“Yes, amá. Yes, okay. We’ll be careful. Love you.” Carmen hung up and sighed as she turned back to Daniel and sat beside him on the park bench. Agent Wolfe paced back and forth slowly along the sidewalk, watching the road. “They’re stuck at the bar because of the lunch rush, but I told them the gunshots were coming from a Fight going on in the convenience store. That’s why we came to the park instead,” she said. “Oh my God…are we in trouble, Agent Wolfe?”

Wolfe chuckled. “No. I contacted my Senior to cordon off the area as an SRB situation, so the police won’t respond. They’re handling the situation at the convenience store. And you can just call me Wolfe.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “SRB situation?”

“Supernatural Regulatory Bureau. You’ve never heard of us?” she said, showing the badge in her wallet.

“He’s…a supernatural situation on his own,” Carmen said.

“I see. Well, Daniel, here’s how the world works. Anyone that’s a Fighter is also legally classified as a Supernatural, because we need to keep track of people with such crazy powers whether they actively climb the ranks or not. And, when those people cause situations or phenomena too extreme for regular police to handle, that’s where we come in.”

Daniel gasped. “You’re like the police’s police! Are you a Fighter too, then?”

A dark shadow crossed Wolfe’s face. She adjusted her hat, averting her eyes as a distant explosion rose over the trees. Likely, from Fighters going at it. “Classified information. Is your teacher on the way?”

“Actually, he should be—”

Daniel could recognize Mr. Stone’s old white sedan anywhere, especially as it came barrelling around the corner, brakes screeching, faster than he ever thought the man would even drive outside of a highway. Mr. Stone pulled to a stop right in front of them, disregarding the No Parking sign.

Raph rose from the passenger side and jumped over the hood. “Daniel! Carmen!”

Mr. Stone got out, too, and matched his brisk pace to cross the street. Leaning on his cane, he crouched down to their level and grabbed Daniel and Carmen by the shoulders. “Are you two hurt? Oh, I should’ve been there. I should’ve never waited in line — that sandwich wasn’t worth you two risking your lives,” he said, checking their wounds.

“We’re okay, Mr. Stone. The guy didn;’t get any serious hits in, since we were saved by…”

“Agent Maya Wolfe, of the Supernatural Investigation Unit. Online, it said your school was located at the Maroon Sports bar, and I was on the way there hoping to find you when I ran into Daniel and Carmen being attacked by an Empowered thug.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, towards the direction of the convenience store.

“Empowered?” Raph asked, jogging in place, hyping himself up.

Wolfe gave Daniel and Carmen a glance. “I know you two saw how strong those abilities were compared to how thin that man was. Someone gave him those powers. Someone we all know.”

“Haruki Takahara.” Mr. Stone said, his face hardening to seriousness.

“She can give people abilities, too?” Daniel asked.

Mr. Stone nodded. “Haruki’s power steals special moves during a fight, but outside of a fight, she can give those powers away.”

Wolfe pulled out a sketchpad, flipping to a blank sheet and scribbling away with her pen. “That’s her real name, isn’t it?”

“She used to be my student. Do you have any information on her?”

“Nothing that isn’t publicly available, aside from the chip you turned in. But, that went to a different department, so I didn’t get a chance to go over the information.”

“I did,” Carmen said, pulling out her phone. “I made a copy of the important data before Mr. Stone turned it into the authorities.”

“Then I’d assume you can answer my other burning question. Where did that chip come from? How did you get your hands on it?”

----------------------------------------

“…and before she could kill me, West Gale jumped in and stopped her,” Daniel said. He reached under his shirt, pulling out a silver necklace with a pendant engraved with a strange symbol. “He gave me this necklace and that chip from Gigabyte’s body, and used the necklace bubble to throw me to the hospital. Apex killed him after that.”

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

“And you’ve had no further contact or experiences since then, correct?” Wolfe asked.

“Aside from tonight,” Carmen said. But, alarm shot through her face. “Oh, no, no, no. How did she know where to send that guy after us?”

Daniel’s breath caught in his throat as his heart dropped to China.

“Do you guys think this was a message, her way of telling us she knows where she lives?!”

“None of her lackeys are gonna set foot in your parents’ bar, Carmen. One of your regulars can make sure of that.”

“Wait, really? One of our regulars is an agent?”

Wolfe raised a finger to her lips, and flipped through the three pages of notes she’d taken throughout their explanation. “Anyway, the info from that chip is nothing compared to what I’m getting from you guys. Did she tell you her end goal?”

“As we briefly fought, Haruki went on about how society’s institutions keeps us weak, and how she’s cheating her way to the top to use her wish to tear it all apart. So…” Mr. Stone set his jaw, glasses reflecting the stark white streetlight. “Chaos. She wants chaos.”

“And for that, she has to replace as much of the Fifty as she can. This is even worse than I thought.” Wolfe let her head drop, running a hand through her curly black hair. “She’s already replaced fifteen of them.”

“Fifteen?” Carmen asked. “Steelstorm’s still alive, isn’t he?”

Wolfe shook her head. “It hasn’t come out to the public yet, but…Steelstorm was brutally murdered in his prison infirmary after losing to his opponent.”

“Then whoever replaced him is definitely working with Apex,” Daniel said. “If you know that, can't y’all just go now and take him down? Can’t you take all of them down?”

“If this was the wild west or if I was a rogue agent, we could. But real action can’t happen without evidence,” Wolfe said. “We can name suspects, we can investigate, but for a threat to international security this extreme, the bureau won’t make any big arrests without solid evidence.”

“Won’t? Interesting word choice,” Mr. Stone said.

Wolfe nodded. “They could. But, another unit’s still ‘handling’ it while the strongest Fighters in the world are dropping like flies, and no one’s doing anything about it because the guy in charge has a sick daughter. I’m tired of waiting.”

“That’s why they ain’t did nothing yet? You’re kidding,” Raph said, chuckling. “Ain’t no way.”

“Oh yeah, that’s how it is. But, his daughter is getting treatment in a big Arise Health facility, so—” Wolfe gasped sharply. “Arise Health. They’re…they’re owned by—”

“The Takahara’s. Haruki’s family,” a deep, curt voice said.

Like a phantom, John appeared in the dwindling moonlight, stepping out underneath the dark streetlight. He shook Mr. Stone’s hand, and nodded towards Daniel, Carmen, and Raph. “Evening, everyone. Your teacher contacted me to instead meet with him in the park. This is not what I expected.”

Wolfe glared John down. “Been a long, lazy time out of the force, huh, Bubbles? You’ve gotten bigger.”

“And you’ve gotten shorter. Is all the coffee giving you a hunchback? Perhaps you should take more time off work, Maya.”

“Nah. You know there’s no rest for people like us. Especially not for a case like this.”

As they shook hands, Daniel let out a laugh. “I knew something was off about you! You used to be one of those SRB agents!”

“I was, but I wasn’t part of the SIU. I was a field agent of the SCIU.”

“The what?”

“The Supernatural Crisis Intervention Unit, a task force focused on rapid response and containment for dangerous or out of control Fighters.”

“Remember when you said we’re the police’s police, Daniel?” Wolfe slapped John’s shoulder, wincing afterward as he didn’t move at all. “They’re our police. We investigate strange occurrences and potential breaches of international security. They’re the big guys who actually fight it.”

“Are you planning on ‘handling’ this case too, Maya?” John looked at her over his glasses. “I don’t doubt Senior Agent Hale has told you to be careful enough.”

“I get about ten of those every day. They won’t stop me. Especially not when I’ve gotten a lead like this.” Wolfe grabbed her hat from the bench, placing it atop her head. “Sadly, I’ve gotta go now.”

“What, do secret agents have curfews, too?”

“No. Just wives with worried husbands,” she said with a smile. “Your information will be invaluable to my investigation. Thanks, you three.” Wolfe nodded to John. “Bubbles.”

“Wolfe.”

“Goodbye, Agent Wolfe,” Mr. Stone said, giving her a handshake. “Best of luck with your investigation.”

Agent Wolfe continued down the park sidewalk, disappearing once she took the next turn.

“With that handled, we have business of our own, if you three would lead me to the Maroon Sports Bar,” John said. “Have you decided on a destination yet?”

“Paris!” Daniel said.

“Morocco!” Rex added.

“Kyoto, Japan!” Carmen finished.

They all blurted it out at the same time, and their eyes shot between each other like a mexican standoff. For their first destination, they were at a stalemate, but there was no time to argue over the specifics. And so, they turned to the best option to settle the debate.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”