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"Well, basically I'm looking for someone that has used the docks containers as a hideout." S14 said. "Do you know of any such activity?"

"I'm sorry lady," the dockmaster answered, "if I was aware of such activities, believe me, they wouldn't be happening."

"I see." Stephanie answered. "Well, I might be passing by-" Suddenly she heard, at the distance, a high pitched yell followed by a loud thump... Rebecca was screaming and James fell down. "-thank you for the cooperation, mister, you have been really helpful!" S14 lied before running off to the direction of the sound. She had really hoped to not interfere this particular time, but it looked like her son would need help again. The sounds came from around fifty feet away. Thankfully Rebecca was loud and James was insanely heavy, or she wouldn't have heard them at all.

There were a lot of containers and the docks felt almost labyrinthine. The containers themselves measured a little over eleven feet each and had surfaces perhaps too smooth for 5'2", 42 year old Stephanie Robins to climb. On the other hand, retired Patron of Indianapolis S14 found the challenge incredibly stimulating.

Taking six steps to gain velocity, Stephanie performed a leap, helping herself with any friction that her shoes provided against the metallic container. While the jump was good, her limited height didn't help, and she barely got to grab the ledge with her fingertips. Luckily for S14, that sufficed, and gave her enough support to climb and get a better position to find James. Labyrinths were always easier from above, especially when you aren't sure about what your actual destination is.

Stephanie kept a direction as regular as the piled up containers allowed her. It was certainly not a bad exercise, and she would enjoy it if her son wasn't in potential danger at the moment.

The finding James part was easier than expected, mostly because of a very important clue that was given to her: Four cats were mysteriously far too focused on a single, particular point.

As Stephanie approached the gathering of the felines, it became evident that they weren't paying a lot of attention. The woman looked down, to find, as expected, her son passed down on the floor, on which he had made a notorious hole. She jumped down and twisted an ankle that almost immediately returned to its normal state. She was evidently out of practice.

"James! Wake up!" She told her son. She wasn't expecting much, really. In cases of chemically induced unconsciousness the best stimulus for a quick recovery was slapping, shaking or otherwise having physical contact with the victim. With James it was not an option.

There was some promise, though: All around James, there was, on the metal, a huge spot of a yellowish substance that Stephanie could easily identify. Even if she didn't know the name of diethyl ether, she would recognize the substance used in Project Immortality to subdue 'uncooperative' subjects, or otherwise make tests to unconscious ones. S14 was immune, of course, but even in subjects that didn't have her kind of resistance, the airborne component was of a very short effect: Effective for the task, but lasting no more than fifteen minutes.

Far more worrisome, though, was the absence of Rebecca at the scene. Her former presence, as if the yell before was not enough, was confirmed by differences in the humidity over the floor, which showed that someone was carried away.

Stephanie knew that she certainly had to find her soon and make sure that she was safe, but at the same time, with a metallic floor, even an expert tracker wouldn't be able to find where the enemy was headed. Unless...

Stephanie rubbed her feet strongly against the stain and prepared to jump towards the top of a container again. It would certainly be a bit more difficult this time...

Using her son as a platform, S14 made a leap to a height that she, herself, didn't know that she was capable of anymore without decent acceleration and barely reached towards the top of a container with her right arm, but this time climbing the cargo was not her objective: With her left hand, she grabbed a leg from one of the watchful cats and launched it straight towards the floor.

Making a hiss of absolute fear, the animal tried to recover from a bad landing and ran hurriedly away from S14. The woman went after the cat at her full speed. Chasing a terrified cat was no easy task, even for someone as athletic as Stephanie, but soon enough it paid off: The animal lead her to an open door in a container that, most certainly, was not supposed to be there. Even at a distance, she managed to hear some murmurs.

"-capturing the former patron of Indianapolis, which wouldn't have been nearly as easy." She managed to understand. Oh, Vee-Line, how right you are, regardless of what your actual plan is. Stephanie thought to herself.

Stephanie went straight behind the cat towards the entrance but remained outside to check the situation. At the light of a couple of candles, she could see, amongst a small army of felines, there were a couple of men sitting, a middle aged, dark skinned and well dressed one on a chair behind a desk that featured a single white cat, and Mitte on the floor, holding a cane. At a corner was Rebecca, tied up, blindfolded and gagged. It was obvious that Vee-Line wanted to cover all of his bases when it came to kidnapping.

"I'll have to concede." Stephanie answered to the previous statement. "But it would still be a mistake to think that you can avoid me so easily."

There was a pause. It was obvious that absolutely no one expected anyone to come at that moment. S14 took her opportunity to get a grip of the current situation. She was clearly in enemy territory, but a bunch of cats weren't a force nearly as powerful as to stop her. Mitte had either joined the enemy or had been captured for information. The second alternative was not likely, considering that he, unlike Rebecca, was completely free. The girl was getting out of her state of unconsciousness and her muscles slowly started to respond. She had possibly been anesthetized at a certain distance and was having a recovery faster than usual.

"Well, while that might ring true, I do have a hostage now." The villain said, getting his right hand closer to a revolver on his desk. The white cat there moved slowly to allow this action. "You have nothing but my location and the knowledge that there are lots of angry cats that would attack you if you go one step inside this container."

It was no exaggeration. The cats were absolutely everywhere. on the floor and over a small wooden structure six feet over the floor level, probably designed by the suited man himself, cats stood and lurked around. Stephanie was really confident in her skill to ignore them if they were to attack. The main issue was that he had captured Rebecca.

"Oh, and forgive my manners," the man behind the desk added, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie. I heard very impressive things about your work." It was clear that this man wasn't actually particularly impressed but only telling her that he had done his homework.

"Do you actually think that you have leverage here?" S14 bluffed. "I believe you know that I can enter there and break both of your arms at any moment I want." While stating this, Stephanie looked at Mitte, who turned to look at the man in the suit and not her, meaning that he didn't feel that he entered in the threat, so at the same time meaning that he probably considered himself to be mostly at Stephanie's side. That was an important insurance. "And Rebecca over there? I met her less than a month ago when she was trying to blatantly steal my son's target and get to this round. She was convenient to find you, but we don't need her anymore." Rebecca tried to yell at S14's direction, to no use. "Oh, look! She is waking up. Why don't you go there and ask her my last name? Will let you know how well we know each other."

The captured girl sniffed. Have a little patience, Rebecca. Stephanie thought. She was hating herself for using her like that, but gambling on her current tactic was her best bet, and she had a gut feeling that it would work.

"Well..." Vee-Line evidently didn't expect that answer. "I do have a gun here," he said pointing at the revolver on his desk, "so I could just shoot her instead, if she really means nothing to you."

"Go ahead, but before you do it I want to know. That's a quite lovely cat, the one sitting on your desk." She said pointing at said feline. "It's a female, right? What is she called?" Of course she had no idea of the animal's gender, but that way it called more attention.

"I... don't know her name." The man in the suit answered. "I can tell her gender, but I don't just name all the cats that I bring here."

"Oh, so she's nothing special to you, my bad." S14 answered. "For the sake of conversation, can I give her a name? I like Quadriplegic, is that alright?"

"If it works, I guess." Vee-Line answered, getting his hand closer to the gun.

"Well, here's the thing." Stephanie continued. "If you decide to shoot Rebecca now, I won't be able to stop you and we both know that. What I will do, however, is entering that room, completely ignoring a horde of attacking cats, head towards Quadriplegic right there and make her live to her name." It was still a gamble for Stephanie, but even if she was wrong, she could get some leverage out of Vee-Line by having him realize what kind of force she represented.

"So," the suited man answered, "you claim to have no interest in the girl, yet make such a threat? Seems strange."

S14 took a pause to analyze the situation. Everything was quiet. The cats had stopped moving. Rebecca stood still, waiting for the following statement. Mitte seemed anxious to know what was going to happen, and the dark Vee-Line seemed to be trying to murder her with his look.

"The way I see it this situation is absolutely fair." The heroine finally said. "We both speculate the other one cares for a living being, we both deny each other's suspicions and we both threaten someone that is innocent. If we are both telling the truth, the situation is two sad victims of our awful speculation and no further gain or loss. If one of us is lying, the other person feels free to carry on the threats without risking anything in the process, which is a good reward for being honest, and if we are both lying, this situation becomes a permanent stalemate. In any case, you used to have a supposed advantage over me by threatening Rebecca. I'm only making us even in our speculations. As an addendum, you control cats. If you truly don't care about Quadriplegic make her stay there where I can see her so I don't last some extra five seconds to catch her. That would be bothersome."

Of course, Stephanie had omitted the fact that if Rebecca died she was free to bring lots of pain on the dark skinned man because she knew that he could realize it on his own.

Everything went quiet for a moment. Neither Stephanie or the suited man made a move, both trying to read each other's thoughts.

"Well, technically..." Mitte suddenly said, breaking his silence and surprising both heroine and villain. "This is not a completely even situation, since everyone knows that Daniel over here can just shoot Rebecca over there and it's a really easy shot." S14 wondered about Mitte telling her Vee-Line's name. "But going against an army of cats, catching one in particular and breaking her neck? That seems difficult even for a trained person, so a proof of that sort of ability should be set in order to even this out. If Daniel sent all of his cats towards Stephanie, then he could figure this out." S14 still couldn't tell what side Mitte was on, but either way he was apparently more intelligent than she originally supposed.

"Good point, Mitte." Daniel said. "However, I'm not one to send my soldiers to a potential death just like that. I have a far better idea for S14's opponent." Stephanie saw the suited man focusing for a moment, and then heard a growl besides her. She looked right to see a big striped tiger slowly walking towards her. "Borrowed him from the zoo." The dark skinned man continued. "Let's test how strong you truly are, I promise that the white cat will remain here meanwhile."

The heroine looked at her new opponent as it slowly approached her, like it would with any common prey that dared stand in front of him. This whole deal was about to become difficult.

Wake up and come over here soon, James.

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

When Titan woke up his first instinct was to cover his eyes. The sky had cleared up and, knowing his own skin, was possibly in the process of leaving some burns in his arms. At the top of some containers, three cats were running away. He lasted a couple of seconds to remember why he was lying down in a hole.

I was in the docks of find Vee-Line... He recalled. Rebecca was here...

James lifted himself and looked to his left. Rebecca wasn't there anymore. She had surely passed out as well and the guy in the suit took her because he couldn't take him. He had to find her, but where could they have gone?

He looked around himself. There was a big spot of humidity around him, which seemed off at the spot where Rebecca should have passed out. Perhaps the man had taken her from the direction he came...

There were humid footprints of running shoes ahead. James supposed, immediately, that his mother had been there, and the suspicion was even bigger when he saw the big distance between the footprints. Apparently she was trying to leave them there, so he could follow them. Titan got up and started doing exactly that.

The first footprints were clear enough, leading him though a couple of turns. By the seventh one they started to get more blurry but were easy enough to follow. The thirteenth was missing and the fourteenth was little more than a small spot. It was to be expected, though. There's a limit to the humidity of one's shoes, and the sun radiation certainly didn't help.

While James could get a general direction of where she was headed, it wouldn't last a lot, and he really didn't have any other clues.

Almost as an answer to his dilemma, the strong roar of a feline startled him. That was a better clue than what the teen could have expected. It didn't sound like it was far, either. Just after a couple of turns, James could find the source of the roar: A big tiger...

Being held in a headlock by his mother, struggling under the animal as it kicked her left leg, leaving scratches that kept regenerating.

"Mom are you stran- Why are you strangling a tiger?" James asked, confused.

"Belongs to the zoo." S14 said, panting heavily due to the animal's weight above her. "Should, ugh, shouldn't punch it. Get to container."

She seemed to be having a hard time with it, but if she wanted help she would have asked for it. James looked around and saw a small door in the container next to the fight. He knew perfectly well that containers had enormous doors, so it had to be the one his mother was referring to.

"One more step and she dies." A familiar voice told James from inside of the container. There, the Patron candidate saw, illuminated by nothing but two candles in the middle of the room, more cats that he had seen in the rest of his life together, Rebecca tied up and gagged in a corner, the man with the green suit from before aiming at her with a revolver from behind a desk, and the kid that had directed him a smile in the Garden of the Patrons, arguably Mitte, sitting on the floor next to him. Had they formed an alliance?

"He's serious, so watch out!" The latter said. "He's an anarchist. Doesn't fear the law!"

The man in the suit looked like he wanted to answer but then regretted it. James himself could make no heads or tails of the nature of the warning.

"Well, fine," James finally answered, "just so we are clear, you do realize that if I walked over there you wouldn't be able to pose any form of resistance, right? I'm guessing you wouldn't throw one of your sleeping bombs in a closed space." Vee-Line smiled.

"Yes, I do." The man in the suit said. "But right now we are playing by my rules, James. Later today I must leave to deal with the Council. After that happens I release Rebecca and you do your best to invent an authority to send me to prison. In the meantime, though, I would rather have you out of my home."

James thought it over. It had suddenly become really important to stop that man. But at the same time he couldn't allow the dark skinned man to go ahead and kill Rebecca. Perhaps he could find another moment for catching him... When he wasn't looking, perhaps.

James backed away without saying a word. He probably could plan something later. Maybe when he was too busy to mind Rebecca. Not now...

He looked behind, where S14 was still grappling the enormous feline by the neck, this time from above, having trapped the animal's back legs with her own preventing it to move.

"Captured him already?" The mother asked while panting heavily.

"He has taken Rebecca. I don't know what to do or how to approach him." The teen answered.

"Look, James," Stephanie said, clearly angry, "I don't know if you noticed, but I am strangling a Bengal tiger here for a competition that YOU entered." Talking seemed to put S14 off balance, and the tiger managed to get a leg free and pushed her towards the ground. "This is not easy and I'd rather not be doing it so that you slack off and remain useless. Rescue Rebecca and capture that man or your punishment shall be legendary."

James knew that his mother was probably one of ten people able to make that threat to him and fully mean it, but really, that wasn't the most important thought in his head. The real problem here was that he had put a person in terrible danger and didn't know how to get her out. He certainly was terribly strong, but what good was it if he couldn't actually deal with the villains?

The teen walked around the container for a moment in order to find any method to enter and stop Vee-Line. It was not so easy, though, as the man was sitting in the middle of the room. Even trying to go straight for Rebecca seemed like a huge risk.

...There was an alternative, though.

"Rebecca, curl up and wait a second." James said seconds before he slowly sank his fingers on the steel floor right under the container like it was wet sand.

James actually felt the weight of the container as he started to turn it over, but only in the same way that a regular person could feel the weight of a small squirrel on their shoulders. Not all that ignorable, but not hindering either. The sound of the fallen, gargantuan box was probably heard kilometers away, but really, James paid the most attention to the desperate hissing of dozens of cats inside the structure. Not minding that, James walked towards the container, clawing the floor-turned wall and tearing it open.

Inside of the container, the scene had changed completely. Where before there was a constant, tense silence, right now there was a multitude of cats disorganizedly attempting to get out of the now unilluminated room.

James didn't mind that, though. He looked down and saw Vee-Line on the floor, desperatedly attempting to crawl towards his gun. James finished quickly tearing the wall apart and went for the revolver himself, crushing it with his hand. After that, the dark skinned man remained on the floor. Cats started using the new exit to run away.

"Congratulations. You win. Best of luck engaging in future manipulation by the Council." The man said. James decided to ignore that and looked towards Rebecca, who was still curled up and had several scratches on her legs. He tore the ropes apart and started using them to tie Vee-Line's hands together without any form of resistance from him. Meanwhile, Rebecca took off her gag and blindfold.

"You jerk!" Was the first thing that she said.

"Look, I'm sorry about throwing all of those cats, it's just-" James started to answer.

"Just nothing, I don't care about that! The thing is that you did that only after your mother had to threaten you!" Rebecca continued. "Were you really going to leave me here?"

James thought about an answer for a moment but nothing came to mind. Instead, it was Mitte who talked.

"Wow, that was great!" The kid said, getting up from the fall that everyone in the container collectively had. "I really didn't expect that, it was awesome! Gotta leave now, though!"

"Hey, wait a second!" James said, grabbing Mitte's arm tight enough so he could not leave, but giving it enough space so it wouldn't be broken. "Do you really think that I'd forget your... strange alliance with that man?"

"Oh, that was not an alliance, really." Mitte answered. "I made Daniel think that, but I was planning to attack him as soon as I didn't have... well so many cats around me." James looked at the suited man, but could get no reaction. He was just resigned. It made sense, though, even if there was no real way to prove it.

"Well, anyway, I kind of expected a form of... resistance against me winning." James proposed. Mitte smiled at him.

"Well, I would try that out," Mitte answered, "but honestly, you just turned a container over. I'm not sure of what I would do against you, so have fun, yourself!"

James was baffled. That was the one answer that he wouldn't have expected. He looked at Rebecca, who didn't seem to understand the situation either.

"Well..." Titan finally said. "I'm taking the villain out, I... Well do well in whatever you'll be doing now."

Mitte headed out hastily. James couldn't help but to feel that he was going to make a trap of sorts. He didn't sound dishonest... Just too compliant.

Titan headed towards the suited man and helped him to stand, grabbing his arm to pull him.

"That will be enough." Daniel said. "You defeated me. Let me lose with dignity and walk by myself." The man headed out by the torn wall of the container, followed by Rebecca and James. Not too far away from the exit stood Stephanie, sweating and covered in blood but completely unwounded. If she was... Well, anyone else, one would think her to be the instigator of a massacre, but both James and Rebecca knew that the blood was probably hers.

"Mitte sure did seem to be in a hurry..." S14 said. "Decided not to stop him, though. It didn't look like he was about to set us a trap up."

"How did the tiger fighting go?" James asked.

"Oh, it went great," Stephanie answered, "it took a bit to pass out, but after you dropped the container it startled her and I didn't last long to finish choking it. All in all it was great fun, though."

"I can summon another if you want." The dark skinned man commented.

"Tempting," S14 said, "but I'm guessing that you'll already be having the important task of returning all of these cats wherever they belong. I don't want to tax you out even more for my personal amusement, but the offer is most appreciated." A meow sounded. A small, white cat came from the hole that James had opened. "Oh look at that! It's Quadriplegic! What a good little cat!" S14 continued, with glee on her face.

"She is called Mippins." Daniel answered. "...And please don't do anything to her. I know that I'm not in the place to make requests, but I'd rather have her live happily while I'm in prison. Please find her a good home." The cat was staring down at her owner.

"I'll do what I can to give her a place where to live." James answered. He would have offered to keep her himself, but he knew that his mother wasn't particularly fond of pets.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt it." Stephanie added. James didn't want to know the context of that sentence. "Also, Rebecca," she added, "sorry for all of the speculation. I shouldn't have endangered you."

"No problem." Rebecca said. "I am certain that you had more than one reason to believe that he wouldn't carry out the threat. And it did end well." James did wonder about the context of that, but didn't comment.

They walked away from the docks. James hoped that no one would notice the container anytime soon. He didn't feel quite ready to deal with the collateral damage part of heroism.

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

A few hours after the encounter with Daniel and Titan, Mitte was sitting in the living room. More specifically, in the favorite chair of the man that he once called father, the one in which he wasn't allowed to sit. It made the chair particularly comfortable, and it reminded him of the fact that he was, without any form of doubt, free.

He wasn't enjoying it, though. His mind was elsewhere. Vee-Line had been captured and he was no longer running for Patron. Of course he could have turned the situation around. Talking Titan into believing that he didn't actually want to win. But instead, it was the clone that had changed his mind.

Daniel was a madman, someone that didn't understand the basis of moral behavior, someone that believed that people, when left without authorities to control them, would learn to cooperate in an utopia of sorts. That is not how society worked. When free of regulations, the villains would become far more villainous and the heroes would feel unrewarded. The idea was insane.

He could take something out of him, though. Daniel believed that, if the Council disappeared, people could learn to live unregulated and just stay like that. It wasn't true. If authorities disappeared, people would look for a replacement. Someone that they could be safe with.

Someone charismatic enough that they felt free to believe that he could lead the World into an utopia. Not a politician, certainly not the Patron. Just someone that could show himself as a hero that acted for heroism's sake. Mitte could be that hero.

People would die. True. If anyone found out, Mitte would be considered a monster. Perhaps the accusations would even be true. But he was prepared to live with those sins.

The end would justify the means.

It wouldn't be easy. The task wasn't simple for one such as himself. But he had his brothers and sisters to help the cause, and all of Dr. Dynamo's technology at his disposal...

It wasn't enough. He needed an army that would follow his every order while allowing him to remain anonymous. Daniel had spoken about the values of quantity and organization in a battle. Gathering enough compliant civilians would take time.

He had to dispatch the 'eyes'. There was a lot of preparation ahead of him.

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

"Here you have him." James told the Council officer at the Garden. "Vee-Line... Although he doesn't really like that alias, so call him Daniel. I don't know his last name." The suited man was silent.

"Good job, Titan. You are far earlier than the Council expected." The officer answered. "Now he will be taken to a police center where we will confirm his identity. After that, if it turns out to be him, you will officially move on to the third elimination."

"Oh, a couple of things." James added. "First, you should have him return all of the cats to wherever they came from because I don't think they will return on their own." The man nodded. James remembered that they had left a tiger loose in the docks. That could probably be a problem. "And second, Daniel has a pet that means a lot to him. Could you probably... Say allow him to keep it while in the prison?" Daniel seemed surprised, himself, at James' proposition.

"I... I will let the Council know of that situation." The officer answered. A couple of guards held Daniel by both arms and took him away.

James left without saying goodbye. He wasn't having a good day. Although in the end he had won, he couldn't shake the feeling that a lot had gone badly. Rebecca and his mother were waiting for him outside of the Garden.

"Look, Rebecca..." James started telling the girl. "I'm really sorry about trying to give up right then. I'm just... Not used to having people depend on me."

"Don't worry." Rebecca answered. "I had been scratched by all of the cats and wasn't too happy so I... was a bit unfair with that fuss, I was just moody I guess. As you said you are not used to this and... Well it ended up alright didn't it?"

James nodded, hesitatingly. It did, in fact, go well. But he couldn't think like that again. He was a hero now, and it was his duty to protect others. All three of them started walking away.

"So!" S14 said, enthusiastically, after a moment of silence. "It was lots of fun partnering up, Rebecca. Too bad that it didn't work out so well today, but the competition promises to be tough! Can we count on you if we need a good ear?"

"I... will think about it." Rebecca said. "It does feel right to help, I guess, but my family..." She paused. "Oh, crap, I didn't tell my family that I was away. I have to go home fast. Goodbye!" Rebecca started running away.

"You want us to accompany you?" James yelled, later realizing that Rebecca would have heard it even if it was a whisper. He didn't want to add a comment about how dangerous the Westside was because that could probably be considered offensive. He wasn't sure, really.

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer, though!" Rebecca said, waving goodbye.

Titan and S14 continued walking the streets of the Inner Hub to make their way home. James couldn't shake off the feeling of having endangered Rebecca before. What if it didn't work out? What if he had only ripped the container apart instead of lifted it. Would she be dead now?

"Mom," James asked, "how do you manage to always know which is the right choice?"

"What? Be more specific." Stephanie answered.

"You always seem to be right about everything." Titan continued. "You face situations that are completely new to you, encounter enemies you never met before and according to your tales, you have been at times far outclassed. How is it that you always win? What makes you make a plan and have confidence that it will work?"

"Experience, partly." Stephanie said. "But mostly, just being confident. It's not something everybody has, but it's a trait that can be trained. You can't expect of yourself to be able to believe in your own actions as well as I do. At least now. But if you keep fighting you will gain that kind of instinct."

"...Thanks for the trust in me." Titan said. James had, indeed, never felt quite confident at himself. His mother was helping. He finally was getting the feeling that he had the chance to change for the better.

"And James," Stephanie added, "I thank you for the compliment, but I don't actually am always right, nor do I always win. There are a couple of fights that I... haven't been able to deal with yet." Yet? "Some really important ones, at it."

"What are those fights? Do you plan to continue them?" James asked. "...Can I help you?"

"I don't know." Stephanie added. "I'd rather leave you out of them, but I need all the help that I can get. I... When you are ready to know I will tell you and we will decide it together. But it's not the moment yet."

James wanted to insist, but he knew that his mother wouldn't answer him until she felt it was the time. It was enough to know that she could even consider him to be able to help her.

He would try to not think about it.

Description
"Well, basically I'm looking for someone that has used the docks containers as a hideout." S14 said. "Do you know of any such activity?"

"I'm sorry lady," the dockmaster answered, "if I was aware of such activities, believe me, they wouldn't be happening."

"I see." Stephanie answered. "Well, I might be passing by-" Suddenly she heard, at the distance, a high pitched yell followed by a loud thump... Rebecca was screaming and James fell down. "-thank you for the cooperation, mister, you have been really helpful!" S14 lied before running off to the direction of the sound. She had really hoped to not interfere this particular time, but it looked like her son would need help again. The sounds came from around fifty feet away. Thankfully Rebecca was loud and James was insanely heavy, or she wouldn't have heard them at all.

There were a lot of containers and the docks felt almost labyrinthine. The containers themselves measured a little over eleven feet each and had surfaces perhaps too smooth for 5'2", 42 year old Stephanie Robins to climb. On the other hand, retired Patron of Indianapolis S14 found the challenge incredibly stimulating.

Taking six steps to gain velocity, Stephanie performed a leap, helping herself with any friction that her shoes provided against the metallic container. While the jump was good, her limited height didn't help, and she barely got to grab the ledge with her fingertips. Luckily for S14, that sufficed, and gave her enough support to climb and get a better position to find James. Labyrinths were always easier from above, especially when you aren't sure about what your actual destination is.

Stephanie kept a direction as regular as the piled up containers allowed her. It was certainly not a bad exercise, and she would enjoy it if her son wasn't in potential danger at the moment.

The finding James part was easier than expected, mostly because of a very important clue that was given to her: Four cats were mysteriously far too focused on a single, particular point.

As Stephanie approached the gathering of the felines, it became evident that they weren't paying a lot of attention. The woman looked down, to find, as expected, her son passed down on the floor, on which he had made a notorious hole. She jumped down and twisted an ankle that almost immediately returned to its normal state. She was evidently out of practice.

"James! Wake up!" She told her son. She wasn't expecting much, really. In cases of chemically induced unconsciousness the best stimulus for a quick recovery was slapping, shaking or otherwise having physical contact with the victim. With James it was not an option.

There was some promise, though: All around James, there was, on the metal, a huge spot of a yellowish substance that Stephanie could easily identify. Even if she didn't know the name of diethyl ether, she would recognize the substance used in Project Immortality to subdue 'uncooperative' subjects, or otherwise make tests to unconscious ones. S14 was immune, of course, but even in subjects that didn't have her kind of resistance, the airborne component was of a very short effect: Effective for the task, but lasting no more than fifteen minutes.

Far more worrisome, though, was the absence of Rebecca at the scene. Her former presence, as if the yell before was not enough, was confirmed by differences in the humidity over the floor, which showed that someone was carried away.

Stephanie knew that she certainly had to find her soon and make sure that she was safe, but at the same time, with a metallic floor, even an expert tracker wouldn't be able to find where the enemy was headed. Unless...

Stephanie rubbed her feet strongly against the stain and prepared to jump towards the top of a container again. It would certainly be a bit more difficult this time...

Using her son as a platform, S14 made a leap to a height that she, herself, didn't know that she was capable of anymore without decent acceleration and barely reached towards the top of a container with her right arm, but this time climbing the cargo was not her objective: With her left hand, she grabbed a leg from one of the watchful cats and launched it straight towards the floor.

Making a hiss of absolute fear, the animal tried to recover from a bad landing and ran hurriedly away from S14. The woman went after the cat at her full speed. Chasing a terrified cat was no easy task, even for someone as athletic as Stephanie, but soon enough it paid off: The animal lead her to an open door in a container that, most certainly, was not supposed to be there. Even at a distance, she managed to hear some murmurs.

"-capturing the former patron of Indianapolis, which wouldn't have been nearly as easy." She managed to understand. Oh, Vee-Line, how right you are, regardless of what your actual plan is. Stephanie thought to herself.

Stephanie went straight behind the cat towards the entrance but remained outside to check the situation. At the light of a couple of candles, she could see, amongst a small army of felines, there were a couple of men sitting, a middle aged, dark skinned and well dressed one on a chair behind a desk that featured a single white cat, and Mitte on the floor, holding a cane. At a corner was Rebecca, tied up, blindfolded and gagged. It was obvious that Vee-Line wanted to cover all of his bases when it came to kidnapping.

"I'll have to concede." Stephanie answered to the previous statement. "But it would still be a mistake to think that you can avoid me so easily."

There was a pause. It was obvious that absolutely no one expected anyone to come at that moment. S14 took her opportunity to get a grip of the current situation. She was clearly in enemy territory, but a bunch of cats weren't a force nearly as powerful as to stop her. Mitte had either joined the enemy or had been captured for information. The second alternative was not likely, considering that he, unlike Rebecca, was completely free. The girl was getting out of her state of unconsciousness and her muscles slowly started to respond. She had possibly been anesthetized at a certain distance and was having a recovery faster than usual.

"Well, while that might ring true, I do have a hostage now." The villain said, getting his right hand closer to a revolver on his desk. The white cat there moved slowly to allow this action. "You have nothing but my location and the knowledge that there are lots of angry cats that would attack you if you go one step inside this container."

It was no exaggeration. The cats were absolutely everywhere. on the floor and over a small wooden structure six feet over the floor level, probably designed by the suited man himself, cats stood and lurked around. Stephanie was really confident in her skill to ignore them if they were to attack. The main issue was that he had captured Rebecca.

"Oh, and forgive my manners," the man behind the desk added, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie. I heard very impressive things about your work." It was clear that this man wasn't actually particularly impressed but only telling her that he had done his homework.

"Do you actually think that you have leverage here?" S14 bluffed. "I believe you know that I can enter there and break both of your arms at any moment I want." While stating this, Stephanie looked at Mitte, who turned to look at the man in the suit and not her, meaning that he didn't feel that he entered in the threat, so at the same time meaning that he probably considered himself to be mostly at Stephanie's side. That was an important insurance. "And Rebecca over there? I met her less than a month ago when she was trying to blatantly steal my son's target and get to this round. She was convenient to find you, but we don't need her anymore." Rebecca tried to yell at S14's direction, to no use. "Oh, look! She is waking up. Why don't you go there and ask her my last name? Will let you know how well we know each other."

The captured girl sniffed. Have a little patience, Rebecca. Stephanie thought. She was hating herself for using her like that, but gambling on her current tactic was her best bet, and she had a gut feeling that it would work.

"Well..." Vee-Line evidently didn't expect that answer. "I do have a gun here," he said pointing at the revolver on his desk, "so I could just shoot her instead, if she really means nothing to you."

"Go ahead, but before you do it I want to know. That's a quite lovely cat, the one sitting on your desk." She said pointing at said feline. "It's a female, right? What is she called?" Of course she had no idea of the animal's gender, but that way it called more attention.

"I... don't know her name." The man in the suit answered. "I can tell her gender, but I don't just name all the cats that I bring here."

"Oh, so she's nothing special to you, my bad." S14 answered. "For the sake of conversation, can I give her a name? I like Quadriplegic, is that alright?"

"If it works, I guess." Vee-Line answered, getting his hand closer to the gun.

"Well, here's the thing." Stephanie continued. "If you decide to shoot Rebecca now, I won't be able to stop you and we both know that. What I will do, however, is entering that room, completely ignoring a horde of attacking cats, head towards Quadriplegic right there and make her live to her name." It was still a gamble for Stephanie, but even if she was wrong, she could get some leverage out of Vee-Line by having him realize what kind of force she represented.

"So," the suited man answered, "you claim to have no interest in the girl, yet make such a threat? Seems strange."

S14 took a pause to analyze the situation. Everything was quiet. The cats had stopped moving. Rebecca stood still, waiting for the following statement. Mitte seemed anxious to know what was going to happen, and the dark Vee-Line seemed to be trying to murder her with his look.

"The way I see it this situation is absolutely fair." The heroine finally said. "We both speculate the other one cares for a living being, we both deny each other's suspicions and we both threaten someone that is innocent. If we are both telling the truth, the situation is two sad victims of our awful speculation and no further gain or loss. If one of us is lying, the other person feels free to carry on the threats without risking anything in the process, which is a good reward for being honest, and if we are both lying, this situation becomes a permanent stalemate. In any case, you used to have a supposed advantage over me by threatening Rebecca. I'm only making us even in our speculations. As an addendum, you control cats. If you truly don't care about Quadriplegic make her stay there where I can see her so I don't last some extra five seconds to catch her. That would be bothersome."

Of course, Stephanie had omitted the fact that if Rebecca died she was free to bring lots of pain on the dark skinned man because she knew that he could realize it on his own.

Everything went quiet for a moment. Neither Stephanie or the suited man made a move, both trying to read each other's thoughts.

"Well, technically..." Mitte suddenly said, breaking his silence and surprising both heroine and villain. "This is not a completely even situation, since everyone knows that Daniel over here can just shoot Rebecca over there and it's a really easy shot." S14 wondered about Mitte telling her Vee-Line's name. "But going against an army of cats, catching one in particular and breaking her neck? That seems difficult even for a trained person, so a proof of that sort of ability should be set in order to even this out. If Daniel sent all of his cats towards Stephanie, then he could figure this out." S14 still couldn't tell what side Mitte was on, but either way he was apparently more intelligent than she originally supposed.

"Good point, Mitte." Daniel said. "However, I'm not one to send my soldiers to a potential death just like that. I have a far better idea for S14's opponent." Stephanie saw the suited man focusing for a moment, and then heard a growl besides her. She looked right to see a big striped tiger slowly walking towards her. "Borrowed him from the zoo." The dark skinned man continued. "Let's test how strong you truly are, I promise that the white cat will remain here meanwhile."

The heroine looked at her new opponent as it slowly approached her, like it would with any common prey that dared stand in front of him. This whole deal was about to become difficult.

Wake up and come over here soon, James.

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

When Titan woke up his first instinct was to cover his eyes. The sky had cleared up and, knowing his own skin, was possibly in the process of leaving some burns in his arms. At the top of some containers, three cats were running away. He lasted a couple of seconds to remember why he was lying down in a hole.

I was in the docks of find Vee-Line... He recalled. Rebecca was here...

James lifted himself and looked to his left. Rebecca wasn't there anymore. She had surely passed out as well and the guy in the suit took her because he couldn't take him. He had to find her, but where could they have gone?

He looked around himself. There was a big spot of humidity around him, which seemed off at the spot where Rebecca should have passed out. Perhaps the man had taken her from the direction he came...

There were humid footprints of running shoes ahead. James supposed, immediately, that his mother had been there, and the suspicion was even bigger when he saw the big distance between the footprints. Apparently she was trying to leave them there, so he could follow them. Titan got up and started doing exactly that.

The first footprints were clear enough, leading him though a couple of turns. By the seventh one they started to get more blurry but were easy enough to follow. The thirteenth was missing and the fourteenth was little more than a small spot. It was to be expected, though. There's a limit to the humidity of one's shoes, and the sun radiation certainly didn't help.

While James could get a general direction of where she was headed, it wouldn't last a lot, and he really didn't have any other clues.

Almost as an answer to his dilemma, the strong roar of a feline startled him. That was a better clue than what the teen could have expected. It didn't sound like it was far, either. Just after a couple of turns, James could find the source of the roar: A big tiger...

Being held in a headlock by his mother, struggling under the animal as it kicked her left leg, leaving scratches that kept regenerating.

"Mom are you stran- Why are you strangling a tiger?" James asked, confused.

"Belongs to the zoo." S14 said, panting heavily due to the animal's weight above her. "Should, ugh, shouldn't punch it. Get to container."

She seemed to be having a hard time with it, but if she wanted help she would have asked for it. James looked around and saw a small door in the container next to the fight. He knew perfectly well that containers had enormous doors, so it had to be the one his mother was referring to.

"One more step and she dies." A familiar voice told James from inside of the container. There, the Patron candidate saw, illuminated by nothing but two candles in the middle of the room, more cats that he had seen in the rest of his life together, Rebecca tied up and gagged in a corner, the man with the green suit from before aiming at her with a revolver from behind a desk, and the kid that had directed him a smile in the Garden of the Patrons, arguably Mitte, sitting on the floor next to him. Had they formed an alliance?

"He's serious, so watch out!" The latter said. "He's an anarchist. Doesn't fear the law!"

The man in the suit looked like he wanted to answer but then regretted it. James himself could make no heads or tails of the nature of the warning.

"Well, fine," James finally answered, "just so we are clear, you do realize that if I walked over there you wouldn't be able to pose any form of resistance, right? I'm guessing you wouldn't throw one of your sleeping bombs in a closed space." Vee-Line smiled.

"Yes, I do." The man in the suit said. "But right now we are playing by my rules, James. Later today I must leave to deal with the Council. After that happens I release Rebecca and you do your best to invent an authority to send me to prison. In the meantime, though, I would rather have you out of my home."

James thought it over. It had suddenly become really important to stop that man. But at the same time he couldn't allow the dark skinned man to go ahead and kill Rebecca. Perhaps he could find another moment for catching him... When he wasn't looking, perhaps.

James backed away without saying a word. He probably could plan something later. Maybe when he was too busy to mind Rebecca. Not now...

He looked behind, where S14 was still grappling the enormous feline by the neck, this time from above, having trapped the animal's back legs with her own preventing it to move.

"Captured him already?" The mother asked while panting heavily.

"He has taken Rebecca. I don't know what to do or how to approach him." The teen answered.

"Look, James," Stephanie said, clearly angry, "I don't know if you noticed, but I am strangling a Bengal tiger here for a competition that YOU entered." Talking seemed to put S14 off balance, and the tiger managed to get a leg free and pushed her towards the ground. "This is not easy and I'd rather not be doing it so that you slack off and remain useless. Rescue Rebecca and capture that man or your punishment shall be legendary."

James knew that his mother was probably one of ten people able to make that threat to him and fully mean it, but really, that wasn't the most important thought in his head. The real problem here was that he had put a person in terrible danger and didn't know how to get her out. He certainly was terribly strong, but what good was it if he couldn't actually deal with the villains?

The teen walked around the container for a moment in order to find any method to enter and stop Vee-Line. It was not so easy, though, as the man was sitting in the middle of the room. Even trying to go straight for Rebecca seemed like a huge risk.

...There was an alternative, though.

"Rebecca, curl up and wait a second." James said seconds before he slowly sank his fingers on the steel floor right under the container like it was wet sand.

James actually felt the weight of the container as he started to turn it over, but only in the same way that a regular person could feel the weight of a small squirrel on their shoulders. Not all that ignorable, but not hindering either. The sound of the fallen, gargantuan box was probably heard kilometers away, but really, James paid the most attention to the desperate hissing of dozens of cats inside the structure. Not minding that, James walked towards the container, clawing the floor-turned wall and tearing it open.

Inside of the container, the scene had changed completely. Where before there was a constant, tense silence, right now there was a multitude of cats disorganizedly attempting to get out of the now unilluminated room.

James didn't mind that, though. He looked down and saw Vee-Line on the floor, desperatedly attempting to crawl towards his gun. James finished quickly tearing the wall apart and went for the revolver himself, crushing it with his hand. After that, the dark skinned man remained on the floor. Cats started using the new exit to run away.

"Congratulations. You win. Best of luck engaging in future manipulation by the Council." The man said. James decided to ignore that and looked towards Rebecca, who was still curled up and had several scratches on her legs. He tore the ropes apart and started using them to tie Vee-Line's hands together without any form of resistance from him. Meanwhile, Rebecca took off her gag and blindfold.

"You jerk!" Was the first thing that she said.

"Look, I'm sorry about throwing all of those cats, it's just-" James started to answer.

"Just nothing, I don't care about that! The thing is that you did that only after your mother had to threaten you!" Rebecca continued. "Were you really going to leave me here?"

James thought about an answer for a moment but nothing came to mind. Instead, it was Mitte who talked.

"Wow, that was great!" The kid said, getting up from the fall that everyone in the container collectively had. "I really didn't expect that, it was awesome! Gotta leave now, though!"

"Hey, wait a second!" James said, grabbing Mitte's arm tight enough so he could not leave, but giving it enough space so it wouldn't be broken. "Do you really think that I'd forget your... strange alliance with that man?"

"Oh, that was not an alliance, really." Mitte answered. "I made Daniel think that, but I was planning to attack him as soon as I didn't have... well so many cats around me." James looked at the suited man, but could get no reaction. He was just resigned. It made sense, though, even if there was no real way to prove it.

"Well, anyway, I kind of expected a form of... resistance against me winning." James proposed. Mitte smiled at him.

"Well, I would try that out," Mitte answered, "but honestly, you just turned a container over. I'm not sure of what I would do against you, so have fun, yourself!"

James was baffled. That was the one answer that he wouldn't have expected. He looked at Rebecca, who didn't seem to understand the situation either.

"Well..." Titan finally said. "I'm taking the villain out, I... Well do well in whatever you'll be doing now."

Mitte headed out hastily. James couldn't help but to feel that he was going to make a trap of sorts. He didn't sound dishonest... Just too compliant.

Titan headed towards the suited man and helped him to stand, grabbing his arm to pull him.

"That will be enough." Daniel said. "You defeated me. Let me lose with dignity and walk by myself." The man headed out by the torn wall of the container, followed by Rebecca and James. Not too far away from the exit stood Stephanie, sweating and covered in blood but completely unwounded. If she was... Well, anyone else, one would think her to be the instigator of a massacre, but both James and Rebecca knew that the blood was probably hers.

"Mitte sure did seem to be in a hurry..." S14 said. "Decided not to stop him, though. It didn't look like he was about to set us a trap up."

"How did the tiger fighting go?" James asked.

"Oh, it went great," Stephanie answered, "it took a bit to pass out, but after you dropped the container it startled her and I didn't last long to finish choking it. All in all it was great fun, though."

"I can summon another if you want." The dark skinned man commented.

"Tempting," S14 said, "but I'm guessing that you'll already be having the important task of returning all of these cats wherever they belong. I don't want to tax you out even more for my personal amusement, but the offer is most appreciated." A meow sounded. A small, white cat came from the hole that James had opened. "Oh look at that! It's Quadriplegic! What a good little cat!" S14 continued, with glee on her face.

"She is called Mippins." Daniel answered. "...And please don't do anything to her. I know that I'm not in the place to make requests, but I'd rather have her live happily while I'm in prison. Please find her a good home." The cat was staring down at her owner.

"I'll do what I can to give her a place where to live." James answered. He would have offered to keep her himself, but he knew that his mother wasn't particularly fond of pets.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt it." Stephanie added. James didn't want to know the context of that sentence. "Also, Rebecca," she added, "sorry for all of the speculation. I shouldn't have endangered you."

"No problem." Rebecca said. "I am certain that you had more than one reason to believe that he wouldn't carry out the threat. And it did end well." James did wonder about the context of that, but didn't comment.

They walked away from the docks. James hoped that no one would notice the container anytime soon. He didn't feel quite ready to deal with the collateral damage part of heroism.

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

A few hours after the encounter with Daniel and Titan, Mitte was sitting in the living room. More specifically, in the favorite chair of the man that he once called father, the one in which he wasn't allowed to sit. It made the chair particularly comfortable, and it reminded him of the fact that he was, without any form of doubt, free.

He wasn't enjoying it, though. His mind was elsewhere. Vee-Line had been captured and he was no longer running for Patron. Of course he could have turned the situation around. Talking Titan into believing that he didn't actually want to win. But instead, it was the clone that had changed his mind.

Daniel was a madman, someone that didn't understand the basis of moral behavior, someone that believed that people, when left without authorities to control them, would learn to cooperate in an utopia of sorts. That is not how society worked. When free of regulations, the villains would become far more villainous and the heroes would feel unrewarded. The idea was insane.

He could take something out of him, though. Daniel believed that, if the Council disappeared, people could learn to live unregulated and just stay like that. It wasn't true. If authorities disappeared, people would look for a replacement. Someone that they could be safe with.

Someone charismatic enough that they felt free to believe that he could lead the World into an utopia. Not a politician, certainly not the Patron. Just someone that could show himself as a hero that acted for heroism's sake. Mitte could be that hero.

People would die. True. If anyone found out, Mitte would be considered a monster. Perhaps the accusations would even be true. But he was prepared to live with those sins.

The end would justify the means.

It wouldn't be easy. The task wasn't simple for one such as himself. But he had his brothers and sisters to help the cause, and all of Dr. Dynamo's technology at his disposal...

It wasn't enough. He needed an army that would follow his every order while allowing him to remain anonymous. Daniel had spoken about the values of quantity and organization in a battle. Gathering enough compliant civilians would take time.

He had to dispatch the 'eyes'. There was a lot of preparation ahead of him.

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

"Here you have him." James told the Council officer at the Garden. "Vee-Line... Although he doesn't really like that alias, so call him Daniel. I don't know his last name." The suited man was silent.

"Good job, Titan. You are far earlier than the Council expected." The officer answered. "Now he will be taken to a police center where we will confirm his identity. After that, if it turns out to be him, you will officially move on to the third elimination."

"Oh, a couple of things." James added. "First, you should have him return all of the cats to wherever they came from because I don't think they will return on their own." The man nodded. James remembered that they had left a tiger loose in the docks. That could probably be a problem. "And second, Daniel has a pet that means a lot to him. Could you probably... Say allow him to keep it while in the prison?" Daniel seemed surprised, himself, at James' proposition.

"I... I will let the Council know of that situation." The officer answered. A couple of guards held Daniel by both arms and took him away.

James left without saying goodbye. He wasn't having a good day. Although in the end he had won, he couldn't shake the feeling that a lot had gone badly. Rebecca and his mother were waiting for him outside of the Garden.

"Look, Rebecca..." James started telling the girl. "I'm really sorry about trying to give up right then. I'm just... Not used to having people depend on me."

"Don't worry." Rebecca answered. "I had been scratched by all of the cats and wasn't too happy so I... was a bit unfair with that fuss, I was just moody I guess. As you said you are not used to this and... Well it ended up alright didn't it?"

James nodded, hesitatingly. It did, in fact, go well. But he couldn't think like that again. He was a hero now, and it was his duty to protect others. All three of them started walking away.

"So!" S14 said, enthusiastically, after a moment of silence. "It was lots of fun partnering up, Rebecca. Too bad that it didn't work out so well today, but the competition promises to be tough! Can we count on you if we need a good ear?"

"I... will think about it." Rebecca said. "It does feel right to help, I guess, but my family..." She paused. "Oh, crap, I didn't tell my family that I was away. I have to go home fast. Goodbye!" Rebecca started running away.

"You want us to accompany you?" James yelled, later realizing that Rebecca would have heard it even if it was a whisper. He didn't want to add a comment about how dangerous the Westside was because that could probably be considered offensive. He wasn't sure, really.

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer, though!" Rebecca said, waving goodbye.

Titan and S14 continued walking the streets of the Inner Hub to make their way home. James couldn't shake off the feeling of having endangered Rebecca before. What if it didn't work out? What if he had only ripped the container apart instead of lifted it. Would she be dead now?

"Mom," James asked, "how do you manage to always know which is the right choice?"

"What? Be more specific." Stephanie answered.

"You always seem to be right about everything." Titan continued. "You face situations that are completely new to you, encounter enemies you never met before and according to your tales, you have been at times far outclassed. How is it that you always win? What makes you make a plan and have confidence that it will work?"

"Experience, partly." Stephanie said. "But mostly, just being confident. It's not something everybody has, but it's a trait that can be trained. You can't expect of yourself to be able to believe in your own actions as well as I do. At least now. But if you keep fighting you will gain that kind of instinct."

"...Thanks for the trust in me." Titan said. James had, indeed, never felt quite confident at himself. His mother was helping. He finally was getting the feeling that he had the chance to change for the better.

"And James," Stephanie added, "I thank you for the compliment, but I don't actually am always right, nor do I always win. There are a couple of fights that I... haven't been able to deal with yet." Yet? "Some really important ones, at it."

"What are those fights? Do you plan to continue them?" James asked. "...Can I help you?"

"I don't know." Stephanie added. "I'd rather leave you out of them, but I need all the help that I can get. I... When you are ready to know I will tell you and we will decide it together. But it's not the moment yet."

James wanted to insist, but he knew that his mother wouldn't answer him until she felt it was the time. It was enough to know that she could even consider him to be able to help her.

He would try to not think about it.