Clang.

Calvin’s fist stopped dead against steel. A metal grabber blocked his punch.

“Fuck!” Batty cursed in surprise, paling and stumbling to the ground as she retreated.

“Seb!” He shouted, not tearing his red-hazed eyes away from the woman. “What the fuck is she doing here?!”

“Calm down, Calvin,” Sebastien spoke softly, hopping over and landing on his shoulder. “She’s a friend.”

“She’s a fucking terrorist!” He growled, lowering his stance.

Batty froze at his words, shouting after hearing Sebastien try to de-escalate with soft whispering, “No! I’m— just calm down and let me explain— Fuck!”

Calvin activated [Jumper] and [Vigilant Aegis], ignoring the pain in his exhausted spirit as he rushed again, much faster this time. Although, as quick as he was, there was no way for him to dodge, sidestep, or otherwise circumvent the net of mechanical limbs that suddenly sprouted from between the walls, floor, and ceiling.

He crashed against the steel, the unexpectedly durable metal not even creaking from his three points in Super Body. Not that it stopped Calvin’s anger, as he wormed his fingers in between the gaps and started grunting as he did his best to pry it apart.

Behind him, a set of metal arms sprouted and immediately held onto his legs and arms. Before he could even react, more limbs appeared and wrapped around him, pulling him towards a wall and binding him immobile against it.

“Dox!” Calvin shouted, trying to free himself. “Seb! Get this fucking shit off of me!”

“Not until you calm yourself, Calvin,” Sebastien spoke just as softly as earlier, landing back on his shoulder. “It is not that I have no notion of what you are feeling. I do, but please, take a moment to cool your anger. It is unproductive. Neither you nor she can do anything here if my creator wished, so I implore you to restrain your emotions.”

“But she’s a fucking—”

“Calvin,” Sebastien interrupted, his talons tightening on his shoulder. “Please.”

His eyelid twitched. The talons were surprisingly painful, piercing through the aegis with ease.

He turned towards the chicken, its emotionless and mechanical eyes reminding him of what it was underneath the goofy shell of poultry and feathers. It might be affable, even friendly at the best of times, but at the end of the day, it was a weapon, a piece of tech that could be considered as the magnum opus of the most intelligent tinker he knows.

Calvin didn’t know what it was capable of, but he did know he’d rather not find out by pissing it off.

So he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths as he did his best to quell the fire burning in his chest. Memories of the kidnapping came to mind, serving as tinder to obstruct his efforts, reminding him of how utterly powerless and frightened he was and how his closest friend was almost lost.q

Despite that, the anger softened. Batty’s face flashed in his mind’s eye, her figure appearing vividly thanks to the help of the point in Super Mind. A memory, one near the start of the kidnapping. She was there, batting Driver on the back of his head and kicking Porto out of the door.

He remembered. There was guilt in her eyes.

“Okay,” He finally nodded after a minute, opening his eyes after a lengthy breath. “Get this shit off me.”

“Are you calm now?” Sebastien asked.

“What do you think?”

“That’s a no, then.”

The limbs binding him were kept in place, but the ones forming a wall between him and the woman slithered back into the gaps between the walls. It was largely upsetting and creepy, but Calvin couldn’t care less right now.

“Why is she here?” He asked, staring at the woman.

“She did a job for us,” The chicken explained, turning to the woman, “Well?”

“I—”, Batty stuttered, spit getting caught in her throat, “—hrrm. I dropped it off behind the place just as usual.”

“She works for you?” He turned to the chicken, brows curling in faux betrayal.

“I work with them,” Batty spat before Sebastien could speak.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Calvin snapped at her.

Batty’s eyelid twitched, “No, but I’m answering anyway.”

“Calm down, you two,” Sebastien interrupted again before they could start arguing. “Yes, Calvin. As she said, Batty is an associate, running jobs not dissimilar to yours.”

“Why? She’s a terrorist and a kidnapper.”

“I’m not,” Batty denied, almost shouting.

“Then why were you there that—”

Calvin’s words were stifled by a holographic screen popping up right in front of his face. A display screen, showing two photographs of Batty wearing an orange jumpsuit; one looking towards the camera and the other looking to the side with a measure behind her— mugshots.

There was a brief moment of confusion as he wondered why he was being shown this until his gaze drew to the file below. The file was maximized as his gaze drew to it, this one wasn’t an image but a text file containing a transcription of a conversation. He wasn’t fast enough to read everything, but the filename and the title at the top clued him into what it was.

“So? She confessed?” He said, prying his eyes away from the images and back to the chicken.

“I didn’t confess,” Batty interrupted. “I’m not guilty.”

“Batty turned herself in,” Sebastien clarified. “Sometime before Vanguard arrived to rescue you and the other victims of the kidnapping, she had walked into the nearest Vanguard station and cooperated with them. It was part of the reason why they arrived and rescued your group first.”

‘Not that they did anything other than arrive late like typical movie cops,’ Calvin thought, remembering the night.

“Coordinates, blueprints, resident villains… everything, down to the last detail, including their powers. All the information she could surrender to help, she did,” Sebastien nodded appreciatively. “It’s quite detailed, surprisingly.”

“A criminal with a conscience,” Calvin scoffed but admittedly felt the last wisps of anger fade into coolness.

“I— I was new. I didn’t know what they were planning at all. I just thought—”, Batty paused, sighing as she massaged her temples. “No— I had an idea what they were going to do, at least down the line. But I didn’t know the fuckers would do that. I was just there for a month, no one told me nor the other newbies anything. They just said they were going to steal ‘something precious’ from Central. Didn’t know they meant fucking kids.”

“You didn’t think terrorists would terrorize?”

“It’s not like they’re fucking calling themselves terrorists in the postings,” She jeered, her tone growing snappy. “I know you’re not familiar with this side of the city, kid, but ain’t no one here is calling themselves villains or criminals. That’s just fucking stupid. Everyone’s a freedom fighter, or a rebel, or a goddamned revolutionary. Whatever title they can call themselves other than what they actually are.”

“It’s Villainopolis. I don’t need to be familiar with the place to know who’s in here.”

“Then is Dox a Villain or a terrorist?” She snapped back.

Calvin narrowed his eyes, “Exceptions.”

“There are thousands of exceptions in here, kid. Just like there are up there. Villainopolis is just a name. Grow up.”

His eyelid twitched, “Just… what the fuck did you think they were going to do? Vandalize a building or some shit?”

“I thought they were going to do something with the delegation, okay?! Not fucking kidnap—”, Batty stopped herself and breathed for a moment, “Look, my point is… I didn’t know what they were planning. They didn’t tell me. And if I knew, I would've grassed them sooner.”

“I just… I don’t know how to trust your word,” He admitted. Her words felt genuine, although he wasn’t stupid enough to blindly believe a ‘feeling’.

“Then trust your brain. Think, kid. Would those crafty fucks really tell someone who just joined a month ago anything about a plan like this?” She paused, narrowing her eyes at her point being made. “All I was supposed to do was the usual low-level chores. Patrol our turf, guard our shit, vacuum the place every now and then, and help in the kitchen. Typical chores, nothing else.”

He stared at her for a second before giving a nod of understanding.

She had a point, and Calvin knew it, but there was a detail he couldn’t look past, “How did you know the details you told Vanguard?”

“What?” Her brows scrunched.

“You said they didn’t tell you anything, then how did you know? I get numbers, coordinates, powers, and all the stuff. But even blueprints?”

“I— a month’s a long time to know a lot of things,” She answered, looking away. “But not enough to be trusted with a plan like that. Not even those who were there for years knew the plan. Just Slicky and his motley crew of morons.”

“Slicky?”

“Slimiest motherfucker in that goddamn place. Always blasting his fucking bullshit in the speakers like the place was a cult or something. If I didn’t get those noise-canceling shit— fuck! If I knew he was that strong of a Mental, I wouldn’t have touched that place with a ten-meter bat!”

“His name sounds stupid,” Calvin muttered.

“Trovik ‘Slicky’, a low-level Telepath Class Gimmick,” Sebastien cut in, explaining. “His powers were left undermined for years. Publicly, he used short bursts of mind control, not strong enough for anyone above a rank-three hero. Even for those with lower ranks, it would’ve been simple to break it with a slap or by simply commanding something contrary to a person’s core beliefs and survival instincts. Essentially, a D-tier gangster, not even qualified as a villain.”

’Trovik?’ Calvin narrowed his eyes, the name sounding familiar to him.

Batty nodded, huffing in annoyance. “Fucker kept his real power close to his chest.”

“After he was caught, it was determined that his power was more suited for long-term hypnosis, developing permanence as he persisted with the small bursts. The longer he used his power on someone, even with just simple suggestions, the easier it got for his power to control them,” he turned to Batty, “It was truly fortunate you bought noise-canceling headphones.”

“Lucky me,” Batty muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms.

“Was he the one that could control your mind when he spoke?” Calvin asked, remembering the villain.

“That’s the fucker,” She nodded. “You know him?”

“Punched him in the face during the kidnapping,” he said, remembering, “wish I could’ve punched him more.”

“You and me, kid,” She snorted. “So, we good now? You’re not going to sucker-punch me again?”

He stayed silent for a moment before giving a brief glance to Sebastien, “Don’t think I can, anyway. Can you get this shit off now?”

The grabbers holding him in place loosened and let go, disappearing back into the walls like shadowy tentacles after a demonic ritual. Calvin brushed himself off and straightened his clothes, taking a deep breath and wincing a bit as his insides stung and ached.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

’I feel like a dried raisin…’ He thought, groaning. “Since when did you hire her?”

“Since five months ago.”

“How come I haven’t seen her before?”

“You come in the morning.”

“That’s why?” Calvin raised a brow. “Six months of running jobs and you never even mentioned someone else doing the same?”

“You go above, I go below,” Batty spoke up. “I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“That is true,” Sebastien nodded. “Batty can navigate Villainopolis better than any other associate.”

“You don’t have other ’associates’.”

“That is also true,” The chicken nodded again. “I am lonely.”

“So, why are you not in prison?” Calvin turned towards her, crossing his arms.

“Immunity,” she shrugged, leaning on her bat, “comes with grassing others in this place. Vanguard keeps the carrot sweet to keep people biting.”

“Are you the only one? Or are there other… villains from that place running around?” Calvin asked, feeling icky from the idea that a kidnapper was roaming free.

“I don’t know about the others, but I know Slicky’s going to be rotting in the slammer for a long time… if they even plan to let him out at all. They don’t mess around with Mentals.”

“That might not be the case,” Sebastien cut in. “The two of you, have a look at these.”

Another holographic panel popped up, another pair of mugshots. This time, it was someone’s face Calvin knew very well, both him and his fist.

Batty’s old boss, Calvin’s first terrorist, and the person they were talking about earlier with a stupid name, Slicky. A narrow and terrorist-like face, a dark and villainous pair of eyes, and a mocking and extremely punch-able smirk. If there was an advert for the most slimy-looking villain, he’d be pressed to find an opponent.

Calvin’s eyes narrowed, looking at the photo closely. He could see a tattoo on his collarbone, just peeking out of the orange jumpsuit, but it was too faded and covered to recognize. It was more or less a smudge in actuality. His eyes lingered for a bit before moving on to the next panel. A file, but it wasn’t a transcription this time. It was something unexpected to both non-chickens in the room.

An autopsy report.

“He’s dead?” Batty muttered, eyes glued to the display.

“For a month now, from what I gathered,” Sebastien nodded, before sending a few more images. “And, unfortunately, it’s not just him.”

They took a moment to look at the rest of the mugshots. Calvin found two of them familiar, both people he and Ina had knocked out in their path to get out before meeting the rest of the kidnapees. One was the fat guy with a knife, and the other was the person in Tinker’s workshop. Both are now dead, with a similar cause.

“A metal spike?” He read out, tapping on the screen to pull up an image of the weapon.

“Every single one,” Batty added as she swiped through each autopsy report. “A piercing injury from the oral cavity, traversing the eso— eso-fey-gus… impaling the heart. What’s an eso-fay-gus?”

“Ugh,” Calvin felt woozy, looking at the image of Trovik’s uncensored dead body, traces of blood and bruises around his neck.

“Esophagus. It’s the throat, Batty,”

“Holy shit,” She muttered, almost amusedly. “Got it coming, those fuckers.”

“It’s not just that…” Sebastien continued.

“There’s more?” Calvin blurted out, stifling a groan as he caught a glimpse of the gore.

“Notice anything about the victims?” He asked.

There was silence, only broken occasionally by Batty’s breathing growing heavier as she flipped through the images. Calvin glanced at her and did so as well, trying not to puke at every bit of red he saw, not fully understanding what the chicken was referring to.

“Are these the only ones that got murked?” She asked, her eyes wide.

The chicken nodded, “So far.”

“Fuck…” Batty cursed, sitting down on the floor. “Fuck!”

Seeing Calvin not understanding her reaction, he explained, “The only ones killed were villains specifically from your particular kidnapping. There were deaths from other groups, naturally, but not from the same weapon.”

“Shit… it’s them, I was right,” Batty muttered. “Everyone?”

“No. At least, as far as I’ve gathered. A few remain in custody and some are here, in Villainopolis. But, as you know, it’s near impossible to track anyone inside the place indirectly, so they might be alive and in hiding…”

“…or just dead.”

He nodded, “As for the ‘why’, I am still unsure. Although I can surmise, there’s something distinctly unique about Slicky’s group.”

Calvin summoned a seat from his pocket, feeling like this was going to be a long talk, “What?”

“The pods,” Batty spoke flatly, “It’s the pods, isn’t it?”

“Why do you think it’s about the pods?” Suspicion and curiosity piqued, Calvin asked.

“No other group got a hold of them, not for so long. I did think it was suspicious why such a low-level gang has five of them… but—”, she turned to Sebastien with a question, “Did Slicky and the rest know something about the pods?”

“I believe it’s a plausible theory and the only one that fits in the puzzle. Although, as I said, I am still unsure. It might be that, or it might be something else entirely— but the fact is that someone, or some group, killed Trovik inside a highly secure facility without a trace of their presence outside of the murder weapon., and the only major difference between each kidnapping is the existence of the pods.”

Calvin thought for a moment, “What about us? The victims? Quinn’s Damsel’s daughter, couldn’t that also be a reason?”

The chicken shook its head, “Children of the members of Central Council were also kidnapped. More would be dead if that was the reason.”

There was silence as Sebastien let the two absorb the information he provided.

“This is why you let the two of us meet now,” Calvin spoke up, looking to the A.I. “We were both there.”

“Not exactly. The two of you share peculiarly similar circumstances. I believe cooperation between mutual parties would be beneficial,” Sebastien nodded.

Batty glanced at Calvin, “Similar?”

Calvin frowned, “You think they’ll target me too?”

“I wouldn’t discount the chance, now that you are registered in the system. I only ask you to take care. You might not be actively looking, but your relation with the devices can be considered deep. Maybe deep enough for them to keep an eye on you.”

“Understatement of the year,” He scoffed.

“Why would they come after you?” Batty asked, face scrunched in confusion as she turned to Sebastien. “Does he know something about the pods too?”

“Too?” He looked back at her with squinted eyes.

“As I have mentioned. Similar circumstances, of which neither of you would be willing to divulge to the other,” Sebastien observed, looking between the two. “Regardless of your apprehension towards each other, it’s still a fact that you two share the possibility of being targeted, which is why I let you two meet.”

’Makes sense, I think?’ Calvin thought, his head hurting.

“But, why now?” Batty asked. “If they were stabbed a month ago, why only now?”

“We only just recently acquired the information. The network was quite tight-lipped, uncharacteristically so, regarding this particular happening,” He confessed. “And, because my friend here had an event this morning that had me concerned.”

“Event? Ah, yeah—”, he looked around, seeing the holowatch on a stand at the other side of the room. “Forgot about that.”

“Okay, so, we met. What do we do now?” Batty asked, inching away as Calvin walked towards his watch.

The chicken flew and perched on a table at the side, “We simply keep tabs on each other for now. The chance that one of us is targeted, statistically, is low, but not negligible.”

Calvin looked surprised, “You too?”

“All of us share the same objective: knowledge and information about or related to the pods. It’s not unthinkable for my creator to be targeted in the same manner, given the objective of her current research—” the chicken suddenly vibrated like a phone receiving a message, “—I believe it would be prudent for us to adjourn for now. I would request both of you to, at the very least, keep me updated on your current status and suspicions, no matter how small. Especially you, Calvin.”

“Me?” He asked, surprised. “Why me?”

“Ironically, you are in the most vulnerable environment. Villainopolis, despite the name, is quite safe for those who know which holes to hide into.”

“Lots of holes, lots of hiding,” Batty nodded.

“But I’m in the Academy?”

“And Trovik was in a highly secure prison facility, under the watch of Oracle and the protection of one of the seven, specifically Mason,” he countered. “Additionally, if even we could infiltrate, do you not think others could as well?”

“Point taken,” He nodded. “What now?”

“Now,” Sebastien flapped his wing, summoning grabbers that bound both Calvin and Batty. “You two need to leave.”

“But you haven’t paid me yet!” Batty’s scream echoed in the darkness as she was pulled into the void, with Calvin following after.

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

Calvin lay on a blanket he laid down on his dorm’s empty floor, restless, sleepless, and wholly uncomfortable. He stared at the ceiling, unsure for how long. The day’s information had been overwhelming him as his thoughts remained glued to them despite him wanting to rest and forget about it. Just one of the things that happened today would’ve been enough for a week to busy himself drowning in his thoughts.

“Trovik… it’s a fake name. I mean, it reads like a fake name and it sounds like a fake name. But, I know it’s a fake name. Why do I know it’s a fake name?” He thought out loud, a weird thing for his mind to latch on to.

A gut feeling at most, but somehow it was something that stuck to him more than the other stuff.

“A sixth power inside me, the pod’s creator, the terrorists are dead… and Sebastien’s a chicken… why a chicken?” He spoke and summarized, feeling how ridiculous everything was. “And everything aches, to top it all off… ugh. Maybe there’s a tinker out there with an alchemist concept… I need a mana potion or something, potions have to exist, right? Is there something like ibuprofen for the spirit?”

As he entertained the thought, he was reminded of a super thing still inside his pocket. He took it out and expectedly read the screen.

Super Equip

Super Buff: Smelling Salts detected. Equip? Yes No

“Smelling salts are supposed to wake you up and help you focus, right?” He muttered the surface-level information he knew, shaking the bottle and letting the large crystal of salt inside clink against the glass.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, the weak and malnourished wolf that was his self-control barking helplessly in an attempt to stop the Fenrir that was his wolf of curiosity.

The winner was apparent.

Calvin uncorked the bottle with a satisfying pop before bringing it to his nose. With a deep, long, and incredibly moronic sniff, his eyes widened and reddened instantly from the effects of the salt.

“Fuck!” He shot up, putting the bottle as far away from his face as he could. “Fuck… I can still smell it, ugh—”

He quickly corked the bottle close and threw it towards the other end of the room, all the while fighting off the pain from his scalding lungs and burning nose hairs.

“Fuck… it’s getting worse— ugh…” ‘I need some fucking air,’ he thought, rushing out of the room and towards the courtyard, tears dripping down his face as the burning continued.

It took a while and a few hundred breaths of clean and unfiltered midnight air before it finally cooled down. He lay down like wilted grass on one of the benches near the arena in relief. Deep breaths and a few more moments of peace, doing his best not to think about his stupidity and consequently bat himself in the head with the hammer of hindsight.

“Yeah, that was fucking stupid,” He muttered, failing to stop his thoughts. “Although… my head feels strangely clearer. No— not just clearer. It kinda feels like… wait a minute.”

He pulled on his will and summoned his information panel.

Super Information

Super Name None Super Attributes Super Status Alive, Spirit-severance, Fatigue Resistance, Mental Resistance Super Body 2 (+1)

Super Quest Road to Heroism III, A True Hero's Name, An Unknown Power Super Mind 1 (+1) Super Points 0

Super Spirit 2.7 (-0.3)

Super Powers

Impervious Pebble Gourmand's Insight Color Control Jumper Vigilant Aegis Unknown

Super Information

Super Name None Super Status Alive, Spirit-severance, Fatigue Resistance, Mental Resistance Super Quest Road to Heroism III, A True Hero's Name, An Unknown Power Super Points 0

Super Attributes Super Body 2 (+1)

Super Mind 1 (+1) Super Spirit 2.7 (-0.3)

Super Powers

Impervious Pebble Gourmand's Insight Color Control Jumper Vigilant Aegis Unknown

“Holy shit, that’s huge,” He muttered, reading the additional buffs in his status. “Super Hel—”

“What’s huge?” A voice suddenly asked.

“Ah!” Calvin shot up, looking towards where the voice came from. He breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the familiar wild bushel of hair and animalistic grin. “You scared me.”

“I was here the whole time,” the wild woman chuckled leaning back as she sat on the bench across him. “So, what’s huge?”

“Nothing… just thinking out loud,” He said, shaking his head. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m the dorm manager, honey.”

“I mean… what are you doing here this late at night.”

“Night? It’s almost morning,” she said, pointing to the horizon with the bottle of alcohol Calvin only just noticed. “Almost time for your jog, right?”

“Huh?” He checked his holowatch. “Ah, damn. Yeah…”

“Go jog,” Maxine said, gesturing for him to go away. “Move your body, get your thoughts clear.”

He raised a brow, looking at her with a confused face.

“It’s written all over your face, honey. You got something on your mind, and you’re not going to share it anyway so just go jog or do something else to keep your head busy until your friends wake up,” She chuckled, taking a swig. “Unless you want to spar in the arena? I can teach you a few moves, get your mind off of things.”

“I think… I’ll just go get sleep today,” he said, getting off the bench and walking back to the building as fast as he could.

“Suit yourself, honey,” She said, shrugging and chugging. “Ahh~ Don’t forget, you have friends. And if they can’t help, you have adults. Don’t drown by yourself.”

He paused, glancing back towards her and giving a nod before heading back to the dorm.