you knew more about this place it made sense. This place was never home to Lisa so she never really settled here. Even if she kept some personal items that she did not want to lose here.

Cole took a step toward a bookshelf that held books with a variety of topics. There was a solid amount of murder mystery books even if some of them looked damaged. Apparently, Lisa enjoyed reading them and tried to beat her power into finding out the clues. She failed more often than not but when she did beat out her instrictive use of her powers she would be smug for countless days.

She of course wanted the books that she did beat her power collected and given to her. Cole found it funny but he figured that there was one item here that was her real goal. A small worn and old notebook that was covered in various band stickers.

In comparison to the rest of the shelf, this one was all by itself gathering some dust on it. Since the rest of the shelf was so clean it was interesting to see something this dirty. It almost looked like she did not even dare touch the thing but knowing what it was Cole understood. This was a sort of diary from her older brother.

Cole dusted it off and put it in his inventory with the rest. He wondered if she ever opened it up. Her powers most likely told her exactly how her brother felt before his death but this diary would confirm those spiraling thoughts. Not something anyone wanted to face let alone a teenage girl.

Beyond the more sentimental objects that were laid around here, Lisa also wanted him to pick up the stash of cash she had hidden. He expected it to be hidden in some sort of secret compartment or behind a safe but the cash was just in a large duffel bag stored in her wardrobe. 

When he asked her about her lack of security she just scoffed and said that it was not like her stash would be hidden from the asshole watching her. So there was no point in even trying.

Which honestly made sense. So Cole picked up the duffel bag and tossed it in his inventory not even bothering to count it. He was not going to stay cashless for very long so there was no need to covet her stash. She was probably going to use that stash to endear herself to both Tammi and him anyway.

Well, she could run away with the cash and the mask that hid her identity. She was effectively already out of Coil's reach. He doubted that would be the case as she wanted to pull Coil's eyes out of his head before tossing him into a maze of sharp blades. Honestly, the rage she had against her former employer was shocking but expected.

She was not willing to leave the asshole alone and Cole had already proven himself to be a good shot at killing him. He was not like the PRT who would want to handle things non-lethaly and he was not as overbearing as the various gangs.

So she was probably going to stick around. At least that was what Cole thought.

Since he finished collecting everything here he swapped with the clone that was watching the Undersider's base. The dark clinical apartment was replaced with the dark starry night sky. This was an abandoned part of the docks so the light fixtures here were obviously not functioning right but the moonlight was still better than the pitch-dark apartment.

The clone he left behind in Lisa's apartment dissolved itself into cursed energy leaving not a speck of evidence that he was even there. He was not that worried about being caught there; he just did not want to deal with Coil charging at him right at that moment. 

Knowing that Cole turned up Blank again crippling Coil and every other Thinker for this raid. 

Cole stretched and put on his Cape costume. He could have continued playing innocent civilian and sunk into the base but he kind of wanted to mess with the Undersiders.

So he jumped down from the building he was standing on and started to walk towards the base whistling a jaunty tune. This might have Coil target him as someone who helped Lisa escape but he was going to rob all of the Undersiders so he should not be that suspicious.

If he was well it was not going to matter. Coil was the kind of monster who used every advantage available to him to get what he wanted. Cole's secret identity was a polite fiction to almost everyone. Sure, he was going to have an alibi from now on but that would not stop the snake.

He would use his alternative timelines to plot and plan Cole's life until he was able to place a leash over Cole's neck. Leaving someone like that to operate by themselves was just bad news.

Cole should have already plotted Coil's downfall as soon as he came to this world but it kind of slipped his mind. With Lisa shoving herself into his life that problem also came along.

Thankfully he decided to get Lisa on his side otherwise he would have found himself facing Coil's sudden onslaught blindsided. Sure, if Coil did target him Cole was likely to turn Blank up expecting the jackass to close the time line but that was equally suspicious.

No, it was for the best that Coil ended up dead. Cole hesitated at the thought for a moment as it was crossing a line but Coil was a mad dog that needed to be put down just like Jack.

It was not going to be pleasant but it was going to happen. It was not like he needed to be the one who pulled the trigger. Like he said Lisa had already plotted seven ways to skin the guy.

Was it odd that delegating murder made him feel better about it?

He wandered into the abandoned base spreading out some clones for emergency response. After the initial messy and abandoned factory there was a staircase leading down to the real hideout here.

As he walked down the staircase he heard a variety of noises. Some chatter between two people that was barely audible and the sound of some sort of music. Once he reached a certain step barks started to ring out throughout the floor below him. 

Those barks seemed to be a signal as the other sounds cut out massively. Cole paused for a moment before shrugging it off.

He continued on but even the barking stopped and the only sound was the steady sound of his own foot steps. Soon he had reached a door that would open up to the rest of the hideout.

Without a hint of caution, he opened up the door and was greeted with a messy room that had a couch and a television that had a game paused on it. Beyond that, there was various food stuff spread around from a pizza box and some snacks thrown around the table. 

A figure stood in an aggressive stance. She wore a cheap bulldog mask with a spiked collar around her throat. She was dressed in a rather butch fashion with a leather jacket and a faded white tee. She also fit out her outfit surprisingly well considering most women were not able to build the muscle mass she had.

Two dogs were seated at her feat growling over at him. Cole figured she was keeping them dog-sized because of the lack of space here. That would change when things started to get tricky so he had to take care of her first.

Cole took a step forward before he felt the barrel of a cold steel gun pressed against his cheek. He wore an amused smile on his face as that was threatening but at the same time, his cheek was hardly lethal. Hell, with his RCT even if they held the gun to his temple he would not be worried.

Not that he wanted to be shot at so he swapped with a clone that was near the top of the staircase. He ghosted down those steps now no longer audible making sounds of his descent.

As he peeked forward he caught sight of who was threatening his clone. It was Brain. The guy had his helmet on but the rest of his gear was not nearby. So he was dressed casually with a motorcycle helmet on.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Brian questioned out with a deep threatening tone. Alec strolled from a side room fully kitted out with his gear looking toward Cole's clone with a provocative smile on his face. Alec leaned next to Rachel seeking protection from the better fighter while he tried to work his magic on the clown.

As that was happening Alec had a frown on his face that was increasing quickly. Before anything else could happen the clone started to laugh with a mocking smile dancing across his face.

Seeing that Cole let out a smile of his own before starting this little tango. He swapped positions between himself and Alec. Being beside Rachel. He was tempted to switch positions between the clone and Alec but that would likely lead to Alec being shot. So this was better.

Before Rachel could react Cole reached forward and injected her with a syringe. He could not throw a pellet at her since she had a mask on and no visible skin. She went down before anyone else could react.

The two dogs at their feet froze as their master went down but they soon charged towards Cole likely wanting to bite his throat out. Brian cursed and the gun in his hand went off in a panic. The perfect clone burst into a shower of dark purple goop that covered the kid from head to toe.

Cole swapped back with Alec who was just getting his bearings back. The emotionless teen was soon cursing as the two dogs bit down on him. The screams of pain and confusion filled the air as Alec tried to shake them off but the kid was not exactly known for his physical might.

Brian shifted the gun to aim at where Cole was once standing but paused at seeing Alec being mauled. Cole rushed from behind him and injected him as well. As soon as he heard the rush of wind behind him Brian tried to turn around as ink-black shadows started to bubble out of him but that soon faded as Cole's injection went into him

The shadows faded as Brian hit the ground. The screams of Alec being mauled were the only sound ringing out in the room. So Cole took pity on him and threw a pellet at the dogs and Alec. After a second the screams died down as the dogs released their bite as they passed out and Alec was also under.

Looking over at the three passed-out Undersiders Cole chuckled. Trickster's power is frankly a pain in the ass to deal with coupled with the tricks that Kaito was capable of and most minor Capes were easy to deal with.

Brian could have played this better by flooding the place with his darkness and escaping with Rachel's dogs but they thought Cole was easy to handle. He could not even say they would have been better off with Lisa as she could not read him. Then again that fact might have led to escaping instead of trying to capture him.

Taylor being here would have been a pain in the ass but that was a long ass time from now.

Cole walked towards Alec and picked up his taser staff thing. He twirled it around and figured it would make a nice addition to his outfit. It certainly fit Kaito's theme and it would give him some energy from theft.

Cole poked at Alec with the staff trying to get a measure of how much he was injured. Seeing the blood pour out of him he frowned before sighing. Cole just wanted to rob them not permanently damage them. The Undersiders were certainly not the greatest people but killing Alec was not on his to-do list.

They were not the monsters that deserved that fate so Cole reached over and flooded the kid with RCT. The flesh that was bitten and torn open rippled as it pieced itself together again. Alec surged up with a gasping breath as the positive energies flooded his body.

The kid seemed completely and utterly stunned at this moment but before he could react Cole stopped his healing and used his newfound staff to taze Alec.

The kid shouted and cursed as he twitched uncontrollably from the taser but he did not go down. Cole rubbed the back of his head and tossed another pellet at his skin to knock him out again.

Seeing him stop spazing Cole coughed at looked away. Apparently tasers don't knock people out he should have known that.