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Description
Down the streets of the Inner Hub a black, middle aged man in a brown and smooth, tailor-made suit was walking, his face showing a certain dissatisfaction. At a certain distance a white cat with elegant gait followed.

Daniel Sands was, indeed, not a happy man at the moment. A letter from an anonymous informant had recently reached his home, carrying most distressing news: Patron candidates were following him. Specifically, Titan and Mitte. He would make sure to find information about them later.

Sands had always considered himself a cautious man, and while it was obvious that at one point the authorities would catch up to his inevitably suspicious activity, he didn't expect to become such a big mark. Even if the candidates were to be unsuccessful, this whole ordeal would attract the kind of attention he wasn't quite comfortable with.

Most important, though: Someone found him and gave him that letter. It was evident that his hideout was not as good as he originally suspected. Those two factors combined put him in great danger.

Also, what was it with the stupid nickname that they gave him? Vee-Line? Was Bill-N already taken? The lack of originality was astounding.

Anyway, he had no choice: He had to fulfill his plan sooner than he originally expected. He didn't feel quite ready, really, but acting fast was the priority right now.

The white cat suddenly jumped towards him. Already expecting it, Daniel caught the animal in his arms.

"So, what did you find, Mippins?" He asked. Of course, he wasn't expecting the cat to suddenly talk back to him, but he preferred to make his requests verbal. Looking at his pet's eyes, he received his answer: Two cats over a counter, behind a window. Didn't look all that strong, but most of the potential additions to his army were welcome. He would summon them as soon as he got home.

There was a lot of planning to do if he was to face these new enemies.

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

It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the Town Center was quiet. The neon signs shut and most businesses closed. Through some of the half-opened steel curtains of the grand buildings that characterized the area some families could be seen catching their late lunches. Titan and S14 had recently gotten out of the Garden and were returning home to eat something themselves.

"So..." James wondered aloud as he walked, "do we know anything about the guy that we have to capture?"

"Only that he manipulates cats," Stephanie answered, looking at the letter from the Council, "other than that, we don't know anything, which could mean that the man is in hiding... Or woman, really. Also," she added with seriousness, "perhaps you meant 'the guy that I have to capture'. I happen to feel like helping you, James, but don't take it for granted."

James had a bad feeling about that last sentence. It had been obvious from the start that S14 didn't have the intention of giving her all to help him. He didn't dare complain, though.

"Well, what about my opponent? The name Mitte doesn't say a lot..." Titan wondered.

"That kid I do know about," Stephanie answered, "he is, for example, a compulsive liar."

"Why do you say that?" James asked, intrigued.

"Well, for starters, nothing about what he told to the Council members is true." That was interesting. "Here's the thing. Some weeks ago, before the first round started, an article was released that said that he had the power to hold his breath for very long. That was enough to picture me intrigued, since, if you remember your audition, you'll notice that it shouldn't be too easy for someone with that power to defeat the robot."

"Well yes but-" James tried to reply.

"Not done yet, son," Stephanie interrupted, "I did let it slide. It could be a malfunction of the machine or pure luck from Mitte. I did get more suspicious, though, after the first round, in which he allegedly dealt with one of the most important members of the mafia."

"Ok," James added, "but I guess that you, yourself, could be able to do both those things without needing to regenerate."

"True enough," Stephanie admitted, "but I am not a skinny kid, I am S14." Stephanie smiled. James suspected a second intention for that sentence. "Anyway, I didn't want to draw early conclusions so did a little research, contacted some important people, and found out that he had registered himself as Roger Williams. And guess what? Roger Williams actually was a man with the power to hold his breath for a long time, and he had absolutely no resemblance or even the age of this Mitte kid." James found it amazing that she could do all of that "It's obvious that Mitte is interested in not being known. Probably because of his powers, which makes him very dangerous if they are worth hiding. And there we have the very important thing: he is a wildcard. If we don't know what he does it's really important to find Vee-Line fast, because as far as we know Mitte could be able to read minds or locate things, and we can't risk that. So go ahead and start guessing where a man with a lot of cats could be."

James didn't answer but started thinking about it. Certainly, it could be anywhere, but it had to be some very large place. Also well hidden, since a bunch of cats were certain to draw attention. Thinking about that he thought of the outsides of the city, but how did he...

"The harbor!" James said after a spark of brilliance.

"Are you just guessing or do you have any reason for-" Stephanie started to answer, only to be now the one interrupted.

"If he has a lot of cats he needs to hide them well. That tells us that he is hiding in a large space, like the empty containers of a harbor. There are lots of them and they can go months unused, and no one really cares to watch empty containers. Most importantly, though, I started thinking about what the cats would eat. Any way you see it, there is no real method to buy enough cat food or meat or anything for so many animals and not be immediately suspicious, but in grand scale fishing there the owners of boats discard the product of not good enough quality. Perhaps they leave it in plain sight for the night, or perhaps this man actually works in the fishing industry and is able to steal some for himself, and that is how he gets the food for the cats. Furthermore, I think that he must be actually living there since taking care of the cats must be really taxing, and he can't just leave them alone, even if he can control them."

Stephanie clapped four times.

"Congratulations James, that was absolutely impressive," she said, "if I can get you to fight half as well as you were able to figure this out, your position as Patron would be guaranteed."

James couldn't help but to blush to that statement. After all, it was said by no one less than S14, who also wasn't prone to praising.

"Well... It isn't like I pinpointed the man, though. The docks are still huge." James added.

"Oh, boy!" His mother said theatrically. "That is true! Now if we only knew someone with outstanding backup skills. It has to be someone able to locate things..."

"Yeah, yeah I get it." Titan added. "But how do we find her?"

"I'm three steps ahead of you, kid."

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

Rebecca had been hearing the heavy steps for a while now, but only recently did she figure out that they were, without any sort of doubt, going directly towards her.

She knew, of course, that they were Titan's steps. After all they were impossible to mistake. It wasn't clear why he was going towards her, though, or for that matter, how he knew where she lived.

Well, she could either wait until he arrived or go and confront him. And she had never been the passive type.

Rebecca left the kitchen, leaving half of the dishes unwashed. She quickly went down the stairs of the three floor building and headed out. Once outside, she realized that the kid was accompanied by a set of soft steps. Probably his mother. They were only three blocks away. She didn't need to walk for so long.

Rebecca walked through the once important streets of the Westside. The buildings, which in the past were big and expensive, had by popular necessity split in several, very small apartments and accumulated dirt that no one cared to wash. The streets that in the past were very frequented by big and powerful and lively were now frequented by more hobos than cars. And the only remainder of its previous glory was the titanic metallic monster that once was a car factory but now could only create rust with outstanding efficiency.

The point being, even when she lived there, she couldn't really complain after seeing so many people that had it way worse.

When she finally saw Titan he seemed quite nervous. At his side walked the woman that had beaten Ethan to a pulp, who dedicated a smile to Rebecca.

"I know that you were looking for me." Rebecca said. "Why are you here and how did you find out where I live?"

"Well..." Titan started. "We are actually here because we need to find someone and we thought you could help us. And as to how we know where you live, well..." He looked at his mother, who still didn't say anything. "I honestly have no idea. I actually had nothing to do with that bit."

"Fair enough." Said Rebecca. "First off, what makes you think that I can help you find this someone?" Of course, she already knew the right answer. She just wanted to know what was his. "And second, and most importantly, is there a particular reason of why I should actually agree to help? Last time we saw each other you basically stole a criminal that we fought together against." Again, there was a perfectly valid reason why she would have dropped out even if she had won in that encounter. But Titan's answer was the thing that really mattered.

The teen hesitated for a while, obviously hoping that the woman with the tanktop would answer. When it became obvious that she had no intention at all to do so, he fumbled a response.

"Well... about the first thing we need to find a man and well I had my suspicions of where he could be. Although it might as well be a woman... Well anyway we... well kind of guessed that you had sensory powers or something like that because, well, you kind of snuck up on us and my mother is kind of experienced in knowing when that is happening." That didn't seem like a great reason. Although admittedly it was right on the mark. "And about the other thing, well..." His mother snickered. It was really obvious that he was making up the answers on the go. "Look, I don't know why you entered the contest to begin with, but whatever it is, I bet that I can help you with it. I'm not trying to be judgemental but I guess that you'd rather not live in the Westside, so I could get you the resources to live somewhere better or... or I could convince the Council to reactivate the zone! Perhaps give some use to the old factory so everyone could have jobs and better homes again!" What an airmonger.

He did seem honest, though. Mostly because he looked too nervous to actually construct a good lie. Perhaps helping him would be interesting, and if he only needed only her ears she wouldn't be in so much danger, really.

"Well, you were right. My power is, mostly, really good hearing, and back then I heard you around three blocks away." Rebecca said. "And I accept." She smiled. Titan looked honestly surprised by the answer, perhaps expecting her to be more reluctant. "You really look like a good person. The kind of people that I'd personally trust to be a Patron and it looks like you could use the help, so yes. I help you with the rounds and if you win you'll have to keep your word and help me with-" Rebecca stopped to think. Was there any real reason why she entered the contest?

"Midnight Strike. He was a great hero. He helped people. I want to be able to do that." Ethan's voice sounded in her head. That's true. It all begun with an innocent will to help people. Even if Ethan didn't manage to enter, perhaps he would be happier if he knew that someone good, someone capable and willing to save people was the winner.

She looked at Titan. He didn't exactly look as heroic as, say, Midnight Strike. But it was obvious that he had his heart in it.

"-You will do your best to help the people from the Westside." She invented as an excuse, knowing that it probably wasn't even necessary to tell him.

"Don't worry. I will." Was the answer.

A small pause followed.

"Alright then, welcome to the team, Rebecca!" S14 cheerfully and unexpectedly said, startling both the girl and her son. "I think it's better to drop the formalities. My actual name is Stephanie and my son right here is called James. Not like we were doing a lot to hide that, though, but all the same I think that it would get awkward if you kept calling us by nickname."

Rebecca nodded. She was certainly right. Stephanie and James. She made sure to remember that.

"Oh, and also... Well, please don't get Ethan involved in all of this." She remembered his battered face. He was definitively not ready for this heroism thing. For his own safety it would be better if he didn't find out about this. "I'd rather have him not get hurt."

"Well, normally it would be tempting, but trust me, we have our fair share of raw force with James over here." "Anyway, we suspect that the man or woman that we are attempting to catch, let's assume for simplicity's sake that he is a man, is hiding around the docks, but first off, have you already eaten? Because we were about to head home to catch something to eat."

"Mhh... Yes, I ate not long ago." Rebecca answered. "Wouldn't mind accompanying you. I really have nothing better to do." Well, she did have to wash half of the dishes, but her dad could handle it when he arrived. It wasn't such a big deal, really.

Description
Down the streets of the Inner Hub a black, middle aged man in a brown and smooth, tailor-made suit was walking, his face showing a certain dissatisfaction. At a certain distance a white cat with elegant gait followed.

Daniel Sands was, indeed, not a happy man at the moment. A letter from an anonymous informant had recently reached his home, carrying most distressing news: Patron candidates were following him. Specifically, Titan and Mitte. He would make sure to find information about them later.

Sands had always considered himself a cautious man, and while it was obvious that at one point the authorities would catch up to his inevitably suspicious activity, he didn't expect to become such a big mark. Even if the candidates were to be unsuccessful, this whole ordeal would attract the kind of attention he wasn't quite comfortable with.

Most important, though: Someone found him and gave him that letter. It was evident that his hideout was not as good as he originally suspected. Those two factors combined put him in great danger.

Also, what was it with the stupid nickname that they gave him? Vee-Line? Was Bill-N already taken? The lack of originality was astounding.

Anyway, he had no choice: He had to fulfill his plan sooner than he originally expected. He didn't feel quite ready, really, but acting fast was the priority right now.

The white cat suddenly jumped towards him. Already expecting it, Daniel caught the animal in his arms.

"So, what did you find, Mippins?" He asked. Of course, he wasn't expecting the cat to suddenly talk back to him, but he preferred to make his requests verbal. Looking at his pet's eyes, he received his answer: Two cats over a counter, behind a window. Didn't look all that strong, but most of the potential additions to his army were welcome. He would summon them as soon as he got home.

There was a lot of planning to do if he was to face these new enemies.

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

It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the Town Center was quiet. The neon signs shut and most businesses closed. Through some of the half-opened steel curtains of the grand buildings that characterized the area some families could be seen catching their late lunches. Titan and S14 had recently gotten out of the Garden and were returning home to eat something themselves.

"So..." James wondered aloud as he walked, "do we know anything about the guy that we have to capture?"

"Only that he manipulates cats," Stephanie answered, looking at the letter from the Council, "other than that, we don't know anything, which could mean that the man is in hiding... Or woman, really. Also," she added with seriousness, "perhaps you meant 'the guy that I have to capture'. I happen to feel like helping you, James, but don't take it for granted."

James had a bad feeling about that last sentence. It had been obvious from the start that S14 didn't have the intention of giving her all to help him. He didn't dare complain, though.

"Well, what about my opponent? The name Mitte doesn't say a lot..." Titan wondered.

"That kid I do know about," Stephanie answered, "he is, for example, a compulsive liar."

"Why do you say that?" James asked, intrigued.

"Well, for starters, nothing about what he told to the Council members is true." That was interesting. "Here's the thing. Some weeks ago, before the first round started, an article was released that said that he had the power to hold his breath for very long. That was enough to picture me intrigued, since, if you remember your audition, you'll notice that it shouldn't be too easy for someone with that power to defeat the robot."

"Well yes but-" James tried to reply.

"Not done yet, son," Stephanie interrupted, "I did let it slide. It could be a malfunction of the machine or pure luck from Mitte. I did get more suspicious, though, after the first round, in which he allegedly dealt with one of the most important members of the mafia."

"Ok," James added, "but I guess that you, yourself, could be able to do both those things without needing to regenerate."

"True enough," Stephanie admitted, "but I am not a skinny kid, I am S14." Stephanie smiled. James suspected a second intention for that sentence. "Anyway, I didn't want to draw early conclusions so did a little research, contacted some important people, and found out that he had registered himself as Roger Williams. And guess what? Roger Williams actually was a man with the power to hold his breath for a long time, and he had absolutely no resemblance or even the age of this Mitte kid." James found it amazing that she could do all of that "It's obvious that Mitte is interested in not being known. Probably because of his powers, which makes him very dangerous if they are worth hiding. And there we have the very important thing: he is a wildcard. If we don't know what he does it's really important to find Vee-Line fast, because as far as we know Mitte could be able to read minds or locate things, and we can't risk that. So go ahead and start guessing where a man with a lot of cats could be."

James didn't answer but started thinking about it. Certainly, it could be anywhere, but it had to be some very large place. Also well hidden, since a bunch of cats were certain to draw attention. Thinking about that he thought of the outsides of the city, but how did he...

"The harbor!" James said after a spark of brilliance.

"Are you just guessing or do you have any reason for-" Stephanie started to answer, only to be now the one interrupted.

"If he has a lot of cats he needs to hide them well. That tells us that he is hiding in a large space, like the empty containers of a harbor. There are lots of them and they can go months unused, and no one really cares to watch empty containers. Most importantly, though, I started thinking about what the cats would eat. Any way you see it, there is no real method to buy enough cat food or meat or anything for so many animals and not be immediately suspicious, but in grand scale fishing there the owners of boats discard the product of not good enough quality. Perhaps they leave it in plain sight for the night, or perhaps this man actually works in the fishing industry and is able to steal some for himself, and that is how he gets the food for the cats. Furthermore, I think that he must be actually living there since taking care of the cats must be really taxing, and he can't just leave them alone, even if he can control them."

Stephanie clapped four times.

"Congratulations James, that was absolutely impressive," she said, "if I can get you to fight half as well as you were able to figure this out, your position as Patron would be guaranteed."

James couldn't help but to blush to that statement. After all, it was said by no one less than S14, who also wasn't prone to praising.

"Well... It isn't like I pinpointed the man, though. The docks are still huge." James added.

"Oh, boy!" His mother said theatrically. "That is true! Now if we only knew someone with outstanding backup skills. It has to be someone able to locate things..."

"Yeah, yeah I get it." Titan added. "But how do we find her?"

"I'm three steps ahead of you, kid."

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

Rebecca had been hearing the heavy steps for a while now, but only recently did she figure out that they were, without any sort of doubt, going directly towards her.

She knew, of course, that they were Titan's steps. After all they were impossible to mistake. It wasn't clear why he was going towards her, though, or for that matter, how he knew where she lived.

Well, she could either wait until he arrived or go and confront him. And she had never been the passive type.

Rebecca left the kitchen, leaving half of the dishes unwashed. She quickly went down the stairs of the three floor building and headed out. Once outside, she realized that the kid was accompanied by a set of soft steps. Probably his mother. They were only three blocks away. She didn't need to walk for so long.

Rebecca walked through the once important streets of the Westside. The buildings, which in the past were big and expensive, had by popular necessity split in several, very small apartments and accumulated dirt that no one cared to wash. The streets that in the past were very frequented by big and powerful and lively were now frequented by more hobos than cars. And the only remainder of its previous glory was the titanic metallic monster that once was a car factory but now could only create rust with outstanding efficiency.

The point being, even when she lived there, she couldn't really complain after seeing so many people that had it way worse.

When she finally saw Titan he seemed quite nervous. At his side walked the woman that had beaten Ethan to a pulp, who dedicated a smile to Rebecca.

"I know that you were looking for me." Rebecca said. "Why are you here and how did you find out where I live?"

"Well..." Titan started. "We are actually here because we need to find someone and we thought you could help us. And as to how we know where you live, well..." He looked at his mother, who still didn't say anything. "I honestly have no idea. I actually had nothing to do with that bit."

"Fair enough." Said Rebecca. "First off, what makes you think that I can help you find this someone?" Of course, she already knew the right answer. She just wanted to know what was his. "And second, and most importantly, is there a particular reason of why I should actually agree to help? Last time we saw each other you basically stole a criminal that we fought together against." Again, there was a perfectly valid reason why she would have dropped out even if she had won in that encounter. But Titan's answer was the thing that really mattered.

The teen hesitated for a while, obviously hoping that the woman with the tanktop would answer. When it became obvious that she had no intention at all to do so, he fumbled a response.

"Well... about the first thing we need to find a man and well I had my suspicions of where he could be. Although it might as well be a woman... Well anyway we... well kind of guessed that you had sensory powers or something like that because, well, you kind of snuck up on us and my mother is kind of experienced in knowing when that is happening." That didn't seem like a great reason. Although admittedly it was right on the mark. "And about the other thing, well..." His mother snickered. It was really obvious that he was making up the answers on the go. "Look, I don't know why you entered the contest to begin with, but whatever it is, I bet that I can help you with it. I'm not trying to be judgemental but I guess that you'd rather not live in the Westside, so I could get you the resources to live somewhere better or... or I could convince the Council to reactivate the zone! Perhaps give some use to the old factory so everyone could have jobs and better homes again!" What an airmonger.

He did seem honest, though. Mostly because he looked too nervous to actually construct a good lie. Perhaps helping him would be interesting, and if he only needed only her ears she wouldn't be in so much danger, really.

"Well, you were right. My power is, mostly, really good hearing, and back then I heard you around three blocks away." Rebecca said. "And I accept." She smiled. Titan looked honestly surprised by the answer, perhaps expecting her to be more reluctant. "You really look like a good person. The kind of people that I'd personally trust to be a Patron and it looks like you could use the help, so yes. I help you with the rounds and if you win you'll have to keep your word and help me with-" Rebecca stopped to think. Was there any real reason why she entered the contest?

"Midnight Strike. He was a great hero. He helped people. I want to be able to do that." Ethan's voice sounded in her head. That's true. It all begun with an innocent will to help people. Even if Ethan didn't manage to enter, perhaps he would be happier if he knew that someone good, someone capable and willing to save people was the winner.

She looked at Titan. He didn't exactly look as heroic as, say, Midnight Strike. But it was obvious that he had his heart in it.

"-You will do your best to help the people from the Westside." She invented as an excuse, knowing that it probably wasn't even necessary to tell him.

"Don't worry. I will." Was the answer.

A small pause followed.

"Alright then, welcome to the team, Rebecca!" S14 cheerfully and unexpectedly said, startling both the girl and her son. "I think it's better to drop the formalities. My actual name is Stephanie and my son right here is called James. Not like we were doing a lot to hide that, though, but all the same I think that it would get awkward if you kept calling us by nickname."

Rebecca nodded. She was certainly right. Stephanie and James. She made sure to remember that.

"Oh, and also... Well, please don't get Ethan involved in all of this." She remembered his battered face. He was definitively not ready for this heroism thing. For his own safety it would be better if he didn't find out about this. "I'd rather have him not get hurt."

"Well, normally it would be tempting, but trust me, we have our fair share of raw force with James over here." "Anyway, we suspect that the man or woman that we are attempting to catch, let's assume for simplicity's sake that he is a man, is hiding around the docks, but first off, have you already eaten? Because we were about to head home to catch something to eat."

"Mhh... Yes, I ate not long ago." Rebecca answered. "Wouldn't mind accompanying you. I really have nothing better to do." Well, she did have to wash half of the dishes, but her dad could handle it when he arrived. It wasn't such a big deal, really.