The rest of the journey across the Grandesia Overworld did not bring them any more trouble with mutants. Instead, they now had to worry about how to get past security back in human civilization.

For starters, they could not go to the west elevator terminals nor the north ones for that matter. Both of those sectors would be in crisis mode, trying to avert all travelers from the city. Instead, they crossed the surface complex for many miles to arrive at the east gate.

"I'm assuming you guys are still in the clear," the Disco Menace said.

"What do you mean?" eX-0281 turned to eX-0704 as if he would understand what she meant.

"I mean, GPC probably didn't care about you guys enough to flag you as defected." She sounded thoroughly annoyed having to explain this to them.

"You don't need to put it that way," eX-0281 muttered.

"We picked this time to escape because of the crisis," eX-0704 announced with a tone of pride.

"Yes. It was a very fortunate thing… the diversion I had set up." Each of her words came out clipped and harsh per usual. "It'll give us an easier time getting back into the city too."

"Will it?" eX-0704 echoed.

After drawing in a deep breath and sighing, the Disco Menace confirmed. "It will." As reluctant as she was to say the next bit, she muttered, "We can just walk straight through security."

"But how?" eX-0281 asked with a gasp.

"They wouldn't dare stop two sub-dragon soldiers from GPC who just apprehended the public enemy number one, would they?"

Both eX-0281 and eX-0704 flipped their attention to one another. "That's right…." With any luck, both of them retained their status as security guards. They could simply pretend to return to Grandesia with the Disco Menace in custody. Accordingly, both their tails lifted as a wicked idea floated to each of their minds.

Payback time. The Disco Menace would regret all the times that she acted cruelly because now she would be their prisoner.

"There's one problem." eX-0704 snapped his reptilian jaws with evident anger as he spit, "Someone made me get rid of my helmet." His icy eyes bore into the Disco Menace for an accusatory glare.

"I'm sorry," she said, tossing up her hands. "It's still not that big of a deal. Give it a rest, Liz."

eX-0704 fell profoundly quiet. If he had been a fire elemental, he might have generated some curls of smoke from his nostrils.

The Disco Menace failed to comprehend how painful and terrifying tonight had been for him. Maybe she would have understood if only she did not abandon them on the way back to Charlotte's home. eX-0704's suffering was all because she had made him toss his helmet for no good reason.

"You don't need it anyway," she said to further dismiss him. "Just say you lost it while fighting with me."

"That's not too far from the truth," he muttered.

"So," eX-0281 said, forcibly adding some pep to his voice. "How are we taking the Disco Menace into custody?"

The mood of eX-0704 began to brighten. With his eyes smartened, he said, "Well, for starters, I think it would make sense if we had her tied up with something."

"What?" her voice broke in shock, and she was soon yelling at them in outrage as eX-0704 gave chase. "That's a stupid plan—wholly unessecary and more dangerous for us!"

"It makes perfect sense!" eX-0704 objected. His wings carried him at a much faster pace, given how the Disco Menace did not return to her bike nor use her thunder magic to speed up her movements.

"Ah!" she hollered while eX-0704 grabbed her by the hair streaming out of her mask.

While the two of them sorted that out, eX-0281 went over to the strange, mana-infused plants and started to cut a long swath of vine for a rope.

The Disco Menace stood up to her full height, her head tilted slightly backwards with her head in eX-0704's claw. "Come now, Liz. I thought we were friends!"

Even from here, eX-0281 could see his friend's lips curl up in disgust. "I wouldn't want to be friends with the likes of you. I'm friends with 281—someone who would save me. He even saved Charlotte."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

A nervous laugh peeled from beneath the discotech mask. "Is everyone really going to hold that little thing against me?"

"Yes," eX-0704 spit.

Was that even a question? eX-0281 hummed a tune that he thought he had heard over the radio whilst dragging the rope over. Hopefully, this was satisfying for eX-0704 to get back at the Disco Menace in a small way.

More angry and demanding, she said, "Let's pretend I surrendered and came in willingly."

"Then we would still tie you up." With a push and wrench of her arms, eX-0704 flipped the Disco Menace onto the ground and pinned her. "You're not acting very willing right now."

"Bah! Get out of my face! I can smell your breath, Liz." The Disco Menace lay prone across the ground, her face tilted out one way and her arms twisted behind her back. "Seriously guys. I won't allow this! It's better if I have my hands free so that I can fight…."

"Seriously," eX-0281 said. "Trust us. We know how the sub-dragon thought process works. I mean, if we don't walk in without you tied up, that might look suspicious."

"I will electrocute you!"

"Won't bother me much," eX-0704 replied, though a sufficiently large shock could still hurt them even with their thunder resistance. He started to wrap some of the vine around her wrists.

She cried out some more colorful threats, but the Disco Menace did nothing of the sort. Just as well, her insults hung emptily in the air while her body tensed up and accepted the rough treatment.

eX-0281 only helped while he let eX-0704 do the honors. Once she was all tied up, they each pulled her up by one arm.

"Was that so bad?"

"Was that so hard?"

They turned to each other and laughed. This was not the first time that they had taken the words right out of each other's mouths. It was good to have a friend like eX-0704.

Presently, he was getting a small amount of revenge for whatever amount of trouble that the Disco Menace had caused.

Her lithe form leaned back towards eX-0704, a visible tremor running up her body. It was weird to see the Disco Menace as compliant and quiet as she had been thus far, which was not saying much.

eX-0704 clapped his hands on either side of her arms, claws curling around her biceps. "You good?"

"Yeah." Her mask turned to him, looking at him backwards. "Just, you'll cut the vines if we get into trouble, right?"

"Of course."

Her electricity could probably set the vines on fire, but the flames would in turn burn her—a less than ideal situation.

"You've got nothing to worry about," eX-0281 said. "We won't actually turn you in or leave you behind. We're not like you."

The Disco Menace huffed out a big sigh, and let herself be taken prisoner by the dragon duo.

Firstly, they needed to step into a chamber for decontamination and preprocessing. The system made it easy, given that eX-0281 could still use the official passkey from the GPC that was tied to his account. Though eX-0704 no longer had his helmet, it was simple enough to mark him as part of his companions. Then of course, they had their prisoner: the Disco Menace.

New information appeared alongside what they knew about her.

Name: Victoria "Vicky" Carabotta / "Disco Menace"

Apparently, the system had registered enough about her—perhaps her voice, hair color, the nickname Vicky. In combination, it had been enough to scour the population to find the one woman in question.

Victoria Carabotta is a missing person and wanted criminal—a runaway who kidnapped her baby brother, Marcel Carabotta, seven years ago.

Just like the databases held information about monsters, there was a whole profile of information on the Disco Menace.

Victoria Carabotta was a high-achieving student at Central Grandesia Preparatory Academy and also a top competitor in the youth fencing league.

The rapier she used made sense. Though her rough exterior did not show it now, she had actually come from a rich family that could send her to the top high school in the city. Her background of privilege explained the fencing extracurricular, perhaps even the pretentious attitude.

There was information on which classes she took, her grades in those classes, even what friends she had hung out with seven years ago. The entire life of a teenage girl was neatly categorized in these pages, seemingly perfect in every way.

The A-class thunder mage is rumored to compete in the underground battle circuit. There is a high bounty on Victoria Carabotta's head and an even higher reward for the safe return of Marcel Carabotta.

eX-0281 narrowed his eyes at the screen because even he could see through that much. Between what he had observed from the Disco Menace and what he had just read here, the story told itself.

A teenager's entire world had been thrown off kilter with a new addition to the family.

When her parents had given birth to an S-class thunder mage, they had not been willing to protect their newborn child. Perhaps her parents had even been the ones trying to sell him.

The Disco Menace was a teenage girl who had it all, then gave up everything to raise her little brother on the streets these past seven years. That was the story that eX-0281 put together for her in his head, at any rate.

Once the disinfectant steam died away, a green light flashed at the upper corner of the main door. The three of them marched out in orderly fashion to see what would await them inside the security station.

Stay calm, eX-0281 tried to remind himself. The plan is gonna work.

His eyes flitted back to the young woman, her binds comprised of vines. While eX-0281 led the way, eX-0704 pulled up the rear. Occasionally, he gave the Disco Menace an unceremonious shove just for the fun of it.

"I'm walking here. I'm cooperating!" she objected.

"That doesn't give you the right to talk back." eX-0704 took on the deep, serious, and official voice of the soldiers. After giving her another shove for good measure, they stopped in front of a group of sub-dragons with red wings.

All of them were circled around the doors of the decontamination chamber. The security detail had come to greet them.