Chapter 3

Choosing from the very start to hide your identity was probably a good idea. There are rumors that some corporations and governments have been kidnapping enhanced humans and running experiments on them, attempting to reproduce the process that gave them their powers.

Also, like many of your kind, you have chosen to use a costume to protect your true identity, and to further emphasize your character.

Obviously, it's important that you find a quiet place where nobody can see you, so that you can change into your costume. So far, you've been lucky that nobody has developed any suspicions about who you really are.

Newspapers and local TV channels have already featured you several times, and a number of opinion articles have tried to decide whether you are a hero or a vigilante.

Although you are not really that well known outside of New York, the crowd starts to chant the name you are known by Speedy.

The shouts of the crowd alert the police to your approach. One rather impressive policewoman who had been barking out orders from a loudspeaker turns around and approaches you. She appears to be of mixed ethnicity, and has very powerful features and a strong body. Her short hair and martial demeanor further emphasize that she is not an ordinary policewoman, and you suddenly recall that she has appeared on TV many times.

If you remember correctly her name is Captain Villardi, an exceptionally charismatic officer who has been at the forefront of crime fighting for years. In her youth she was a semi-professional athlete, and her bravery and intelligence are legendary.

Her tone leaves no doubt that she knows exactly who you are. "Speedy, thanks for coming. My officers have Black Cockroach cornered inside the supermarket. We tried to go in and arrest him, but his skin seems to be strong enough to deflect most of our bullets."

The captain then points toward a couple of ambulances parked to one side of the street. Next to them paramedics are tending to injured police officers, who look battered and bruised, but are probably not seriously injured.

Looking toward the supermarket she then adds, "He's very strong, and literally just threw my officers out through the window of the supermarket. That was probably stupid on his part, as he has no hostages, and he doesn't seem to be completely immune to our bullets. Thus, he's effectively trapped inside."

You take a moment to consider her words. Augmented strength, but not enough to kill a man with a single punch, and a weak body amour. He doesn't sound too threatening, yet obtaining as much information as possible is probably the safest way to go.

"Thanks. Is there anything else you could tell me about him?"

The captain opens her eyes slightly as you say this, but gives you a faint nod.

She then pulls out a piece of paper from her back pocket, though it appears that she knows everything on it already. "His real name is Carl Jackson, a homeless person. From what we know he isn't really a bad character, and hasn't killed anybody so far. However, since he got his powers he has been involved in a number of supermarket robberies around the state. Mostly, he just takes a little bit of money and food, and appears to still be living rough, which is why we haven't been able to locate him. But, this time he was stupid enough to try to rob a supermarket that is only around the block from a police station. Classification: yon-kyu. Known powers: shape-shifting into human insectoid form, enhanced strength and endurance, thick skin that can absorb low-grade bullet damage, insect wings that allow him to fly short distances. This shouldn't pose too much difficulty for you, right?"

It would appear that it is not only Black Cockroach's profile that the captain knows by heart, and the look in her eyes seems to indicate that she has a good understanding of the level of your powers and capabilities. In any case, this Black Cockroach is indeed a yon-kyu, as you first suspected. You feel a lot more relaxed about the entire situation, and from the captain's description it should be relatively easy to handle him."Thanks, I'll try to reason with him."

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