James opened the door and led Lucy out of the police station. The air was crisp and clear, the parking lot empty, and clouds covered the skies today.

“Thank you for your time today, miss,” James said.

“It’s not a problem. Glad I could help.” Lucy murmured, squeezing her arm.

“No, I’m serious, you’ve been a big help today.”

“It’s fine, thank you. Um, when can I have my camera back?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll just need to download and transfer it to our computers. It’ll take a while, probably a couple of hours. But when we finish, we’ll let you know and return this to you.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Are you going to be alright?”

Lucy nodded. “I can walk back home myself.” She gave him a sad smile and walked away.

As James watched her leave, a vibration hit in his pockets, as he reached down to check the phone. “Oh, it’s Rick.” He typed back. “Yeah, I just finished.”

“Did you finish your report yet?”

James looked back at the windows of an empty room with a large table. On it lied a small clipboard with a pencil next to it. He sighed and stared back at his phone. What was he supposed to write in that report? How could he explain to the boss what had happened back there? Rick was waiting for a reply, but what was he supposed to say?

.-.-.-.

The area Richard and Mindy roamed around in looked familiar somehow. It was humid and damp, but it didn’t short-circuit the suit. The floors and walls felt rough around the edges of his hand. They got around to a darker corridor; he looked up, finding himself back in The Shadow Heart Estate. This time, with additional torches attached to the walls, lighting the place up. The tower next to the fortress disappeared as well.

Before Richard could ask why they were back here again, Mindy walked over to knock on the doors. It took a while for someone to come and get the doors. Cyborg and Lightning peeked through and scowled at the two of them.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Lightning inquired.

“You don’t recognize us, huh?” Mindy deactivated her mech suit and revealed her blob-like form to them. “Now do you remember me?”

“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

“I need to visit someone.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“We’re busy.” Cyborg retorted. “We don’t have time for more guests right now.”

“Why’s that? What happened?” Richard asked, almost forgetting he was still in the suit. After a short while, he took his off as well, presenting them his blob structure.

“Richard?”

“I’m with her.”

“Oh.”

“What’s going on?” A familiar voice echoed from inside the fort. Ken showed up in-between the four and examined the situation at hand. “Oh, it’s you guys. What’s up?”

“Hey Ken, can we come in?” Mindy asked.

“Sure.” He turned back to his comrades. “Don’t worry, they’re with me, let them in.”

Lightning and Cyborg nodded and stepped aside to let the others in.

“Hold up, what about the password?” Mindy inquired. “I had it all memorized too.”

“We’re not doing that anymore,” Ken informed her.

Ken led the group to the main halls where a bunch of other guys laid down on the floor, slumping against the wall, and waited for comrades to give them treatment.

“Oh, did we come at a bad time?” Richard asked.

“Somewhat,” Ken replied with hesitation.

“What happened here?”

“Well, I heard too, and it’s a lot to take in.”

Howler and Cyborg explained the events that went down the night before, from their perspective

“...A smoke bomb went off. I think one of Howler’s men used it as a last resort.” Cyborg continued. “And when things were looking bleak, Howler fled the scene. We lost sight of him and couldn’t catch the traitor.”

“So, that’s what happened, huh?” Richard sighed, crossing his arms.

He asked what Ken and his gang had been doing after those events. Ken explained that they were hiding out and recuperating while waiting for the next course of action. Ken’s phone rang in his pockets. He went to scoop it out and check who it was before answering it.

“Hey, hun, how’s it going?”

“Great, I’ve tracked down Howler and one of his secret hideouts. Some of his men are also driving off with strange chemicals at their disposal.”

“Excellent work. Can you pinpoint the location for us?”

“Sure thing. It’ll take a while, so hold on.”

“What’s going on?” Richard leaned over and questioned.

“Kelly’s tracking down the traitor for us via her computer,” Ken explained, without lowering the phone. “Now that we got their location, we need to get there asap.”

“Excuse me,” Mindy spoke up. “Do you mind if we tag along?”

“Really now?” Ken turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for you?”

“You can have your revenge on that guy, but I need to stop that truck no matter what,” Mindy replied. “I think I know what’s in there, and it isn’t safe for anyone involved.”

So that’s why. What’s inside the truck? Richard pondered to himself.

Ken ended up getting the coordinates on his phone. He looked at them and sighed with contentment. “Alright, we don’t have much time.”

He asked how many of his men could still fight, but very few raised their hands. Ken gave orders for the few that were up to watch over the base and the other injured folk in case of emergencies. After that, he transmitted the data over to Mindy’s phone to track down the speeding truck.

Richard would accompany Ken to find Howler and try to figure out who he’s working for. While Mindy and Lightning would go after the single truck heading for the coast. The two teams would meet up again once they completed their tasks and set off for their mission.