Chapter 58 : Pursuit
[Author note : To read more, visit my Patréon page (e instead of é) ; Look for Cathbel on the website. Enjoy !]
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Cassie discarded her face mask as she calmly exited the New York General Hospital, thinking about the conversation she just had with the man codenamed Thrice… No, that was inaccurate, he and his two brothers were Thrice. He was just Maurice Boviere, of Haitian descent.
When he realized that there was just no way for him to escape Cassie, and once it was apparent that she had enough power to bend him like a pretzel, as well as the moral or emotional inclination to do so, the man sang like a canary about the organization he belonged to…
Cassie didn't care about Robin's crusade. The only reason why she was enquiring about the secret criminal organization was because they had targeted her ! If it weren't for that, she would have happily continued to live her carefree and slightly criminal life. And even if she wouldn't tell it to anyone, even if she was asked or tortured, it wasn't because of fear for herself that she was now interrogating thugs… She feared for her mother ! Unlike her, she had no powers, no magical invisible armor, and no fighting expertise or experience. But again, even if people asked, she'd deny it with every fiber of her being !
In any case, Maurice, after he found out that his two brothers had been sent to different cities, was quite forthcoming about his employers. Not that it helped her much : he was simply a mercenary hired through an intermediary, one which he never met and only talked through payphones… How very James Bond-y of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.
Needless to say, Cassie was annoyed. And not just because it was her default emotional state… The cloak and dagger crap, her being hunted, Maurice being useless, it all pissed her off so~ much !
And it only increased when she noticed the tail following her ! Like her, he was a teenager : dark hair, blue eyes, and rather easy on the eyes, too… He seemed completely clueless about what he was doing and probably thought that because of the crowd of people roaming the streets for New Years' eve, he wouldn't be noticed. Pretty hard to miss a guy dressed in black and neon red full-body suit ! Especially with the symbol sitting proudly on the center of his chest like a big bullseye for villains and aspiring villains…
From the little she glimpsed of the guy's face, he could - maybe - pass off as a relative to the big blue boy scout… She hoped, for all of humanity's sake, that he wasn't as clueless as the guy following her. And what did he even want, anyway ? Did Superman send him ? Did he even have a sidekick ? What was up with sidekicks and her ?
At this point, she could almost believe that she was some kind of magnet for them. Once more annoyed, she thought that it was the medias fault since they were the ones calling her 'Wonder Girl'. She scoffed ; what a stupid name ! Then again, heroes, vigilantes and villains all seemed to have stupid names. Even the mercenaries had them ! Case in point : Thrice. It didn't even make much sense, to her.
After she retrieved her backpack from a locker in Grand Central Station, she went to the ladies room to change, glancing at her tail still following her. She wondered what she should do about this… At the moment, he seemed harmless enough.
She scanned the restroom and quickly found an empty cubicle for herself before she closed the door. The blonde girl discarded the nurse's outfit she'd stolen and wore her own clothes : a denim pant, a red tank top with no strap and a grey hoodie. After she finished her business, the hospital garb went into the trash and she washed her hands. She was still thinking about what to do with her tail when said tail suddenly barged into the restroom.
And he didn't just barge in : he burst in like a freaking character from a commercial ! The wooden door exploded in splinters and the guy quickly glanced around… Soon, his eyes found hers just as she was beginning to realize that it wasn't just a harmless tail she'd picked up : he was looking for a fight !
Well… If there's anything she rarely said no to, it was a good old fashioned brawl !
The Super-teen sped her way while she cocked her left arm behind her and launched it like a missile toward the guy's face. She saw as his eyes widened, apparently not ready for it. His arms rose in an attempt to protect his face… But the fist connected to his jaw, sending him right back from where he came from !
Cassie followed, noting the damage the exchange had already done : a broken door, a crumpled trash can and a cracked wall. And that was only the beginning… She couldn't stay here. She didn't care much for people in general, but she also didn't want to put strangers in needless danger. So, without waiting to see if the Meta she punched would recover, she ran for the exit, weaving through the throng of panicking and fleeing people like only someone with an superhuman physique could.
Behind her, Superboy quickly got back to his feet. He was… a little miffed. Not angry exactly. Surprised, mostly and a bit irritated by the surprise blow. His handlers hadn't said anything about this ! She was as strong as he was… maybe. And she was fast, too ! He noticed as he saw her ran through the crowd without slowing down.
Instead of simply following her, Superboy took three steps before leaping, new cracks appearing from where he jumped. He soared over the people, and over his blond target. Despite the hood now covering part of her features, Superboy had already inwardly tagged her. Her silhouette, her clothes, the way she moved… It wouldn't be too hard for him to find her now, especially given how sharp his senses were.
When he reached the apex of his jump, he yelled as he started descending :
« Look out below ! »
Like Cassie, he too didn't care much for people. Despite the numerous simulations he was put through in order for him to develop empathy… They just were… Stupid in his opinion. And uninteresting. Now, the girl, on the other hand, she was surprising. Not unlike another guy he met a couple of weeks ago…
However, her powers lied not in her equipment ; it was all her ! The world was truly a marvelous place, with all kinds of freaks in it. He wondered for a moment if she too was a clone like him… Her target designation was 'Wonder Girl' so maybe she was related in some way ? If not, where did her freakishness come from ?
As all this crossed his mind, the two had exchanged a few more blows, with the girl managing to get some more distance and go out into the streets. Superboy continued to follow, running and sometimes leaping when he had the leeway for it…
Being New Years' eve in New York, some people (family men out with their family, mostly) were out with their cameras. And since the two weren't paying attention except to prevent hurting innocent bystanders, they were caught several times on camera, performing superhuman feats. In fact, if you followed the path of destruction left in their wake and asked for every cameras on the way, you'd probably be able to reconstitute most of their fight. Thankfully, smartphones weren't a thing just yet, otherwise, thousands out of people would have been filming them by now…
Not only that, people from the city and several news crew were also filming the festivities and they soon started to follow the action when the battle started to become airborne. Well… Cassie was airborne, Superboy was leapfrogging around comically… If it didn't destroy so much property…
In another part of the city, in a penthouse a trio faced a TV screen showing Cassie Sandsmark, an acquaintance of Robin, fighting an unknown teenager bearing the shield of Superman on his chest. They didn't really know for sure, who the teen was, but they knew two things (according to Robin's information anyway) : Superman's only living relative was a female cousin and he didn't have any sidekick. And Cassie had already been targeted by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. in the past…
The three of them talked for a while, with Robin saying that he was going to to help Cassie. Bunker wanted to follow him, since according to the Mexican kid, that's what a hero ought to do… Meanwhile, Cecile was afraid and feeling useless. She too wanted to help but, being back to standard human, even if she had her wits about her in this form, left her feeling vulnerable and helpless. How could she hope to help anyone else ?
Robin pondered for a moment, observing Miguel in silence. He still wasn't sure if he could trust him. No, actually, he was not trusting him. There were too many unknowns and coincidence for him to. But, if the shield on the teen's chest was any indication, he'd need someone with Metahuman powers. Cassie cold hold her own, but Bunker might bring something they needed to take down the Super-Teen.
« You sure about this ? » He asked Miguel. « If you do this, then that's it ! They'll mark us for Death after this. Take your time to think it long and hard… »
The young man shook his head and declared :
« There's nothing to think about… People need our help. Let's go give them some help, Hermano ! »