It didn't take me long to figure out what my patron meant when he said everything was set to 'default' once I was out on the streets.

A quick stop inside a convenience store let me get a look at a newspaper headline that told me today was January Tenth, 2011 and I was indeed in Brockton Bay.

The city was both just as bad as I imagined of a place that had been repeatedly mentioned as being in an economic decline, caused by both the death of its shipping industry and the criminal elements, and actually not too bad. Provided you stayed in the areas meant to cater to tourists and visitors.

Most of the nicer areas were focused near the shoreline where people could look out over the water at the PRT base made from a converted oil rig. A bit further inland, the wear and tear on the city from lack of maintenance became much more noticeable and if you went north to the docks, things were little better than abandoned husks.

I didn't see much else that was noteworthy on my meandering tour of the city so it was probably safe to say the 'Gods' didn't allow for massive changes to the surroundings. Although I would clearly have to get used to being the center of attention for somebody based on the looks I got from passing pedestrians. Many were simply the appreciative or lustful gazes of those who saw someone pretty and imagined what a night with them would be like. Others had a calculating look on their face like they were debating the risks of making that night a reality, consent or no.

Several men even tried taking some 'covert' pictures of me to send to what I assumed was members of a gang of some sort. I wasn't sure at first, but when I saw several women cross the street to make sure the group of asian men stalking me didn't include them in the camera frame I felt pretty sure these people had less than pure intentions.

Still, it was the middle of the day and there were plenty of people around so I wasn't too worried about being snatched off the street immediately. And as I wandered back towards the boardwalk area my stalkers eventually gave up.

I wasn't too worried about them. While it felt kinda racist to even consider I, as a devil, was just too much for some random gang members to beat without specialized equipment to level the playing field. If they tried anything I would leave them beat up on the ground without too much effort.

Of course that led me to my next thought.

What was I going to do here? If this followed a game template my guess would be the default was set to Starting Location: Brockton Bay, Starting Time: Pre Cannon (Post Taylor Trigger), and Background: Drop In. There were probably some other details but those were the immediately relevant three. I could try avoiding the cape game and do my own thing, but I suddenly had access to magic! I wasn't going to stay at home and work a nine-to-five when I could be playing, ahem, practicing with my abilities. So I was probably going to get sucked into the game just because I thought it would be fun.

I would have to stay independent as a Cape though. The local heroes were either laughably corrupt or compromised and the villains were not much better, the public major players either being white supremists, slavers, or a bunch of addicts. Whether I became a hero or villain was up in the air though.

There was also the issue of my rather…distinct…appearance. There were a series of 'unwritten rules' that were supposed to keep people from going after civilian identities but only an idiot would look at me and be unable to recognise my hair unless I went to great lengths to hide or disguise it…

…Which I had no desire to do.

So at best I would be giving the rules a nod with something like a simple domino mask unless I had a reason to do otherwise. And rather than spend time worrying about things I had no control of, I wanted to get started on my current biggest problem.

Where was I going to sleep tonight?

-o-

As it turned out I had some really shit luck. While the holiday season was mostly over, many of the hotels and motels were filled to capacity at the moment for one reason or another and I wasn't able to find a room for anything close to what I'd be willing to pay.

$500 for a single night? No way in hell.

So instead I ended up wandering the streets some more even as I continued playing with magic.

Devils really were cheaters in that regard. I had had magic for less than one day, but because most of it relied on my imagination and intent to function I had already learned a few basic spells.

Since I wasn't planning on jumping straight into fights that would require me throwing spells around I focused on some utility magic first.

Stolen novel; please report.

A simple quick change spell that swapped my clothes for a magically created outfit (though currently it was little more than a black bodysuit with some red and white highlights and a domino mask), the beginnings of a teleport spell, and a dimensional pocket I remembered being a thing from the DXD show.

To my surprise, when I first created the pocket it wasn't empty. Inside was half a set of chess pieces in an ornate wooden box. Part of me was overjoyed at the prospect of having a set of Evil Pieces capable of reincarnating people as more devils, but mostly, I was annoyed that if I had never tried to use that particular spell I would have never found them at all.

My current project, since I had clothing, movement (kinda), and storage handled, was to make a shield. Something defensive enough to protect me and a bit of my surroundings if needed. Unfortunately so far all I have been able to do so far is make a screen that anchored me to the ground. I definitely wanted a bit more mobility than that.

I was so distracted by my spell tinkering that I almost failed to notice two men in red and green step out in front of me and block my path. Once I noticed them though I realized two more similarly dressed men had started following me from behind.

"Well looky here, some redheaded bitch that didn't get the memo. Didn't you know, girl? These streets belong to the Azn Bad Boys, and since you're on them that means you belong to us now."

That…was painfully straight forward. Did people really talk like that?

The sigh from one of the others made me think it was just this guy in particular.

"Shut up, dumbass. We're on a schedule. Lung wants five more girls tonight." he turned to me. "And you, don't give us any trouble and we don't carve you up before you come with us anyway." The gangster flashed a knife.

I looked behind me and sure enough the other two were pulling out knives and duct tape. "I don't suppose we could be reasonable about this?"

The gangsters laughed darkly giving me my answer. Then, out of fucking nowhere, a white figure fell from the roofs and landed in a stereotypical three-point crouch.

"Hold it right there, ne'er-do wells!"

The figure was a man in white. White pants, white jacket, white mask. Thankfully some gold thrown in for contrast but still…it was a lot of white. Thank everything he didn't have white hair on top of it all.

The only heroes I knew in Brockton that had white and gold as part of a color scheme were New Wave, but the mask didn't fit that and he was too young to be Manpower or Flashbang and too old to be Shielder. White and gold was Glory Girl's thing too.

And did he really say ne'er-do wells?

"Fuck cape!" one of the gangsters cursed.

"So what." the apparent leader from earlier snapped. "Listen white boy, fuck off and we forget we saw you. Hang around and you get on the Dragon's shitlist."

"I refuse! What kind of hero would I be if I did not help out a young woman in her time of need?" the white cape stood and puffed his chest out. "A poor one, that's what! And I, Paladin, only aim to be the best hero I can!"

"Great, a fucking Mouse Protector wannabe. You three stall him. I'm calling in backup."

I was half expecting the gangsters to rush the hero, but they only circled him while their boss pulled out a cell phone.

"Normally I would welcome the opportunity to defeat more of you criminals, but I cannot let my desire for battle place an innocent in danger. So I will have to defeat you quickly. Let's go, Divine Dividing!" Long white limbs burst from his back and lit up in holographic blue panels resembling wings. All I could do was stare dumbly at the sight. Was this some kind of joke? The first Cape I meet not only seems to be a ham of the highest order but also has a power based on DXD?

Unaware of my thoughts, Paladin explodes forward in a burst of speed and expertly takes down one of the gangsters with a single punch. The second slashed at him with a knife but it skittered harmlessly across one of the hero's 'wings' before he was disarmed and knocked out. The third just tried to rush him, but Paladin suddenly moved a bit faster even as the Gangster slowed down and was also taken out.

The leader saw all of this and abandoned going for his phone and pulled out a gun instead. "Fuck, don't move!"

"Do you believe that a little handgun can protect you from Justice?" Paladin questioned confidently. Either he was a very good actor or he was confident he could deal with a nine millimeter bullet with no issue. "Your comrades are defeated and you are next. Surrender quietly and I will turn you over to the police with no injury.

"Fuck that and fuck you. No, here's the deal. You turn off those fucking wings and let me go. The others too."

"You don't think I can't stop a simple bullet?"

The gangster grinned savagely. "Maybe you can. But I bet she can't." He turned the gun on me.

Paladin tensed. "Coward!"

"So what's it going to be hero? Make the bust or save the girl?"

Yeah this had gone on long enough.

"How about he makes the bust and the girl saves herself?" I commented, sticking my hand straight out at the gunman. A ball of raw magical energy formed on my palm and shot at the man and hit him square in the chest. Without a spell to shape the effect the ball wasn't much more effective than throwing a softball at someone. But the difference here was it was a softball the man wasn't expecting and was unprepared for.

The gangster stumbled and tripped, falling over and slamming his head on the pavement on the way down. I counted myself lucky that that attack knocked the man out because I suddenly had another issue on my hands…

"Oh my kami-sama I can't believe I didn't recognise you! You're Rias-tan~!" Paladin gushed from FAR too close to me. "I can't believe my first night out I not only managed to stop a kidnapping but I also protected one of the best waifu's ever! And you're not just some background character for flavor, you actually have powers too! This is great! We can team up and protect the city together and…"

I think I had a headache again.

'How long will you continue to ignore me, Red? Are you going to continue pretending to sleep even now?' A resonant voice asked from inside my head somehow. Telepathy. That must have been Albion, the dragon inside the Divine Dividing sacred gear, but who was he talking…

…no…

'I wasn't pretending to sleep, White. There was simply no reason to speak up. My host this time is perfectly capable on her own.' A red gauntlet formed on my hand as Ddriag, Albion's rival and dragon of the Boosted Gear answered.

"Nooo~, Rias-tan is my eternal rival? Is that why she was meeting up with the ABB? Her japanophillia is going to make her a villain?" Paladin whined and I felt a shiver run down my back. The hero(?) suddenly snached my hand and stared uncomfortably hard. "Do not worry Rias-tan, although your actions are misguided. It is only out of great love for the people. I will do my best to free you from the shackles Lung has placed on your heart and show you a dragon you can share your love equally with. Though it pains me we may be enemies for now, look forward to the day we may fight side-by-side."

By everything unholy - please no.

'...it seems you have a very…unique…host this time, White. I don't know if I should laugh or pity you.' Ddraig rumbled.

If there is anyone you should pity, it's me! I don't want this guy following me around!

'...yes, he's an odd one for sure. But he was still able to summon my gear on his own. I'm sure he will be ready when the time for our battle comes.'

"Yes, until our fated battle of the heart…" Paladin struck a pose. "Until then, farewell my dear!" And with a flap of his wings the fanboy hero rose into the air and vanished leaving me alone in the street with four unconscious bodies.

I sighed at the…everything… that just happened before walking over to the leader and swiping his phone. It wasn't anything fancy but it wasn't super cheap. No password either. Then I raided the gangster's wallets for a bit more cash before I called 911 to report an attempted kidnapping. The operator wanted me to wait around for a responder but I wasn't doing that. I made sure they knew the address, ended the call, and started walking.

I glanced at my now bare arm where the Boosted Gear had been only moments before.

I guess I found out what my second item was.

And now I had a certain giant dragon I needed to have a conversation with…