Riverside City Chronicles | Book 1 | Riverside City [Capes & Cowls]

by VanDerHeyden, Paul C.

  “Well, I may be new, but I have a few tricks that make me a bit more effective than the average agent in an interrogation,” Kat smiles, the mask doing nothing to hide it.

  “Okay, weirdo, do your worst,” Spitfire says before sitting back in her chair.

  “Oh, I will,” Kat’s eyes glow intensely, purple light so dark it could be seen as black leaking out. “Let’s have you relive your worst memory to start, that usually loosens up Cowls,” she reaches out to put her hands around Spitfire’s head.

  “Stop, stop, don’t make me relive that! I barely survived intact the first time. I’ll give you whatever you want,” Spitfire is visibly shaken.

  I never get to actually use that power in here, it’s a shame, it works great.

  “All right, spill, who gave you the job attacking Prof. Tenzi’s lab? What were you going to take? That’s it for the official questions, but my last one is simple, why go Cowl again?” Kat sits back in her chair and relaxes, “Well? I’m waiting.”

  “Well, we got the job via a contact in Docktown. Defender got a gig with Health CARES, you know the massive health conglomerate?”

  Kat nods.

  “Well, after he got the gig, he started requesting that people in my circles help him take in big tech scores. Anything that looks too advanced gets grabbed, Defender says the boss is grabbing up all of the tech, looking for anything that meets his stringent requirements. That’s why we were at the Prof’s place, we know she has lots of advanced tech, we just thought that she wouldn’t still be there. Obviously, we were wrong,” she wrinkles her nose, “I told Slapshot it was a dumb idea, but he got it into his head that we could skim some tech to make our lives easier, he’s such an idiot,” she rubs her neck and settles into her chair as best she can.

  “As for why I’m back as a Cowl? I got offered more money than I’ve ever even seen in one place to bring in tech like that. Also, Slapshot is a great lay, and he won’t fuck me unless I’m working with him. You’ve never lived until a hockey player takes care of you like that, makes your head spin.” Her eyes unfocus, obviously reliving a night together with Slapshot.

  “I’m not going to be the first to tell you that crime doesn’t pay in the long run, am I?” Kat asks sarcastically.

  Spitfire flips her off.

  “No need to be rude, also, you’re worth more than a quick toss in the sheets, Slapshot is just using you, here’s his profile,” Kat tosses one of the folders she’s been holding to Spitfire. “He’s been banging Purple Hornet, formerly known as Adoribee, since he came into town. Take a look at this video if you don’t believe me,” she pulls up a super-thin tablet from the folder in front of her and selects a video from the list of files displayed.

  Spitfire flips through the folder, growing angrier and angrier as she does so. “I don’t need to see him cheat on me, I just need him in front of me so I can burn off the thing he does it with,” her voice shakes with righteous fury. “I’m going to make him regret making a fool of me, mark my words.”

  “Do you need a moment to collect yourself?”

  “Nope, what else do you need to know?”

  For the next 20 minutes Spitfire details out the sites that she and Slapshot took down while working for Defender. She tells Kat about the cargo ship in Docktown that acts as the dropbox for the tech. She also details how to take down Slapshot, should he escape again, it turns out his stick isn’t tech, it’s just a stick. His powers come from his right hand, so if he can’t move it, he can’t make explosions. Kat makes sure the recorder takes down everything that Spitfire is saying.

  Meanwhile, next door, Magenta and Brigid watch Kat and discuss her work.

  “It was good work bringing up Slapshot’s infidelity after she talked about how good he was in bed, it took her passion and turned it from lust to rage. Smart,” Magenta says, the smallest smile crosses her normally emotionless face.

  Brigid just smiles, “She understands how to leverage Cowls’ emotions, better than most heroes do in their first five years. She reminds me of someone I can’t quite put my finger on…”

  “She’s nothing like me, she doesn’t have the ruthlessness to do what needs to be done. However, it looks like she could have what it takes, but we’d have to work on that. I’m not sure she’ll want to though, doing that changes how you look at the world and it’s not in a good way. If she wants to have a normal life, I’m not the mentor for her.”

  “I'm not sure she's looking for a normal life, she's been all in for years. So, are you interested? I’ve got too much on my plate now that Jolly’s in the game training Jin. He pushed all of his administrative tasks onto me… do you know how much those SUV’s we use cost? I do as of this morning and I’m afraid to use them now,” Brigid shivers as she remembers the stack of paperwork on her desk upstairs.

  “Jolly might snap her up, she’s got a lot of spunk, he loves that shit,” Magenta snorts, “I’m not against training her, but she’s too young and pure for me to train full time. She doesn’t know enough about what she’d be giving up. She needs to experience life!” Magenta’s eyes glow a bit magenta at that, her voice shaking. Glowing tears roll down her face.

  In the interrogation room, Kat’s head snaps up from watching Spitfire fill out her confession, she looks around, seeing no one but Spitfire.

  What was that wave of anguish, it doesn’t feel like someone’s being tortured, more like someone exposing a wound that hasn’t healed. I’ll have to ask Brigid about who else is held here.

  She shakes her head and gets back to watching her prisoner.

  Back in the observation chamber, Brigid is holding Magenta as she weeps, “It’s going to be fine, don’t worry, I won’t say anything about the mighty Magenta breaking down.”

  “Let me show you how I feel, do you consent?” Magenta asks Brigid, “I want you to know why I don’t open up.

  Brigid nods softly, “I consent, I’ve wondered for years how you feel the world.”

  “Here we go,” Magenta reaches out her hand and taps Brigid on the temple.

  Brigid’s eyes burst out in magenta light, her back arching as her feet leave the ground. The world is awash with colors, she can see the dark reds and blacks rolling off of Spitfire, somehow she knows those are rage and revenge respectively. She can see the maroon and blue coming from Magenta, loss and sadness, the grief over the loss of her wife evident on her face and her colors.

  Finally, she looks at Kat, who radiates the purest pink and bright scarlet, happiness and love, they are so intense that Brigid involuntarily starts thinking about the man she left behind to become a Cape, to keep him safe. Those pink and red hues are some of the most beautiful things that she has ever seen, Brigid watches as they wash over everything before her, making the world brighter as they go.

  Magenta grabs a hold of Brigid and drags her feet to the floor before tapping her on the temple again. Brigid crumples into Magenta’s waiting arms.

  “Now you've seen why I'm hesitant to train her. I don’t want to wreck that beautiful sight. Compared to most of humanity, she's a Goddamn Sun, bringing light into the world. If I take over her training, she’ll be like me, emotionally distant. I won't destroy that, I just can't. I can't even remember the last time I actually laughed out loud, it might be the day Genevieve was taken from me by Dracula. That was 12 years ago.”

  Brigid collects herself, then stands up straight and then looks Magenta in the eyes, "You're right, I wouldn't want to destroy something that beautiful either. How about this, I'll put your work phone number in her phone's contacts. Can she call or text you if she has questions? I'll continue training her full time until I find someone else who can take her on."

  Magenta sighs before turning toward the door, "That works for me, I'm looking forward to watching her develop. I don't need to see anything more today, give her my number and tell her I'm available if she needs me. I need to go and blow off steam, I think I'll head to Docktown and take out a gang or two. Know anyone who might want to join me?"r />
  "Call Paul, he might need to blow off steam too. His kid is something else, he started formal training today at RSCA."

  "I'll do that," Magenta opens the door and walks out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

  Brigid slumps into a waiting chair.

  I'll never get used to her, she makes me so self-conscious. Those powers though, I could get used to them.

  ___

  The smells of sweat and sulfur fill the FSA training room. Dante is lying on his back in front of his father.

  "Come on, make this worth my time Sport, make me move my feet to block your attacks at least," Paul chides, feet rooted to the floor, he bends to avoid another jet of flame from Dante from the floor.

  Dante struggles to get up, he pushes down on the nearby bench with a hairless arm, backlash from his more powerful flame attacks.

  You're better than this! How will you ever win Nightmare over if you can't even hit your father? Get up you bitch!

  With that thought, Dante surges up to his feet. His hands and forearms coated in black flames. "I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET MAKING ME THIS ANGRY!" He shoots a gout of black flame toward Paul, his eyes streaming black smoke.

  Paul's face darkens, he makes a circular motion with one hand and a red and black portal appears in front of him. Dante's attack enters the portal, disappearing entirely. Paul walks over to Dante and picks him up by his tank-top.

  "We had one rule, you weren't allowed to tap directly into any part of Hades until your 18th birthday. YOU'RE NOT READY FOR IT! If you had shot that at almost anyone else, they would have DIED. Do you want to kill people? If so, I'll put you out of your misery now, " Paul's voice shakes as he yells in Dante's face, his eyes a dark crimson.

  "I j-j-just…" Dante stutters before Paul cuts him off. He sets Dante down on the bench crosswise before sitting down in front of him, their knees touching.

  "Our powers are different from a normal Super's, we can't play with them like normal Supers do, we channel pure Hellfire when we tap into our bloodline. Not only do we burn, but we also corrode and eat the life-force of whatever we hit like that. That's why I almost never use it myself, limiting myself to normal fire power and the chains.

  If I used that all the time, I don't think I'd be able to stay a Cape, that power is all-consuming. It may not hurt us physically, but each time we use it, it hurts our humanity. Humanity is what keeps us from becoming that which we despise, like your uncle." Paul's voice shakes, his eyes flashing a brighter red for a second before snapping back to their normal calming grey.

  Tentatively, Dante asks his father the question he's been wondering about since that night five years ago, "What happened to Uncle Tyrone?"

  "I guess I owe that to you. Hopefully it shows you what not to do. Let me call Nightmare, you'd do better to experience it yourself." Paul grabs his phone from his bag under the bench. He picks up the phone and says, "JEN, call Nightmare."

  His phone replies, "Yes sir, calling Kat."

  Dante gives his dad a questioning look, "Why did JEN call Kat? Wasn't she supposed to call Nightmare?"

  Paul blanches, What a rookie mistake! I hope she's not too mad…I'll have to pay for her and Theo to go to dinner or something to make it up to her.

  ___

  Down in the basement, Kat has finished up the paperwork for her interrogation of Spitfire. She had to document each usage of her power: how many times did she read her mind, push her emotions, or outright control her. The last she didn't do at all, but she did read her mind once and emotionally pushing she stopped counting at 15 times. Brigid gladly takes her report.

  "Good work in there, you impressed Magenta. She asked me to do something for her, give me your phone." Brigid holds out her hand for Kat's phone.

  "It's in the transfer chamber."

  "Then go and get it. I don't have all day," Brigid says with a raised eyebrow.

  Kat tears off toward the transfer chamber, unlocks her locker, pulls out her phone, and slams her locker shut before running back to Brigid.

  Brigid holds out her hand for the phone, which Kat puts into her hand.

  Kat looks trepidatiously about what Brigid might do to her phone.

  Maybe Magenta told her to break my phone to hone my telepathic talents. My notes for school are on there! Plus some cute pics of the littles at the orphanage… OH NO, my pics of Theo sleeping are on there, I can't lose those, he only sleeps one day a week now. How long would it take to replace them?

  Brigid opens up Kat's phone and types on it for a few seconds before handing it back to Kat, it starts ringing as Kat grabs it eagerly, looking at it protectively.

  "Magenta told me to give you her number and to tell you that if you need her, to give her a call or shoot her a text. Answer that now, I don't want you to miss something important. I'll see you later," Brigid ruffles Kat's hair over her mask before walking away, whistling to a tune that Kat can't place.

  Kat answers the phone on the second to last ring, not checking the caller ID in her haste.

  Paul: Hey Kat, how did the first day of training this year go?

  Kat: Mr. Anton?

  Paul: Yes, Kat.

  Kat: Oh, it went really well, how did Dante do?

  Paul: Not bad, I need to show him a memory, can you help me out?

  Kat drops her phone, fumbling it until it almost hits the floor.

  Paul, his voice a bit nervous: Kat are you still there?

  Kat, her voice a bit shaky: Yes Mr. Anton, why would you call me for that?

  Paul, his voice recovering a bit: I may have said something stupid, I'll buy you and Theo dinner at Allano's as an apology

  Allano's, wow, he really is sorry. I guess I had to tell Dante eventually.

  Kat: Of course, where can I meet you?

  Paul sighs: Officer's training room, today's override is Back2School! (He spells it out for her.)

  Kat giggles: Subtle, I'll be up in a few, I'll change back into my uniform then meet you in 15.

  Paul: Thanks, Kat.

  Kat: No problem.

  I hope Theo isn't mad about Dante learning that I’m Nightmare. It'll be fine… I hope.

  Chapter 32: Ebony

  Jin slips over the hill behind the clearing and heads toward the containment facility, he sees a group of 15 people surrounding a tall and imposing Cowl.

  That’s right! I have access to the FSA database now, that should help figure out who to focus on first.

  He taps his ear and says, “JEN, who am I looking at?”

  A pleasant voice replies, “Titan: powerset includes super-strength, flight, and super durability. He is a member of the Midtown Terrors. The Midtown Terrors are led by Crimson, the primary source of “juicers” in Riverside City. Threat Level: 4, Agents are to engage and apprehend.”

  Titan wears a grey Suit with no sleeves and only a foot or so of leg covered. He has a huge yellow “T” on his chest and is almost seven feet tall and four feet wide at the shoulder. He is currently wearing a bandolier of ampules full of purple liquid, on his left arm is a silver contraption with a purple ampule in it.

  “There are no other Supers with powers that you might find dangerous within my field of view. Would you like me to keep you apprised of any other threats that I become aware of?”

  “Please do.”

  Jin slides down the ridge, gaining speed until he’s going around 50 miles per hour. He slides along the ground toward the batch of escaped Supers.

  “This is going to hurt you a lot more than it’s going to hurt me, I recommend that you tuck and roll, I’ve heard it helps prevent breaking bones.”

  Jin slides toward the group of Supers surrounding Titan at 50 miles per hour. He swings his arms forward in a big hugging motion, his stone-like skin and scales acting like a battering ram. He crashes into seven of the Supers, the ones to the left side of Titan, bowling them into each other and knocking them out on impact.

  Titan turns toward Jin who just slid past him. “Who are you? Golden Boy? Glitter Man?
Whatever your name is, step off before you get hurt.”

  With a laugh, he says, “Name's Jin, and I’d consider that a threat if I thought you could hurt me, I don’t. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re just some blow-hard with a God complex. How about this? You—” He’s interrupted by a blast of heat striking him in the head. Jin is knocked off course, careening into two other Supers that are surrounding Titan.

  “Well little hero, If you don’t think Titan can hurt you, which I doubt, I'll show you that I can,” says a raspy voice from Jin’s left.

  Rising from the previously undisturbed volcanic rock is a short man in a full-body forest green suit with red flames all over it. His face is hidden behind what looks to be a set of ski goggles.

  "Krakatoa: powerset includes heat and lava control and generation. There are three other powers listed as possible, melding with stone, invisibility, and sulphuric gas blasts. He is known to frequent volcanic islands as a mercenary. Threat Level: 3, Agents are to call a Cape and engage until they arrive, then get clear of the area," JEN calmly reports.

  Owww, that hurt, I wonder how hot his blasts actually are.

  Jin struggles to get untangled from the bunch of people he gathered up when crashing through. After a moment he stumbles to his feet, "I can confirm the meld with stone power, I'll keep you posted on the others."

  "Noted. Thank you, Jin. I'll watch for any other powers that may not be listed."

  No sooner did Jin get up then Titan surges up beside him, right fist heading toward his face. Jin has no time to dodge, so he does the next best thing. He headbutts Titan's hand. Jin's head and Titan's fist collide with a crunch, leaving Titan screaming in pain.

  "My hand, my beautiful hand! You broke it! I wonder how you'll like burning out those powers when I hit you with one of these! Damn the limiter on this thing, I'm giving you a whole load." Titan uses his teeth to pull off a gauge from the silver device, now obviously an injector, and then swings it toward Jin. Jin tries to jump back to avoid the injector, only to find that his feet are covered in volcanic rock. No matter how hard he pulls he can't seem to free them.