Rachel landed in the parking lot of the police station. Her feet touched the ground as she looked to the door. Dan ‘Ripper’ Keyes opened the door for her. They were both in their costumes. Rachel had tried it on that morning. It largely had the familiar feel of her old costume like all of her suits had but there were now several changes that made wearing it awkward. The first change she constantly noticed was the visor instead of goggles. Instead of adjusting the eyeglasses on her mask, she was shifting the visor that fit differently. The other adjustment was the heavy weight of the blade attachment on her right arm.

“Come on in. It is good you called,” said Dan. She followed him inside and they turned past the office workers and went towards the superhuman wing of the police force.

“I have been working on finishing up some investigations and your help would be appreciated if you were to rejoin my team.”

“What’s the job?” asked Rachel.

“How much have you been following the news?” asked Ben.

“I haven’t checked it.”

“On Monday your cousin ran her first solo mission as Legacy. She worked on the last steps of a case I have been working on. My team has spent the last day and a half going through the evidence and connecting it to what we already know about their larger organization.”

“So, you need more muscle to take down another leg of their operation? Why don’t you just call Tabitha back? I am sure she is free and would love to pummel some more bad guys for you.”

“I need the help but getting Tabitha to join us was mostly a one-time thing. I am sure you remember how busy you were during your first months as Legacy.”

“Yeah I remember and sorry for that. I never did make much time for you guys when I left.”

Dan ignored the comments. “The drug making and smuggling was only one part of their efforts and was also their most profitable. While Tabitha took down that place on the news my team was attacking other drug locations we knew of. I need my people on this mission to fight and to reexamine the evidence we’ve collected to see if we’ve missed anything. This is something Tabitha can’t do but you can. You have the experience and though you have been out of the investigation game you can be of help.”

“Ok. Show me your war room and you can start explaining what you’ve done to lead you to break up the drug operations. I need a good first mission on my new work resume and this should fit.”

“Rachel I would like to remind you of what you called me for and your current rank now that you have that new suit. I will be working with you as a rookie, and you better not run away after this assignment is over. I’ll have you work here for at least three months. If you ever respected me as a mentor then you will give me that much.”

“Of course, I respect you. Even when you are a bit too tough on me.”

“Then quit joking around that you will be gone tomorrow and let's get to work with the others. They never left even when you did.”

Rachel was brought to a room in the far corner of the police station where she was met with three others already busy working. They were going through the paper and digital files and barely looked twice when Dan returned to the room. On the wall next to the door a bulletin board hung with documents pinned to it. Rachel noticed the mess of names and pictures on the board along with some news reports of the recent events. A newer paper stapled on top of older news read ‘New Legacy Hero Makes Debut Appearance’.

“Here is our investigation board,” said Dan as he waved towards the bulletin board, “We initially got wind of the drug dealers because of some strange financial transactions between individuals who owned the places we raided. After looking into their identities, we found them to be a mix of fake and heavily altered identities. From there we made contact with some informants and got the information we needed on the drug manufacturing. From there we sent Tabitha and the team to take out the locations. That leaves us with where we are now. The group behind the manufacturing is mad that we took out their main source of revenue and has retaliated by bombing a few buildings. Just this morning we were able to confirm that some of the faces of those who escaped were among the arsonists.”

“That’s pretty serious. What buildings were targeted, and do you know anything about the leadership of this group?”

“Not yet on that last thing. The drug dealers operated on a need-to-know basis and didn’t communicate much with the other branches except for financial transactions which we saw. The places attacked were a barbershop, clothing shop, and a garage for police vehicles in midtown.”

“Did you see any connections between where they attacked or the people who owned the places they operated from?”

“No. We guessed that the buildings they attacked are owned by a rival because I can’t find much public information on who owned either of the shops. They are registered with out-of-state information which is causing some troubles when I try to pull it up.”

“Have the owners or insurance companies said anything?”

“The insurance for the two shops had forms filed about the damages and the payouts for repairs will be received soon. For now, the two shops are closed and in the case of the police cars they are currently being replaced.”

“Then was it just a message being sent to the police and their rivals? What are ours and their next steps?”

“I don’t know. For now, we will just follow the chains of command that we found and continue to collect evidence of their wrongdoing. The drug side was in communication with this man here,” said Dan pointing to a face on the board, “Olan Jacobs seemed to be their contact. We are currently working on tracking his phone, the location of recent payments, and our satellites to find where he is. If you want to start helping then we can make this process go faster. The login and systems haven’t changed since you left. Let me know if you have any questions?”

“Ok. I will get started then,” said Rachel as she found a spare seat and brought a keyboard over.

She started typing and entered the login she had used a few years ago. Dan returned to his desk and returned to work as well. Rachel started by going through the current information on Olan’s location and looked at the map made on him. The Superhuman Task Force worked quietly as they went through as much data as they could on Olan Jacobs. The first thing they had done was check if he was at his registered home or work. Neither seemed to have him there and his workplace had only noted him arriving at work some four hours ago before stepping out two hours ago.

From there it became a digital maze as Dan and his team had tried to follow where he went and predict where he would go next. They continued to follow the trail now aided by Rachel.

“I found him,” said the lone woman on Dan’s team about two hours after Rachel had joined the search. “After Ben found a hotel purchase under one of his aliases I tracked its use to a bar a mile away. From there, I grabbed camera access and confirmed that he arrived there twenty minutes ago.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Good job Emma,” said Dan. “Rachel, you can carry two people right?”

“Yeah I can, and it is Sun Bird now.”

“Then you will take me and Ben to the bar now. We will discuss the approach on the way. Emma follow us there as well.”

“Will do boss.”

“And Jake stay here and monitor all of the cameras around the bar. We need to see if he leaves and whether or not he leaves with others. And try to get access to the bar’s interior cameras.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Jake.

With their assignments, clear everyone in the room hurried. Dan took the lead out the door and Rachel, Ben, and Emma followed. Once they were outside Emma’s body ignited into flames as she rose into the air. Rachel soon followed her with the burden of two people to carry. It slowed her down to do so but she still moved faster than a car in the air and they were able to avoid streets and traffic along the way to reach the bar faster. Dan gave directions as Emma took the lead in the air.

As they flew Dan passed them earpieces to listen and speak through and went over his plan. The bar had two ways in and out. They were the main entrance and the employee entrance. The plan would be to enter through the main entrance and then make way towards the employee entrance to block it off before performing a full sweep of the building.

As Dan’s feet hit the ground he hurried to meet with the security guard at the door. Rachel and the others hurried inside while Dan took up guard at the entrance. Emma immediately went for the employee entrance no longer in her flaming form.

“Take the south side and move towards the north side of the building. I will do the opposite,” said Ben.

“Ok.”

“I haven’t got access to the indoor cameras yet,” said Jake over the earpieces, “but I can confirm that he hasn’t left. Three minutes ago, he bought another drink with his card, and I was pinged. Be careful and cover his mouth as quickly as possible. He is a whisperer from our records. The earpieces will only block out so much of his powers.”

Rachel listened as she made her way to the south side as scanned the crowd of patrons. She tried to avoid the people as she pushed through without interfering too much. Loud music played in the background as people walked around the bar. People played games to one side and others sat on couches or at the bar stools.

The darker environment and the large crowd made it harder to find the man there were looking for. Dan and Emma waited patiently at the doors and watched the people who tried to enter and exit the building. Occasionally Rachel floated in the air and spun around as she looked for Olan in the crowd. On one of these checks as she spun around she spotted his face. Olan Jacobs was moving through the crowd.

“I see him. Stairs by the employee area. Emma cut him off. I am going there now,” said Rachel to her teammates.

“On my way,” said Emma immediately.

“I’m moving in to block the exits again,” said Ben.

Rachel took to floating above the people in the bar and flew towards Olan. He saw her floating above the crowd and picked up the pace up the stairs. He moved to the upper floor and Rachel had to follow him up the stairs because it was closed off. Behind Rachel, Emma had joined in the chase and ran along behind.

Olan ran down the halls of the upper area and scanned the rooms for windows and where they led. He pushed past workers who were on the second floor and with a few words they were on the ground and gave him no resistance. As Rachel turned the corner to chase him he found the room he was looking for. He forced open the window and stuck his body through. As he was getting his second leg through the window Rachel grabbed the man’s leg when he was hanging on to the building with his hands around the windowsill.

He looked at her and stared into her eyes. “Let go of me failed hero,” he said with menace.

The words echoed in her mind, and she instantly let go. He pulled his pant leg back and pushed back from the window before dropping to the ground. Rachel fell back and caught herself on the chair in the office she was in. Her eyes blurred and her mind was unfocused. The words continued to run through her mind as she started to shake. A minute later Emma found her and held her still. She activated her earpiece.

“He got out through a northwest window. I can hear his car. You need to hurry,” said Emma with anxiety in her voice.

“I’m on my way,” said Dan, “What is wrong? Rachel was the one in the lead chasing him.”

“He hit her with his powers. She is shaken up. I’m not sure how long it will last but it is more potent than the workers in the halls. You need to catch him for us. I will stay with her until she is off of his mind’s effects.”

“Check on the other people he hit with his powers and then bring Rachel out of the building. The loud noise will be helping the effects of the power right now. Ben, I need a location for Olan and his getaway car,” said Dan.

“I am out of the building now and saw the car. It is a black two-door small car. It just left the alleyway and is heading North.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

Dan was already running on the side of the road and turned onto the road Olan was escaping on. He saw the car driving away. He focused his powers and brought his hands to the asphalt. His powers would disrupt the other cars driving in the area, but it would be a necessary inconvenience to the regular people. As he put his hands on the asphalt his powers seeped into the ground and the cars on the road suddenly lurched from the change.

The road became a gooey substance that caused all of the car’s wheels on the road to stick and then spin in place. Dan held the powers in place as he rushed towards the car that Ben had indicated. People on the sidewalk watched as he ran on the altered ground unaffected. Some of the people in cars watched and waited inside while others were impatient and tried to get out of their cars and get away. If the people were unfortunate enough to step onto the softened asphalt then their feet would stick, and they became unable to move unless they chose to leave their shoes and return to their cars.

Olan became one of the people who lost their shoes to the ground but in doing so he was able to jump to the sidewalk that was unaffected. He left his car idle as he ran further away. Dan picked up his speed when he saw Olan and pushed past the dazed people when needed. Olan spoke quietly as he ran and caused the people around him to part before blocking the sidewalk in a dazed state.

Olan in his haste to get away misstepped as he commanded new people. He took a few steps away from the tree that had been in his way and closer to the shops. Before he could realize his mistake however Dan grabbed a hold of him. With one hand he grabbed Olan’s collar and with the other hand, he put his fist in the man’s mouth. As the man tried to struggle Dan activated his powers once more and threw the man at the shop’s window.

At the same time, the streets hardened at the same time the glass windows did. Olan felt bones crack as he felt as though his body hit metal. The window made no noise and didn’t shake or crack as Olan hit the window or the surrounding wall. He crumpled on the ground and fell over. Dan grabbed some napkins from the outdoor table seating and stuffed them in Olan’s mouth.

“You and I need to have a long chat. How about we go to the station.”

Olan gave a weak refusal as his body flared up in pain. Dan pushed his powers into the man causing him to go limp and his body goes numb. The two of them walked back towards Olan’s car. The traffic now returning to a state of normal slowed and drove around Dan as he approached the empty car. Dan carried Olan the rest of the way with him being dragged behind.

With one hand he grabbed the door handle and activated his powers. The car’s exterior tore and fell apart like he was ripping paper. Dan set the half-conscious Olan next to the car while he checked inside. He checked the dash and found the car’s registration and a few things in the back of the car. A minute later he saw Ben running from down the street. Dan ruffled through Olan’s pockets and threw the keys to the car to Ben.

“I need you to drive this piece of junk and its owner to the station,” said Dan as he more carefully opened the back seat door and place Olan inside.

“Ok, I can do that. Did he say anything?”

“No. He was too busy trying to get away or getting pummeled by me. Get him checked into the doc and then I would like to interrogate him in two hours. Make sure to notify all of them of his powers. He is not to speak until dampening cuffs are on him. Even then have non-superhumans avoid him. His powers may still be effective on them.”

“Got it, boss,” said Ben as he got into the front seat of the ruined car.

He left Ben to drive away as he walked back towards the bar. He activated his earpiece and spoke.

“I got Olan in a car with Ben on their way back to the station. How are things on your end? Did the people at the bar give you any trouble?”

“It was about the usual amount of harassment. They were glad we didn’t disturb their guests much but would have rather had us alert them to our arrival sooner. Rachel’s back on her feet now and a bit unsteady but should be good to take you back to the station when you get here.”

“I’ll meet you outside the bar.”

“We will see you then,” said Emma before disconnecting her earpiece.