FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Okay, I see the museum," said Foxgirl, peering through her binoculars at the building opposite the one she was perched on the roof of. It had long since closed for the night, its large set of stairs void of the rush of people usually clamoring to get inside. Somewhat uncreatively named the Garden City Museum, it was consistently popular; the Greek inspiration for its architecture stood out against the modern buildings surrounding it, and the inside was home to many rare artifacts…as far as the public knew, anyway. Unbeknownst to most citizens, it had a policy of making replicas and then replacing the originals with those, then either returning it to its country of origin or moving the artifact deep underground into a secure vault if this wasn't possible. She knew because she had been there many times to stop hopeful thieves who knew too much, and occasionally a thief who didn't know as much as they thought, though the museum certainly was no happier about her knowing than any of the potential pilferers. However, a recent addition had caused an increase to the already sizable crowd: the Jezebel Ruby, a deep red gem two feet tall, had recently been transferred to the museum. Given the transfer was short notice, a replica would not be finished for another day or two, meaning the gem currently on display was, in fact, the real ruby. This wouldn't be a problem if Foxgirl wasn't positive it would soon become a target for one particular villain.

“Good, any signs of guards outside? These cameras aren't really built for detail," a female voice said through the earpiece Foxgirl wore. It was calm, smooth, soothing, just what she needed to hear on stressful nights like this.

Foxgirl looked closer, scanning the area for any movement. She even checked the nearby alleyways, but there was not a hint of movement. “Nope, nothing."

“Do you think he already got to them?"

She shook her head despite technically being alone. “Doubt it. Crowley's not all that careful except when it comes to jewels. If there was a fight, there'd be bloodstains somewhere, or bullet casings at least. The ground's spotless. My guess is there were never any guards at all."

“Okay, that's definitely weird. No guards outside or inside? Something's up. I just checked all the cameras again, and there's not a single guard. Seems kind of lax given there's a giant ruby in there."

Foxgirl smiled. “All of them? That was fast. You really are amazing, Envoy."

“If that impresses you, I'll have to go even faster next time."

“You're adorable. So the entire place is more or less unguarded? Even the ruby?"

Envoy sighed. “Yeah. I mean, there's likely security systems, so at least there's something. That said, I've heard of being confident in your security but this is pushing it."

“Guess we're needed more than we thought," she grinned, collapsing the binoculars and clipping them to her belt. From beside it, she grabbed a gadget shaped like a large pistol with two sets of talons, one forming a large claw on the end and the others on the hilt aiming up towards the barrel. She aimed the large claw at the rooftop of the museum and fired, causing it and the thick rope attached to it to shoot across the gap and dig itself firmly into the stone. Foxgirl gave it a few tugs and set the pistol down, pressing a button on the side. The smaller talons clamped down, easily piercing the concrete and securing it to the building she stood on. After a small kick to make sure it was stable, she took a deep breath and stepped onto the rope, keeping one foot firmly on the building. After seeing that it did not so much as wiggle an inch, she carefully placed her other foot on the rope as well. Slowly but surely, she made her way across and onto the museum's roof. She pressed another button on the large claw, and the gadget instantly dislodged itself and began to retract in reverse. After it had fully retracted, she placed the gadget back on her belt.

“Not bad, babe," said Envoy.

“Thanks, I do my best," Foxgirl grinned, turning to the nearby windows that formed skylights for the museum. One of them, she knew from previous experience, could be removed to create an entrance from above. Setting the glass pane aside, she jumped into the opening and landed on one a t-rex “skeleton" below. However, she misjudged the distance and stumbled several feet forward, only managing to catch herself at the last second at the very edge of the skull by grabbing onto the edge of the skeleton's eye.

“That was less impressive," Envoy chuckled.

“Ugh, I feel like you've seen me fail way too much. Sometimes I wish this city had less security cameras," she muttered.

“But then I wouldn't be able to watch you succeed, either. I'd miss that."

Using the skeleton's spine as a path, Foxgirl made her way down the dinosaur's back to its tail where she jumped to the ground, landing much more gracefully than before. “So, what's the best way in?"

“I'm looking at a map now. Hmm...okay, see that door on your left? That goes right to the Wonders of the World exhibit."

“There's no way it's that easy," Foxgirl sighed.

“You know it. If there's no guards, it's probably not safe to go that way. Take a guess why."

“Because whoever dealt with the guards, however they did it, is assuming anyone coming through will take the shortest way, so there's bound to be a trap of some kind," she replied.

“My thoughts exactly. However, the door on your right leads to the Roman exhibit. Go through that, past the Egypt exhibit, then take a left. When you come to the Mesopotamia one, take another left and keep going. You'll see a sign to the Wonders exhibit. Much longer, but I would assume it's safer."

“You're so good to me."

“I do my best, baby."

Smiling, she took off down the hall Envoy directed her towards. It was a good thing she had no interest in history, otherwise she'd likely have been enamored by the copies of relics and small bits of information posted beside them. Artifacts from Mexico, the country both sets of her grandparents were born in, usually managed to capture her interest slightly longer but even those rarely kept hold of her.

“Hey, Envoy. Did you ever have that weird Egypt phase as a kid?" she asked as she passed a large model sarcophagus in the Egypt exhibit. “I did. I mean it's cool and all, but I don't know what I saw in it back then, you know?"

“Nah, I was more of an ancient India kind of girl. My dad was real confused when I said I wanted to learn Maharashtri Prakrit."

“Did you ever grow out of it?"

“Of course I did...which means now I know an extremely specific form of Prakrit for no reason. Like, what am I supposed to do with that, exactly? Hope someone will bring me an ancient document that just happens to be in the language?"

“You're not the only one who's learned near-useless stuff. You know how many unnecessarily specific fighting styles there are in the world? There's one I learned where the main use is against raging oxen in a wheat field, but only in winter."

“Hey babe?"

“Uh-huh?"

“Why do you know that style?"

Foxgirl shook her head. “I didn't mean to learn it, the lady I was learning from only said she had a 'secret technique'...which I guess wasn't really wrong."

“Well, if you ever have to fight an ox in a wheat field during the winter, you'll be prepared."

Foxgirl reached the entrance to the Wonders of the World exhibit which was dedicated to showing off the most amazing things that various countries had to offer, even the ones that already had entire exhibits dedicated to them. Unsurprisingly, it had been a target of numerous thieves, but they were all small-time criminals, barely able to tell the difference between a smoke bomb and a smoke grenade. Most of the time, she wasn't even needed.

She knew that wouldn't be the case tonight.

“Envoy?" she said, stopping outside the large door.

“I'm here. You okay?"

She shook her head. “What if the guards were killed? He probably knew I'd come. That means it's my fault if they died or got hurt."

“Foxgirl, you know that isn't how Crowley does things. He may be a thief, but he doesn't go out of his way to murder anyone. A few broken bones, some concussions, that's all he's ever done. It's okay, baby. I promise," she said gently. “Now get in there and show that bird who's boss."

Unfortunately, it turned out she would have to wait as there was nobody else in the room. Foxgirl, who had kicked the door open and sprang into the exhibit holding the expandable metal staff she kept on her belt, looked around in confusion and sighed. “Envoy! Why'd you have to put it like that? He's not even here yet, I thought you saw him on the camera or something!"

“Sorry, babe. I was just trying to encourage you. You nailed that entrance, though. So good job on that!"

Foxgirl rolled her eyes and, staff still in hand, approached the Jezebel Ruby. She knew little about jewels, mainly just whatever she learned from Crowley's monologues, but even she could tell that it was no ordinary stone. Aside from its massive size, it had been cut so magnificently that she couldn't be positive it had been done by a human. The rays of the moon shining in from the skylight gave the gem an otherworldly shimmer both beautiful and haunting.

“This thing is amazing. No way I'm ever touching it, the thing's probably cursed. But Crowley must have gone nuts when he learned it was in town," said Foxgirl.

“There's no way he didn't lose his mind. That said, it really makes you wonder who thought it'd be a good idea to host the world's largest ruby in the same town with a noted gem thief."

“Would you rather it be in Diamond City? No one would ever see the thing again after about ten minutes. At least here, there's a chance it'll last twenty," Foxgirl chuckled.

“Fair enough. Crystal Lake wouldn't be any better either, I guess. It'd probably end up as some bizarre ritual focus. You just know some weird cult would think it's made by their demon god or something."

Foxgirl shrugged. “Yeah, but at least then it'd be Mistress's problem, not mine. She's handled a few doomsday cults, I'm sure she could deal with another one. Besides, the way this thing is cut, it might actually have been made by a demon god."

“...let's not test any of those theories, okay babe?"

To pass the time, Foxgirl wandered around the area checking out the other displays, looking on in mild interest at some and something closer to polite (but ultimately feigned) interest at others.

“There's a blown up version of a drawing featuring a martial arts fighter," she said, staring at a large sheet of paper upon which were several pictures. “The person who did it must have been working from memory instead of using a model."

“Really? How do you know?"

She pointed to the right hand of the fighter on the left. He was holding a staff that was about as tall as he was and looked determined to use it. “Two things. You're looking at the cameras, right? First, look at the thing he's carrying."

“Hmm...looks like a staff. I don't know much about fighting, just what I've read for clients or picked up from you. Is there something wrong with it?"

“Yeah. This mural says the depiction was made by a traveler to Egypt around 1800 BC and is depicting “tahtib". You know what that is?"

“If I remember right, it's an Egyptian form of fighting with a staff or large stick. Been around for quite a while."

“Uh-huh. When I was spending some time in Egypt, I picked up a few lessons on it. First problem is that the staff is way too big, like it's supposed to be around four feet, so if that's the real size then this guy is absolutely miniscule"

“Maybe he was tiny, you don't know. What's the other issue?"

“His head is wide open. Literally, the entire point is to not get bonked on the head and this guy's face is primed for bonking."

Envoy paused. “...that's an interesting way to put it, but I see where this is going. If it has that many mistakes, there likely wasn't a model used...and likely no understanding at all of the art."

“That's history for you. One of the reasons I hate it," Foxgirl shrugged.

“You traveled the world for years and came back with a hatred for history. Most people would have the opposite experience," she chuckled. “Maybe if you-"

Envoy went silent.

“Envoy? What's wrong?" Foxgirl asked.

“Hide. Now."

Without hesitation, Foxgirl darted behind a nearby display and peeked out at the Jezebel Ruby. She was just in time; the moment she'd hidden herself, someone else dashed into the room. Although their features were difficult to see, she could tell that their clothing was bulky and stuck out at several points, and their face was elongated into a beak. A mask, she knew, but it was still unsettling in the darkness.

“Ah, there it is," the man sighed blissfully, reaching one arm out to touch the glass between him and the ruby. His voice was high-pitched and a little annoying in Foxgirl's opinion, though her attempt to liken it to a crow as an insult only resulted in him thanking her for the compliment. “I have waited so long for you, my beautiful ruby...so long indeed. Ah, and a ray of the moon's silver shines from the heavens onto my prize. It is surely a sign that it is meant to be mine, and mine alone."

Foxgirl leaped out from behind the display, pointing her staff at the man. “The only thing that'll be yours is an extended sentence at Richter, Crowley."

“You do realize that, had you simply attacked without announcing your presence, I would have been struck down in an instant," Crowley said, turning slowly to face her.

“He's right, you know," Envoy chimed in.

“Who's side are you on, Envoy?" Foxgirl grumbled.

Crowley smiled. “Ah, so she is with you as usual. It is a pleasure to see you, my dear Envoy. Well, not see, but you know what I mean."

“Can you take care of him already? The longer I have to look at his outlandish outfit and listen to him talk, the more I suffer," said Envoy.

She was right that his costume was unique; he had modeled it after a crow, giving himself wings attached to his arms. They were for decoration only with no actual flight capabilities, she had discovered several months prior, and had feathers made from tiny crystals. As always, he had changed the color of his “feathers" to match the gem he was trying to steal, in this case making himself into a large, glistening, deep red bird. “You've got one chance, Crowley. Leave now, and I won't even tell the cops you were here. We can just get on with our nights. Do we have a deal?"

“Hmm...a tempting offer, but I am afraid I will have to pass. I do not make a habit of making deals that do not work out in my favor. The Crystal Crow must always get the treasure he so desires. Besides, I already went to the trouble of having a guard disable the security for the ruby. He was rather eager, it seems, as it looks like he went ahead and disabled security for the entire museum…save for the cameras, of course. Diamonds are not just a girl's best friend, apparently!"

“You know you can't win a fight against me, Crowley," Foxgirl said. “We're, what? Twenty four and zero at this point?"

Crowley laughed. “Oh, my dear, of course I can't! A fight with you is metaphorical suicide! No, no, I am a gem, and gems cannot be exposed to harsh treatment lest their value diminish. That is why I have rigged this entire museum with explosives!" He pulled out an object from inside his costume that appeared to be a small red diamond. He flipped the top up to reveal a button, over which his thumb hovered while he smiled condescendingly at Foxgirl. “A single push, and the entire building goes up in a ball of fire. That said, perhaps the heat and strain will purify you into a more precious gem!"

“Do you really think we'd believe that? If this place is destroyed, so is your precious ruby," Foxgirl scowled.

Crowley shook his head. “Oh, no no no! Isn't it entirely possible that I've already found a bigger ruby, and my coming here is because I knew you'd show up to stop me? Why, this is the perfect chance to rid myself of you once and for all!"

“You haven't found a bigger ruby," she said slowly.

“Care to test that theory?" he grinned, holding up the detonator.

“Foxgirl, he's not lying. I just checked the roof of the building, there's some weird device planted on it right above where you two are standing. I'm looking for others now. I think I can see another in the exhibit before the one you're in."

“Damn it..." Foxgirl grunted, shortening her staff and placing it back on her belt. The exhibits were replicas and therefore replaceable, but the monetary damage to fix the building and create new replicas would be astronomical…and she would likely be the one blamed for it. As much as she hated it, she knew the smarter move would be to let him have the ruby and track him down later. “Fine, just...take it, okay? As long as you don't press that button."

Crowley laughed and plucked a crystal from his wing, driving it into the glass. Now cracked and brittle, it took only a single kick for him to completely shatter it. He approached the gem, wide-eyed. “It is more beautiful than ever up close. My goodness...such a striking crimson..." He gently picked the gem up and turned back to face Foxgirl. “It was a good attempt, my dear, but a failed one! However, you did not immediately apprehend me, and even if it was due to poor decision making, I do believe in playing fair. So! I will let you in on a little secret. Besides, should you attempt to stop me now, you could damage a priceless artifact, so I know there is no harm in telling you." He began to walk towards the door. “I did plant objects around the museum in the event that you did not believe my claim of explosives, but they are not explosives, only props. That was nothing more than a ruse."

“Oh, and I'm supposed to believe you had nothing to do with there being no guards here as well?" Foxgirl snapped, running forward to catch up with him.

Crowley shook his head. “Actually, I assumed you had something to do with that. I only bribed a single guard to turn off the alarms. Perhaps your ego demands you capture me yourself without assistance from law enforcement? Hmm…though judging from your reaction, it seems it wasn't you. Curious. Oh, well."

Foxgirl raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so that wasn't you. I also want to know how you got on the roof. You don't even like heights."

“I detest them, so I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

“The explosive on the roof? Envoy just said she found one of the things you planted up there. You said it's a fake, but how'd you get up there at all?"

Crowley stopped walking. He said nothing for a moment, then slowly turned his head to look at her. His eyes were wide again, but this time in fear, not admiration.

“Foxgirl, I didn't plant anything on the roof."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a thunderous boom rang across the area followed by pieces of the ceiling raining down upon them. Foxgirl immediately grabbed Crowley and pulled him out of the way while raising her cape to shield them both. Envoy once explained what it was made from, some kind of experimental synthetic material from TITAN Labs over in Diamond City that redistributed force from an impact…and that was about all she got from the explanation. The rest sounded like a string of made up words. What mattered was that the cape did its job: her rescue was just in time to prevent Crowley from being crushed by a particularly large piece of rubble, and any smaller pieces that landed on them bounced harmlessly off of her cape.

“Foxgirl, what happened? The roof of the museum just caved in!" Envoy exclaimed.

“Yeah, I...I know! I'll...tell you when I find out!" she replied, coughing from the dust. When it finally settled, she unshielded Crowley and found a rope ladder had descended into the room. It was attached to a helicopter hovering above the new hole in the roof, and holding onto it were three people, two rather burly males in suits and a woman with short, closely cut black hair who wore a ruffled purple dress and a fluffy white scarf wrapped around her neck that draped itself over her right shoulder. The men carried pistols in their free hands while the woman carried a tommy gun.

“Foxgirl and the Crystal Crow," she said, her voice slow, clear, and careful. “Now ain't that some applesauce. From what I've heard, you two should be at each other's throats right now." She smiled. “Well, it doesn't matter. I'll have what's mine even if I have to take both of you down to get it."

“You!" Crowley snapped, pushing Foxgirl aside and stepping towards the ladder. “What are you doing here? Come to steal my prize, Dora?"

The woman laughed and snapped her fingers. The two men jumped to the ground and pointed their guns at Crowley. “You have to be joking. Your prize, Crystal Crow? Your brain must be fried. You wouldn't have even made it in here if it wasn't for me. I don't think it was your dough that made this place so empty tonight."

“So you're why there was no security!" Foxgirl growled. “What do you want with the ruby? That's what you're here for, isn't it?"

“Not bad for an amateur detective. You figured it out just a bit faster than my three year old cousin would have," she replied, getting off the ladder herself. “Yes, darling, I'm here for the ruby. You do understand how much it will go for on the black market, right? I promised my friends a big payday, and I refuse to break a promise to them."

“Then maybe you shouldn't have promised," said Foxgirl.

Dora shook her head. “After all the work they've put in recently, they deserve something nice. Surely even you can understand something as simple as that. If you work hard then you should be rewarded, and that ruby is exactly how I plan to do it. Oh, speaking of getting what you deserve..." She glanced at the man on her left and nodded. Without saying a word, he raised his gun and shot a single round into Crowley's shoulder.

“Crowley!" Foxgirl cried, running over to him and examining the wound. “Envoy, call an ambulance! Crowley was just shot! I don't think it hit anything major, but he needs to get to a hospital! And if you don't point that gun somewhere else right now, I'm going to shove it down your throat!" After shooting Crowley, he had immediately pointed the gun at Foxgirl, though why he hadn't shot her yet was a mystery she didn't care to solve.

“I'd like to see you try!" the man laughed. The other man joined his side, putting his pistol into its holster and cracking his knuckles menacingly. And then, before either of them had time to react, Foxgirl lunged at the man with the gun. She forced his arm upwards as the gun shot a round into the ceiling and snaked her way onto his back, then used his own weight to pull him backwards. Just as he began to fall, Foxgirl snatched the gun from his hand and hurled it at the other man's face. With her earned second of distraction, she leaped backwards to avoid getting crushed by the first man and lunged once more at the second, tackling him to the ground and grabbing his pistol as well.

“Crowley! Take it!" she yelled, throwing one of the pistols at him. He picked it up with his uninjured arm and pointed the weapon at Dora's “friends" while Foxgirl pointed the other at Dora.

“Not bad," said Dora, clapping slowly. “You took down some of my finest boys, and you did it without seriously injuring them…unlike some other vigilantes I've had to deal with. Oh, don't misunderstand me; you still hurt them, even if just a little, and that's something I can't forgive. Still, you went out of your way to avoid damage, and I can respect you for that."

One of the men sat up. “Ugh…don't worry, Dora! We'll get her this time!"

She shook her head. “No, leave her. What's she going to do?"

“You forgetting we're holding guns? I could just shoot you right now and be done with it," Foxgirl asked.

Dora chuckled. “Darling, I may not be a gumshoe but I don't go into a fight without a little research first. If I thought either of you would do me in, I wouldn't have brought guns for you to steal from my boys." She looked at the first man Foxgirl had taken down. “Grab the ruby and let's get out of here. You've earned some rest."

The man nodded and approached Crowley, snatching the ruby away and seeming completely unafraid of the weapon being pointed at him as he did so.

“We'll be taking that. I don't think you'll need it," he said.

“How...dare you...!" Crowley grunted through his pain. “I will never forget this...!"

“Funny, because I had already forgotten you were even here," Dora shrugged. “Let's scram, boys! Tonight's round is on me for a job well done!"

With that, the three of them grabbed onto the ladder again. Dora looked down at them one last time and winked.

“It was nice to finally meet you, Foxgirl! Maybe next time our meeting can be under better circumstances, but for now, I'm afraid I have to see a man about a dog. That means get a drink, by the way."

“I know what it means!" Foxgirl snapped.

Laughing daintily, Dora ascended and flew off into the night along with her bodyguards, leaving Foxgirl and Crowley alone and the room quiet save for the faint sound of police cars making their way towards the museum.

“Envoy, did you call the ambulance?" Foxgirl asked.

“Yeah, they're on their way. Are you alright? The explosion took out the only camera that gave me a clear view into that room, so I didn't see what happened."

“It was some woman named Dora," Foxgirl growled. “Her and her goons swooped in and stole the ruby after shooting Crowley in the shoulder. I think he'll be fine, but-"

“Before you say anything else, no, it wasn't your fault. We're not gonna do that whole thing you always do, alright? We need to focus."

She reluctantly nodded. “Yeah. You're right. By the way, you did that thing I asked, right? About the front door?"

“Baby, who do you think you're talking to? Of course I did. Guess it was a good move after all."

Not a minute later, police began to swarm into the room along with several journalists who seemed unbothered by the police's attempts to kick them out. Two of the officers approached Foxgirl, a man about her age with a kind face and a rather stern looking woman with glasses holding a notepad.

“I figured you'd be involved somehow," the man said. “When stuff like this happens, you always are. Did he do this?"

“Of course he did," the woman growled. “It's either him or Foxgirl, they're the only two who were here."

“Actually, no," said Foxgirl, cutting off whatever Crowley had been about to say. “I did think he was going to steal it, so I stayed nearby just in case. When I got here, Crowley was already in front of the display, but he wasn't trying to take the ruby. He said he only wanted to look at it since he'd already caught wind of a bigger ruby but that, as a former jeweler, he couldn't miss the chance to see it for himself."

“We're supposed to believe that?" the woman asked bluntly, pausing her furious scribbling on her notepad.

“That was actually the exact same thing I said to him, but it seems like he really didn't want it. Then Dora, whoever that is, showed up and blew that hole in the roof. Took the ruby with her on a helicopter."

“Dora, huh...How'd he get in, though?" the male officer asked. “Doors should have been locked."

Foxgirl shook her head. “You came in through the front door, right? It was unlocked when I got here, so he probably got in the same way we did. Weird, right Baxter?"

Baxter paused. Suddenly understanding, he gave a small smile. “Ah, I see. A few more things, then. Why is he dressed in his Crystal Crow outfit? And why not come during the day if he only wanted to look?"

“Because..." she continued, cutting off Crowley again. By now the paramedics had arrived and were examining his wound. “...he said if he came during the day, people would recognize him and think he's up to something. As for the outfit, I don't know, the guy dresses like a crow. You really think his fashion choices are going to make sense?"

“Coming from the girl dressed like a fox," Baxter chuckled. “Well, I'll just have someone check the cameras then to see if your story checks out and then-"

“Huh? What's that Envoy?" said Foxgirl, pressing her fingers to her earpiece. “...uh-huh. Got it. Envoy said she already did, turns out the cameras were all turned off. No footage of tonight at all. Whoever runs security here really needs to step their game up, huh?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Seems a little convenient. The front door just happened to be open, and the cameras all just happened to be off? And you do realize that, even if that's all true, you can both still be charged with trespassing." She showed what she had written to the two of them; although Foxgirl kept a straight face for Baxter's sake, she internally rolled her eyes at the near full page of tiny words that clearly had more detail than what had been said. “I've already taken the liberty of writing down any possible crimes committed, and while theft nor even attempted theft are included, I was able to come up with arguments for trespassing, unlawful entry in the event that he's lying-"

“Uh...aren't unlawful entry and trespassing the same thing? Also, who is this, exactly?" Foxgirl asked Baxter.

“Amelia Groves, new recruit on the force," he replied. “I'm trying to show her the ropes, but-"

“But with all due respect, sir, you're far too lenient," Amelia cut in. “And no, Foxgirl, they are not the same thing. When Baxter spoke of you, I expected that you would at least have basic knowledge of criminology, and yet you seem...lacking."

Foxgirl laughed. “Ms. Groves, when you stop a criminal syndicate from planting a bomb in the heart of the city and fight through an actual army to get to it, then you can tell me I'm lacking. So, what's the difference?"

Amelia looked as though she would love nothing more than to harshly tell off the strange costumed girl standing before her, but she simply narrowed her eyes and said, “...the difference is that unlawful entry involves the intent to commit a crime. Trespassing doesn't necessarily need that, you just have to be somewhere you shouldn't. So, even if he truly did not intend to commit any sort of crime tonight, it is still illegal to enter the museum after hours without permission. Something you should keep in mind."

“Amelia, I already told you: we're willing to look the other way for Foxgirl if she catches the culprit," said Baxter.

“And? Has she caught them?" she asked, looking around the room. “Because it looks to me like she hasn't. This...Dora? She stole the ruby, yes? Not the Crystal Crow. Yet this woman hasn't been caught, so Foxgirl's special permission has no sway right now. Besides, who is this Dora? I've heard of plenty of masked vigilantes and villains already: Foxgirl, Mannequin, even the Croo-"

“Please, Amelia," Baxter said suddenly, closing his eyes. “Please…don't say that name."

She rolled her eyes and continued. “The point is, I've heard of a number of you heroes and villains, yet not one word about Dora. Why not?"

“Because we didn't want you to know," Baxter replied. “Dora, or Dumb Dora, is a pretty new player. She's a crime lord who runs the Dapper Cats, started out in Diamond City about a year ago but she relocated here a month back. We heard the Rogues had their hands full with her, and the last thing we wanted was to let the public know a criminal even the Rogues had trouble with had made her way into the city. They're panicking about enough criminals already. Knowledge of her presence was limited to commanding officers like myself and above."

“What about you, Foxgirl? You ever heard of her?" Amelia grumbled.

“No, I've never even seen her before. Like Baxter said, she's pretty new in town. That's probably why. I do have an, uh...informant working on that, though."

“Guess that's my cue," said Envoy. “I'll have some info for you by the time you're done."

“So, is that everything you needed, Baxter?" Foxgirl asked. “I really need to go after Dora."

“No, it isn't," said Amelia. “Remember: you still committed a crime tonight, and your protection doesn't apply."

She crossed her arms. “What, you gonna arrest me?" she scoffed.

“Yes," Amelia replied. “I have every right to do so."

Baxter immediately stepped between the two of them. “Amelia, calm down. We're not arresting Foxgirl."

“I am calm, sir, and that's exactly why I'm doing this." She glared at Foxgirl. “I've reviewed the case files of you and many other vigilantes in this city. I understand most of you are just trying to help, which is why I don't even want to arrest you. That said, we can't just let people run around doing whatever they want. So when you fail to catch Dumb Dora, this will serve as an important lesson: leave criminal matters to the police. You can't help, so please don't try."

If her desire to catch Dora had not been solidified already, those three words would have done so.

You can't help.

Her mind, against her will, forced her to watch a scene she had seen many times over the years: a woman on the ground, a man standing over her with a knife. He looked up and grinned.

You can't help her, he mouthed, taking the knife and bringing it down on the woman-

“Foxgirl?" said Baxter, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head to clear her mind.

“Yeah, I'm...I'm good. I need to go, Dora could be anywhere by now. I'll see you later, Baxter. Try to keep the rookie in line," she said, giving a half-hearted smile as she pulled out the clawed device from earlier. Ignoring Baxter, who had taken a step towards her, she shot the claw through the hole in the roof, attaching it to the roof of a nearby building. Pressing a button on it, the device quickly retracted, pulling Foxgirl along with it out of the museum.

Several rooftops later, she sat down, dangling her legs over the side and gazing at the city before her. It wasn't perfect, she knew that. Her existence was proof, let alone all the other heroes in the city. Still, it had many good parts, too, and that was what she truly wanted to protect.

Plus, at least it wasn't Diamond City. She never liked that place.

“Envoy. What do you have on Dumb Dora?" Foxgirl asked.

“A bit. Real name is Jane Johnson. Her family was actually pretty well-off, but for some reason, she joined a gang when she was nineteen."

“Abusive parents, maybe?" Foxgirl asked, fiddling with her mask.

“Can't say, that sort of information isn't really in any database. I'd have to use other methods to find out. Anyway, this gang was small, we're talking their main source of income was from simple street muggings. They weren't even named."

Foxgirl raised an eyebrow. “You're telling me this lame gang had one of the top mob bosses in it at one point? How does that work?"

“I'm getting there, baby. Be patient," said Envoy gently. “Turns out Dora doesn't like to be pushed around. Found an interview with one of the members who was caught. Apparently he was running in a panic through the streets in broad daylight, which is what got him noticed by a nearby officer. He was told to give up info on the other members, so he did, but given the gang barely did anything, other arrests were never made. He said there was a woman named Jane who hated their boss because he always pushed everyone around and took the biggest share of the money for himself. Typical male gang leader. One day though, Jane started sucking up to him. The guy began trusting her, so he eventually made her his right hand."

“Let me guess, then she shot him?" Foxgirl chuckled.

“Actually, yes."

“...wow, okay. I was joking about that one. Then what?"

“She took control of the gang and said anyone who wasn't okay with it could leave. The guy panicked and ran off, which is how he got caught. I'm checking messages between gang members and police now and searching for any mention of Jane Johnson or Dumb Dora. Hmm...well, it seems the first use of her new name was only a few days after she assumed command. She started to dress like a flapper, and she quickly became known as...huh, that's strange."

“Envoy, I just stopped a man wearing a crystal fursuit from stealing a giant ruby only for a flapper to show up in a helicopter and yoink it from us. However strange it is, it can't top that."

“...valid. Well, from what I can tell, she's actually known for being...fair. As in, people love to work for her. Whenever she gets money, she makes sure everyone else is paid first before she takes anything. I'm reading texts some members have sent to their friends in other gangs, and they're all positive. 'You gotta join, Dora is actually nice and always gets us a good payday', 'Dora actually respects us unlike your shitty boss', 'I literally made twice what the boss made, and when I brought it up, she gave us even more of her cut'...wow, for a gang leader, she's practically a saint."

Her behavior at the museum made sense now; Dora did mention promising a big payday, but Foxgirl figured that was just the usual boss speech that really meant she'd be getting the biggest share.

“It seems she can be pretty ruthless, too; police found some guy hanging upside down from the rafters last month with a sign on the ground pointing to him that said 'arrest me, I'm selfish and don't deserve to have anything'. There was even a folder with proof of every crime he had committed next to the sign and a card that read, 'Love, Dora' with a little heart next to it. Turns out he'd been stealing small bits of payment from the other gang members for a few days, and when Dora caught on, she wasn't happy."

“So she's incredibly extra, got it."

“Honey, we're talking about Diamond City. Everyone is extra. Well, not that this city's better."

Foxgirl stood up. “So what we've got is a mob boss who looks out for her own men but takes no disrespect from them either. Not only that, she seems pretty smart. That could be a dangerous combo."

“That about sums it up. Anything else you need?"

“Well, we still need to figure out where she went. I saw her head south towards the entertainment district, but I doubt she'd be holed up there. No place to discreetly park a helicopter. Maybe check the camera footage from before Dora showed up? That might give us something."

Envoy sighed. “You know as well as I do that it doesn't work like that. These cameras only move so much, and they're only set up to cover places of interest like the museum. Most buildings rely on internal cameras rather than external. There's no way I'd be able to tell where she went unless she happened to fly in front of another camera somewhere, and it'd take too long to check every camera this city has."

“I didn't mean find where she went, I meant find details about the helicopter. Are there any symbols on it, or maybe a design quirk, something that'd give away where she got it from?"

“Oh! Good thinking, baby. Let's see...I'm watching the footage of when the helicopter arrived over the museum. It's dark, and they chose a black copter. Smart. Ugh, you'd think a city as rich as this could afford better night-vision cameras. You know, maybe I should run for mayor someday and fix that, I really think-"

“Focus, angel. We can talk about that later," she said gently. “What about the helicopter?"

“Sorry. Well, it's hard to see so I've had to do what the city's too lazy to do and improve the video on my end, but it looks like the city's flag engraved on a circle. There are other designs on it, but that one's the easiest to see. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

“Yeah, this girl really jacked a police copter," she said. “Wonder how she did it. Bribed someone, I'm guessing."

“Hold on, I'm getting Baxter on the line. We'll see what he thinks," said Envoy. A moment later, Baxter's voice came through her headset.

“Did you two need something?" he asked. “Sorry, but I'm a little busy with the whole Crowley thing you pulled, Foxgirl. Turns out the others aren't so keen on letting him go."

She rolled her eyes. “You're a lieutenant, just order them to do it or something."

“You do realize how it would look having a superior order his men to not arrest a known criminal, right?"

“Gotta agree with him on this one," Envoy chimed in.

“Is everyone in this city against me tonight?" she grunted. “Look, Baxter. We just found out that a police helicopter-"

“Yeah, I know. It was stolen. That's what I was going to tell you, but you flew away before I could. We think the thief is a woman named Alissa Strive, she joined a few months back. Now that I think about it, must have been right around when Dora came."

“What makes you think she's the thief?" Envoy asked.

“Well again, her hire date fits with when Dora got here. Aside from that, she said she was sick and left early today which seemed odd given the records from her previous jobs indicated she hadn't taken a sick day in ten years. On top of that, she let slip last week during our movie night that she knows how to fly a helicopter. It was an action movie, and I guess she wanted to show off when the copter came on-screen. We'd have gone after her, but we had just connected the dots when we got a call that the museum was being broken into, so we put it on hold."

“So?" Foxgirl pressured. “Any idea where they might have gone? You can't just land a helicopter anywhere. She has to have mentioned something, she's clearly not that bright."

“I mean, if you know what you're doing you can land a helicopter anywhere with enough space, which means most of the taller buildings in this city qualify. From there, Dora probably jumped out with her men, and since she's pretty smart from what we know, I doubt she'd leave it just sitting there. Probably had Alissa fly it off somewhere outside the city to land it where no one will find it."

Foxgirl sighed impatiently. “Okay great, so we know we can't just look for a big helicopter, but that doesn't answer my question, Baxter. We still need to figure out where they went after. Did she mention any close friends, or somewhere she goes a lot?"

“...now that you mention it, she said she enjoyed bars. One specifically, I think, but she never mentioned the name. Seemed weird at the time, she doesn't look like the type to drink or dance much, but I didn't care enough to go into it."

Foxgirl slowly removed her mask and slammed her palm against her forehead.

“Even I heard that one," Envoy said. “What's up?"

“Envoy. She's a flapper who goes by Dumb Dora. The 20s. Bars. Speakeasies?"

She heard two separate slaps of palms striking faces.

“I can't believe this city trusts us to get anything done," Baxter sighed.

Envoy paused for a moment. “...well, you're going to want to resign after this one," she said. “Turns out there's an underground bar about five miles from the museum called the Blind Bird. Speakeasies were often called blind pigs, or blind tigers. They have a wiki page, that makes things easier...huh, guess they wanted to call it one of those but both were already taken. It's been closed for about a few months though…which means Dora's definitely taken it over. It was probably too perfect to pass up."

“Girl saw an opportunity and went for it. I would too, if I were her," Foxgirl shrugged.

“Right, well, I'll get some men out there to arrest her, and after that I'll find my superior so I can turn in my badge because I'm clearly oblivious. While I do that, Foxgirl, you take care of Dora. The cars will be there by the time you're done."

Several ziplines, jumps across rooftops, and mental self-punches later, Foxgirl grappled down from a building onto the nearly empty street. Given the area's numerous bars, she wasn't surprised to find a few people still wandering around despite most of them having closed down already, nor was she surprised that most took a single glance at her and immediately fled, though she noticed one or two were attempting to watch her while hiding (rather poorly) behind trash cans or buildings. Most people in the city had learned by now that when a costumed hero shows up, something is about to get destroyed. Of course, this meant excitement for some of the more thrill-seeking residents, but most wanted nothing to do with the situation once Foxgirl showed up. Still, that often made things easier in the end.

The door to the speakeasy, she found, was not only unlocked but unguarded. Normally she would consider it an obvious trap, but she had a feeling Dora was too clever to attempt something so obvious. No, if it was unguarded, there was another reason. She wouldn't have to wait long to find out what that reason was, however; though the door was unmanned, the bar itself was far from unoccupied. Four men and five women in suits sat at small circular tables in front of a large stage with its curtain drawn, each with a full plate of exquisite food in front of them. She stuck to the shadows, creeping her way towards the merry group. Was this really where Dora was hiding? If so, Foxgirl figured these henchmen probably ate better than she did, to say nothing of their suits that looked brand new and very, very expensive.

“Damn, this Kobe stuff is amazing!" said one of the men, stuffing a sizable chunk of meat into his mouth.

“Told you, the boss treats us well. Can't believe you've never had it before," the woman sitting with him replied, taking a sip of her wine.

“Yeah, well, my family wasn't really known to enjoy expensive food," he chuckled. “Dollar store steaks were the height of luxury for us. Now that Dora's paying us so well, I can finally afford to buy my mom that necklace she's always wanted. I can pay off my brother's college debt, too."

“I know, I just love working for her!" said the woman. “Sure glad she moved us from Diamond City to here! That place was a dump. Couldn't stand the people, either. They're so damn aggressive over there, couldn't walk down the street without some asshat trying to hit on me and then calling me a bitch when I said I wasn't interested. And I know Carl got evicted because he was short on rent just once. It was only like, a dollar or something."

“What the hell? Carl's a good guy, he doesn't deserve that. Maybe we should ask Dora if we can pay that landlord a visit."

As she listened, Foxgirl wondered if she could really send these people to jail. Did Dora purposefully recruit good people to make it harder to stop her?

As usual, Envoy spoke into her ear to offer some of her wisdom. “I know what you're thinking, babe. If we take down Dora, we have to take all of them with her. Only way they don't go to jail is if they conveniently happen to escape. So absolutely do not let that happen. Get what I'm saying?"

“I understand completely," Foxgirl whispered. She shot her grappling hook into the ceiling and used it to swing out of the shadows, stopping in front of the stage to make sure everyone could see her. To her surprise, none of them seemed, well...surprised. A few of them waved at her, some just raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, that must be Foxgirl! You doing alright?" one of the men asked cheerily.

“Uh...yeah, I'm okay? How are you…?" she asked tentatively.

“Pretty good! Hey, you hungry? We've got some extra steak if you want!"

Deciding to not ask any of the several questions she had, she instead told them, “Look, you all know who I am, right? If you leave now, you won't be taken to jail. I'm only here for Dora, she's the only one that has to go."

None of the henchmen moved.

“...was I too quiet? If you don't leave, you'll be taken to jail!" she said a bit louder.

Still, no one moved.

“Envoy, put this up there with Mannequin for creepiest things I've encountered," she muttered. “I only need to take Dora, not any of you! So just-"

“Why would you take Dora to jail?" asked the woman she had heard a few moments ago.

“Finally, we're getting somewhere. I mean, she kind of broke into the museum and stole a big ruby?" said Foxgirl. “That's, uh...usually frowned upon."

“Well, yeah, I'm sure it's illegal as hell, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be locked up!" said the woman.

Foxgirl blinked. She was positive she wasn't dreaming, and it couldn't be Mindcrawler's influence since she wasn't nearly groggy enough. Was Dora just trying to mess with her?

“Right, well, I'm not sure you get how the whole 'law' thing works, but-"

“Maybe she doesn't, but I do!" said a voice from behind her. She turned just in time to see the stage curtain rising. The lights dimmed, a jazzy tune began to play over the speakers, and a spotlight shined on the center of the stage where a woman wearing a purple flapper's dress, a pearl necklace, and a large silk hat that covered her eyes was standing with one hand on her hip. She lifted the hat with her free hand just enough to reveal one of her eyes and smiled. Her henchmen immediately began clapping.

“Yeah, it's Dora!" one of the men cheered.

“Dora!" another shouted happily.

“Great entrance, Dora!" said the woman.

“Thank you, darling, I did what I could with what I was given," she said, glancing at Foxgirl. “Sorry to make my entrance reliant on an insult, but I'd been waiting ages for her to say something useful, and I was getting bored."

For a moment, Foxgirl considered simply walking away; they'd known each other for less than a day, and she was already tired of Dora. She was also sure their relationship wouldn't grow any more positive in the future. Still, she knew Baxter would kill her for wasting police resources again, so with a sigh, she said, “I'm sure you know the drill already, so can we just get this over with?"

Dora sat down on the edge of the stage as the lights returned. “Surprisingly, I don't. If you'll believe it, this is the first time I've gotten this far. Those Rogues are far too hasty, never let me put on a good show. They always just barge in and try to arrest me before I can even make an entrance. Glad to see some vigilantes have manners."

Admittedly, Foxgirl hadn't immediately tried to apprehend her more because she was stunned at what she was seeing rather than manners, but she figured it wasn't a good idea to mention that.

“So, uh...what do you need the ruby for, anyway?" she asked.

“Them, darling, them!" Dora exclaimed, gesturing to the others. “They're such good people and they deserve nothing but the best! That ruby will pay for whatever they need for years!"

“But...they're your henchmen," she said. “Other villains always treat them poorly, leave them behind, stuff like that. How do they know you won't do the same to them?" She glanced at a few of them as she said this, hoping they'd take the hint.

Dora laughed daintily, but while her face smiled, her eyes remained deathly serious. “Foxgirl, these men, women, and everything in between are worth more to me than a million of those rubies, and I refuse to leave them holding the bag. In return, they do the same for me. Isn't that right, my friends?"

“Yeah!" they cheered, clapping again.

“So she won't let anything happen to them, huh?" Envoy said, “I've got an idea. Keep them talking for a bit."

Thinking quick, Foxgirl blurt out, “So, who's your favorite one?"

The room went silent.

“...what? It's a good question!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

“Foxgirl, they're all her favorites," Envoy said. She thought she could faintly hear the sound of Envoy typing.

“To suggest I like one more than the others...I'm almost offended. I know everything about each one of them," said Dora. “I'm afraid I can't tell you much, though. Don't want the coppers identifying them later based on your testimony, no no, that wouldn't do at all. Want to know a little more about me, instead?"

Not really.

“Sure, why not?" said Foxgirl.

Dora stood up and walked to the center of the stage where the spotlight shined on her again. She placed the back of her hand on her forehead. “My tale is long and complicated, filled with heartbreak and joy, despair and desire, pain and pleasure, so I won't bore you with the, might I say, quite fascinating details. What I will say is that, through everything I've dealt with, I've learned one thing that I always keep in my heart: never mistreat the people you work with, because without them, you're nothing."

“So what you're saying is you only keep them around because you don't want to do the work yourself," said Foxgirl.

Dora placed a hand over her heart, gasping dramatically. “Darling, how could you say something like that? I keep these people around because this is a mutually beneficial relationship. I come up with plans that get them rich beyond their dreams as well as protect them from the law with everything I have, and in return, they protect me and help me carry out my plans. If anything, they hold the real power here; if they suddenly decided to walk out, why, I could hardly function as a criminal, and I think it's important they know that."

“So you let them in on all your plans, then? What if one of them snitches?"

“I do, and that's because I know they wouldn't tell a soul. Take tonight, for example!" The lights came back on as she gestured broadly to the group in front of her. “All of this was a little performance put on by yours truly and her talented friends!"

Foxgirl paused. “...so you're saying you planned this? All of it?"

“What? Oh, no! Darling, even I'm not that good!" she laughed. “I planned most of it, yes, but the finer details were all your doing! I planned to steal the ruby in order to pay for the necessities, of course, but I also knew it would attract one of this city's vigilantes! I had grown so dreadfully tired of the Rogues, and I heard the ones here were quite different! You just happened to be the one who took the bait. Before you got here, I instructed everyone to talk quite loudly about me so that you would know you found the right place! I even picked a bar called the Blind Bird! Frankly, I couldn't have made it easier if I just walked up to you, but you still took longer than I expected." She beckoned to one of the men to hop on stage. He eagerly ran up and pulled a notebook and pencil out of his pocket, handing it to her before sitting back down. She scribbled something down on the paper, muttering to herself. “Foxgirl...a sweet little hero who's trying her best...but is ultimately not much of a threat..."

“I'm right here, you know," Foxgirl huffed.

“Yes, yes, dear. I know," Dora replied, tossing the notebook and pencil away. “Anyway, my point is that I trust everyone here with my life, no matter what."

“Yeah, Dora's our friend!!" yelled one of the women.

“Dora's a way better boss than you'd be, Foxgirl!" another one called out.

“Dora! Dora! Dora!" the crowd chanted.

“Oh, you're too kind, darlings!" Dora laughed.

“Envoy, you done yet? I'm getting a little tired of this," Foxgirl muttered.

“Oh, I finished a while ago. I was just enjoying listening to her," Envoy chuckled. “Take your earpiece out, I'm going to amp the volume so she can hear me."

Deciding they would be having a discussion about this later, she removed the earpiece and held it out to Dora.

“What's this? A present?" Dora asked.

“No. Just listen," said Foxgirl.

“Hello? Am I speaking to Dumb Dora?" Envoy asked.

“You are, my dear, you most certainly are!" she answered happily. “And who might you be?"

“My name is Envoy, I'm Foxgirl's partner."

Dora clapped her hands together. “Ah, now you I've heard of! Your little girlfriend here, only a few passing stories here and there, but you! I've heard tales of a woman named Envoy who can do any job, find any information, whose knowledge is nearly limitless! The Rogues mentioned you once or twice I believe, all good things I assure you."

“Considering all the work I've done for them over the years, they better have been saying positive things about me," she grunted. “Moving on. I believe there's something you would be interested in hearing."

For a moment, the room became silent. Then, the voice of a woman Foxgirl didn't recognize began speaking. “Help! They found me after I landed the helicopter!"

“Alissa! Alissa! Is that you?" Dora called, running forward and snatching the earpiece from Foxgirl's hand “Where are you? Did they hurt you?"

“I'm fine, but I was told if you don't turn yourself in, I'll be put in jail for life! Help-" her voice was cut off, replaced by Envoy's once more.

“Well, you heard her. We have Alissa, and if you give yourself up, she goes free. If not, she spends the rest of her life rotting in a prison cell. And before you accuse the police of taking a hostage, I would like to mention they didn't. I did, and I'm not affiliated with the police. So, what will it be? Turn yourself in, or abandon your friend?"

“You little...I'll just break her out if she goes to jail!" Dora snapped.

“Are you sure that's a good idea?" Envoy asked, and suddenly, Foxgirl understood what was going on. She had wondered how they found Alissa and brought her in so quickly, but if her hunch was right...

“If you break her out, you might end up losing even more of your friends just to get one back," Foxgirl said. “And if you go alone you'll definitely be captured, so not only will she stay in jail, but you'll be arrested as well."

Dora's eyes flicked between the earpiece and Foxgirl, for the first time seemingly unsure of what to say.

“The police are already on their way, Dora. Make the smart decision. Do it for Alissa," said Envoy.

Finally, Dora sighed. “...alright. You win this time, Foxgirl. I will turn myself in if you let Alissa-and all my friends here-go."

Foxgirl nodded. “I think that can be arranged."

It wasn't long before Baxter and the other officers arrived. To their surprise, the building was empty save for Foxgirl and Dora. While one officer put handcuffs on Dora , Baxter approached Foxgirl and asked, “What happened to her henchmen? Surely they didn't all escape?"

She shrugged. “Turns out they weren't very loyal. They left the moment I showed up, meaning getting Dora here to turn herself in was easy enough."

Baxter raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue the matter further.

“Wait," said Dora as she and the officer escorting her passed the two. “I must know. Is Alissa safe? Did you uphold your end of the deal?"

“Deal? What deal?" Baxter asked.

Foxgirl ignored him and headed towards the door. “She's probably fine, but who knows? After all..." she glanced back at Dora. “...Envoy and I don't know where Alissa is. We haven't so much as heard her voice tonight. Not really, anyway." She tapped her earpiece gently.

Dora stared at her for a moment, her brow furrowed, but after a moment, realization slowly began to spread across her face. She smiled bitterly. “...I see. Well played, Foxgirl. And you as well, Envoy. Maybe I underestimated you. I think we're going to have a lot of fun together, the three of us."

“Don't count on it," Foxgirl chuckled, leaving Dora and Baxter, who now looked even more confused behind. Once outside, she pulled out her grappling hook and shot it into the air, zipping off into the night.

“Another job well done, baby," said Envoy happily. “I'm surprised, though. How'd you catch on that it wasn't Alissa's voice so quick? I know the quality wasn't that great since I had to piece the recording together from interview tapes stored in the police's computers, you wouldn't believe how hard it was to smooth it out enough for her to say helicopter semi-decently. But it wasn't that bad, was it?"

“I love the suggestion that I could only catch on if it was poorly made, thanks. Really appreciate that," she chuckled, grappling onto another building. “But no, it was fine. I knew because you asked 'are you sure that's a good idea'. The only time you ask that is when you're out of ideas and stalling for time. So that's when I knew something was up, and then I realized if you really had her there, you'd have already told Dora what I said next about losing more of her friends if she tries. There's no way you'd have captured Alissa and not thought of that possibility as a counter-argument."

Now it was Envoy's turn to be stunned into silence. “...I...wow, baby. I know how smart you are, but I'm still a little impressed right now. Wait, back up, so that was your reasoning and not that you know I'd never kidnap someone? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Foxgirl burst into laughter. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding! The very first thing that I realized was that you'd never kidnap anybody. That's how I knew for sure something was up. The one thing I know more about than fighting crime is, well...you, and I know the girl I love wouldn't do something like that."

“I guess you do, and if the girl that I love doesn't get her behind home in about twenty minutes, her girlfriend is going to eat all this Chinese food herself."

“Wait, wait! I'm coming, just don't eat my wontons!" she grinned.

“I'm kidding, that's another thing I'd never do. You've had a long night, and some wontons are the least of what you deserve. Now hurry up and come home. I'll be waiting for you."

Foxgirl smiled and grappled onto the top of a nearby building. She stood on the edge, gazing at the city before her. It wasn't perfect, nowhere was, and she knew eventually Dora would break out of prison and start causing trouble again, not to mention the numerous other criminals that could show up at any time. But even despite all that, the city had given her a purpose, a home, and the love of her life, and in the end, she couldn't think of any other place she'd rather be or any job she'd rather take than its protector. Still, she could stay up there and think or she could get home to the most amazing girl in the world who'd bought her some Chinese food. So, not wanting to keep Envoy waiting any longer, she took a deep breath and let the cool night wind blow against her for a moment. Then, with her grappling hook in hand, she jumped off the side of the building, shot the device at another building nearby, and grappled herself off into the night.

"Don't you have a meeting to get to or something!?" Foxgirl snapped. She threw herself to the right to avoid the deluge of scissors that were flowing out of the robot's chest. One of ten and made to look like a featureless human in a suit, it looked boring and harmless but was packed with sharp objects ready to pierce its owner's enemies. She dove behind a car and pressed her finger to her earpiece. "A little help would be great, Envoy!"

"I'm trying! It's not easy to hack into Executive's machines, you know! He hides his code in a ton of business jargon! Shockingly, I'd rather not have to read about the STAR format for interviews when my girlfriend is in danger, but here we are!" came Envoy's reply.

The Executive, as he called himself, was man wearing a stone-gray suit who stood on a briefcase that was hovering in midair thanks to the powerful jets under it. He looked down at the car Foxgirl was hiding behind, a shiny wheelless model that was common in Cosmopolis thanks to its magnetic roads, and said in the most monotone voice she had ever heard, "We need to have a discussion about your performance. If you won't come to my office, I'll have no choice but to terminate you effectively immediately."

"You sound just like my old boss! But joke's on you, he did fire me and I found an even better job after!" Foxgirl laughed, poking her head out and immediately withdrawing after another surge of razor-sharp scissors flew at her.

"Babe, you work retail," Envoy reminded her.

"I meant the whole superhero thing!" she growled.

"Oh, right."

"Vigilantism is not typically considered a viable career path," said Executive.

"Oh, and being a supervillain is?" Foxgirl grunted. She took a quick breath to calm herself and rushed out from behind the car to another that was slightly closer to her target while holding her cape above her head. It was more than capable of stopping sharp objects, but she preferred to not have scissors flying at her if given the choice.

Executive sighed and opened the laptop he was carrying. "The world is a business, Foxgirl. If you run it like one, you're guaranteed to meet your goals by the end of the quarter at the latest. This means careful planning, a can-do attitude, and the desire to succeed." He glanced at one of his faceless robots and typed something. "It also means providing feedback and managing all of your assets, including your employees. It seems mine are in dire need of a Performance Improvement Plan to get them back on track, so I'm sending it directly right now."

The robot jerked slightly, and its arms and legs snapped together while the plate on its chest closed and ceased spewing scissors. "Feedback received. I will date and provide my signature as proof of understanding and commitment to the plan," it said.

Executive nodded and tapped at his laptop again. "Signature received. This will be put into your file. Yours, Foxgirl, will unfortunately be closed very soon. I will keep the records for three years per local and federal laws, at which point they'll be disposed of appropriately. I'd say you are free to reach out until then should you need copies of these records, but you will not be granted the opportunity to find further employment in this lifetime. Employee 006, please proceed."

"At least it's not 007," said Envoy.

"Babe, please focus!" Foxgirl groaned, poking her head out again. The robot didn't seem to be doing anything. Was it broken?

"Sorry. Still trying to hack into those robots. If I had an hour I think I could get it, but we don't have that kind of time."

A faint red light began to glow from under the robot's suit-like shell. It shook, lightly at first, then with increasing intensity. It slowly walked towards her.

"We may not have any time! Hurry!" Foxgirl gasped.

"I can see it on the cameras, that does NOT look good! I know you can get away, but-"

"But if that thing blows, there's going to be tons of damage! Which I'll be blamed for! Again!"

The other robots also started to glow with an unnerving red light. Each one shakily trotted off in different directions.

"Envoy, they're going everywhere! They're going to blow up the whole damn city! We need to do something, NOW!" she growled.

"Baby! I. Am. Trying!" Envoy replied frantically.

"I know, but please try faster!" Her eyes fell on the laptop that Executive was carrying. That was how he distributed the improvement plans to the robots. Maybe, if she could get it away from him…well, she had no other options at the moment. "Alright, I'm about to do something extremely stupid. You keep trying to hack them, and if my idea works or you get there first, great. If not, please wait at least a year after my death before you replace me. Preferably two."

There was a short pause. "What? Why do I have to wait two years? I can get plenty of mourning done in one-hold on, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"You'll see in a minute! Just hope what you'll see is me being super cool and heroic and not dead in a million pieces via corporate robot!"

"F_oxgirl, you tell me what you're planning on doing right now or so help me-_"

"Sorry, can't hear you! Comms are fizzing out!" she said, darting out from behind the car.

"You know damn well they're fine!"

Foxgirl grabbed the grappling hook off of her belt and shot it towards the underside of Executive's briefcase. It sunk its metal claws firmly inside and remained even after she gave it a yank.

"This was a special order from France. I've already submitted my expense report for it, meaning its quality is guaranteed. Do you really think you can pull me out of the air that easily?" Executive asked dryly.

"Nope! Sure don't!" she half-lied. It wasn't her only idea, but she didn't like that she now had to try her second one. "I'm actually more interested in trying this!"

She pressed a button on the grappling hook's handle. It instantly began to retract, shooting her off towards Executive. She used the momentum to swing around and land on the small amount of space left. A lunge for the laptop, a forceful push back, and then a violent pull upwards. Still hanging onto the grappling hook and dangling below, Foxgirl was forced to ride along as Executive shot high into the air on his briefcase.

"Let go, Foxgirl. You've already been terminated, and clinging to your former occupation will not endear you to future employers," he stated. He flew in every direction and made sharp turns in an attempt to dislodge her. Likely seeing this, Envoy said something that was difficult to hear through the wind now blowing violent past her but was probably something along the lines of, "What are you doing, you idiot?"

"The only one…who's going to be out of a job here…is you!" she growled. She was forced to swing herself to the side to avoid a monorail speeding towards her and blaring its horn as though it was her fault she was being dragged around the city by a power-hungry corporate executive.

In other words, a regular executive minus the briefcase jets.

"Where'd you learn to drive!? Do you even have a license for that thing!?" she shouted.

"I don't need one. As a Class E vehicle, meaning a vehicle whose category does not fall into the classifications of A through D, a permit is not required to operate it outside of commercial use in Cosmopolis," Executive replied, nearly boring her to sleep even with such a short answer. "Now, if you would kindly remove yourself from my briefcase…!"

He shifted hard to the left towards one of the many skyscrapers of almost pure glass that were common in Cosmopolis. Just before colliding, he veered away while giving Foxgirl no time to do the same. Eyes wide, she was barely able to use her free hand to bring up her cape before she crashed through the glass and tumbled straight into a cubicle. The city being well-funded as it was, this mean she didn't go directly through as she would in Garden City and was instead stopped immediately while the cubicle's wall barely had more than a dent.

"Ugh…I never want to see another office or manager again after today," she mumbled to herself as she shook off the pain and got to her feet. Her suit absorbed most of the impact, but there was just enough left over to cause a dull, throbbing ache. She looked up and saw dozens of heads poking out of their cubicles to stare at her.

"You know, this sort of thing never happens with Moonlight," a man towards the back said.

"Excuse me for being a regular human instead of a super strong lion man who can fly!" she growled. "Also, that's a lie and you know it. I saw the papers last week, an entire monorail got crushed because of him!"

"Yeah, but it's hot when he does it," the man shrugged.

"It's hot when you do it too, baby. Don't listen to him," said Envoy.

She rolled her eyes and pressed a finger to her earpiece. "Please tell me you've made progress. I don't know how much longer until those robots blow."

"I managed to get enough of their code to figure that out. We've got five minutes before they're in place. I stopped doing that, though. I have another idea from watching you and I'm not sure whether I should thank you or yell at you for it."

"You can do both later. What's the idea?"

"We need to get you that laptop…and your grappling hook back. That thing costs a hundred grand, we're not finding you another. I'm going to use the connection from his robots to hack into his briefcase and force him to get close to the building. It's got pretty good security so I don't think I can keep control for long, maybe half a minute at most. You've got one shot to jump and grab on. Think you can handle it?"

"Envoy, this is me we're talking about," she grinned.

A short and annoying pause later, Envoy said, "…I'll start getting ready to mourn. Just know that I've never been happier than when I'm with you except for this moment. Anyway, hacking in. He should be showing up…now!"

She looked through the shattered glass window and saw Executive desperately trying to turn his briefcase away but continuing to speed towards the building. She took a few steps back, ignored the man who asked if she could get him Moonlight's phone number, ran forward…and jumped. For a moment, it felt like she was suspended in the air. The man on the flying briefcase slowed down even as he kept trying to redirect himself. The gasps from the office workers faded and became muffled.

Her hand grasped the grappling hook, and everything rushed back at once.

"I…I did it! Okay, I'm back on!" she grinned.

"You'll never climb the corporate ladder if you insist on being a pest!" Executive growled.

"Neither of you are going to be climbing anything in two seconds! I've got one more surprise before I'm kicked out!" said Envoy.

The jets on the briefcase began to sputter. They dropped a few feet, then the jets returned only for them to fail again. Executive stomped on it, briefly making them come back. For a second, he seemed to be back in control.

"Get ready! Three, two…!"

The briefcase turned off completely. The two of them, along with the briefcase and laptop, plummeted. Foxgirl ignored Executive's screams and unlatched her grappling hook, firing it towards the laptop. The talons dug in on the lower right side of the keyboard, hopefully not near anything too important. She pulled it towards herself and held onto it tightly, then dived to catch up to Executive who was tumbling out of control. She grabbed him and, the ground racing ever closer, shot her grappling hook one more time at a nearby skyscraper. She swung them both forward, released the hook, then grappled the edge of the rail which was, thankfully, void of trains at the moment. From there, she was able to lower herself and Executive to the ground.

"Envoy, I made it. Executive's out of commission, but we still need to stop those robots! I've got the laptop, want me to plug in?" she asked, leaving Executive to his violent shaking.

"Yes, I can take control of them from there. There's no time to get them out of the city, though, so I hope you have an idea," she said.

Foxgirl took a flash drive from her pocket and jammed it into the non-damaged side of the laptop. Just then, the briefcase slammed down a short distance away. Despite the impact, it looked mostly unharmed. This gave Foxgirl the idea she needed.

"Can you turn the briefcase on and tell the robots to come back to this spot?" she asked.

"I can't control it anymore, it kicked me out. You'll need to flip the switch and turn it on yourself. I can handle the robots. Why?" said Envoy.

"Because I have a way to get them out of here, or at least somewhere they can't hurt anyone." She rushed over to the briefcase and flipped it over-

"Do NOT turn that on while it's facing you! What's the matter with you?"

"I know! I'm looking for the switch!" Foxgirl growled. "…well, this one looks right. Here goes!"

She flipped it over again and pressed the largest button on the underside. Her hand was withdrawn just in time for the briefcase's jets to burst to life again and make it over a short distance above the ground. At the same moment, she saw the robots sprinting erratically towards her from all directions, their soft red glow now bright and flashing as it leaked from every crack and seam in their metal bodies.

"Okay. Have one of the robots get on top and have the rest hold onto each other while one grabs the bottom. I think Executive always leaned back to make it go up, so once the others are linked, make it do that!" she said, hurrying out of the way and hiding behind one of the pillars holding up the monorail.

"We'll have them go up and explode in the air! Good thinking! Just hope the fire doesn't make them explode quicker," said Envoy. "Alright, let's do it! We've got thirty seconds!"

One of the robots hopped up onto the briefcase. The others joined hands in a disturbing chain behind another who grabbed onto it from the bottom. The robot on top leaned back, and the briefcase's jets roared. It shot like a rocket into the sky with the robots attached to it. Foxgirl's heart pounded as she counted down in her head. It just needed to go a little farther-

With a great boom that made her ears ring even at a distance, the briefcase and robots exploded into a massive ball of fire. Pieces of metal rained down on the city, and while these would cause some damage, it was far preferable to the alternative. Besides, if someone was dumb enough to be outside while she was fighting off a supervillain, it was their fault if they got hit.

Foxgirl sighed with relief and slumped to the ground. "We did it. Envoy, call the CPD. Have them come get Executive."

"They're already on their way. Good work, as always. Now get back here so I can take you out," said Envoy.

"As in, for dinner or to kill me?" she grinned.

"Both, considering the stunt you pulled earlier."

Foxgirl stood up and stretched. "Sounds like a good time to me! I'll do another quick patrol around the city and then head to the hotel. Are we going fancy or casual tonight?"

"Fancy, and I'm paying. Just to make that clear." Foxgirl could clearly see the smirk on Envoy's face as she said it. They both knew there was no arguing with her.

"You really don't have to do that," she sighed, though smiling herself as she grappled up to the top of the monorail and swung away from there. "But if we're going to…at least wear that blue dress. I've only seen you in it once, but it looked perfect on you."

"As long as you wear the black one I got you last month."

"It costs so much, though! I don't want to risk it getting ruined or torn up or something."

"Oh, no. I'd hate to see you in a torn up dress," she said with exaggerated sarcasm. "If it does, I'll just buy you another. Please? For me?"

Once again, there was no point in arguing. Not when she said that.

"Okay, okay. I will, but only because you asked so nicely," she said. She unhooked herself and grabbed another building to the side, swinging around it and adding in a flip for good measure since she knew Envoy was watching. She eyed an advertisement on a large screen as she passed. "Hey, that guy from Burning Down is having a concert here next week! We should go see him!"

"I'd love to, but you really think we'll be able to get tickets to see Damian Dusk, of all people, with only a week to go?" she asked.

"I can't, but you can."

She heard Envoy sigh, and after a moment of silence: "…we've got two tickets for next Friday."

"Cool. Just let me know what I owe you. By the way, do I ever tell you how much I love you?"

"Not enough for all the things I do for you. But I love you too."

An hour later, she entered the hotel they were staying at while assuring the mildly alarmed receptionist she was only there to do a quick patrol and that there wasn't an immediate threat of something blowing up. At least, not this time. When she was sure she wasn't being watched, she ducked into a bathroom where Envoy said she hid a change of clothes and a bag inside one of the vents.

"This would be a lot easier if I was one of those comic book superheroes and could just get changed in a phone booth," she grunted as she took off her costume. "But no. If some buff comic guy does it, everyone thinks it's so heroic. If I do that, I get put on a list."

"Do phone booths even exist anymore? I'm pretty sure they don't," said Envoy. "…huh. There's one by the docks in Garden City. Never knew."

"Assuming it didn't get blown up with those warehouses," said Foxgirl. However, looking into the mirror and fixing her long hair, now dressed in a normal t-shirt and jeans and no longer having to deepen her voice, she wasn't Foxgirl anymore. Sure, she carried a smoke bomb or two in her pocket or purse just in case, but otherwise, she was once again just Alice Guerrero: completely normal woman, underpaid retail worker…and luckiest person in the entire world to have the partner that she does, both in her cowl and out of it.

She folded her previous outfit and stuffed it inside the bag, then left the bathroom and took the elevator to the top floor. She insisted that a penthouse suite wasn't necessary, but Envoy said that she'd gotten a massive payday recently from a few small-time villains planning to hit up a bank. They wanted information on the bank's operations, all of which was publicly available online, but they were willing to pay a ton for it. She got money, they would inevitably fail the robbery, there was no harm done. Therefore, why not use the money? With such a big payday, Alice knew there was nothing she could do to stop Envoy from spoiling her even though she didn't deserve it. She wouldn't pretend her accomplishments were meaningless, but plenty of other people and superheroes worked harder than her.

Alice knocked on the door once, paused, then knocked again three times. The door opened. The most beautiful woman Alice had ever seen stood in the doorway, her dark skin as flawless as the day they met, her long hair silky and draped perfectly around her shoulders, and her eyes more entrancing than Mind Crawler's dreams.

"Sorry, I'm expecting someone," she smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "Got a real superhero coming to see me soon."

"Oh, really? Hope she's hot," Alice smirked back.

"Eh, she's alright. But she's going to get a punch for the little stunt she pulled today whenever she shows up ."

Alice immediately turned around and raised her hand in farewell. "She sounds like a real piece of work! Sorry to have bothered you, ma'am!"

Envoy, who was no longer Envoy but the woman called Melody Myers, reached out and grabbed the back of Alice's shirt. "Nice try. Get in here."

After a brief scolding which included a threat to put an electrical current into her suit that Melody could activate to knock her out if she was going to do something stupid, Alice flopped onto the bed and spread her arms and legs out. After the day she'd had, it felt amazing to just be able to relax.

"Love, remind me why I agreed to cover Moonlight again," she grunted.

"Because he agreed to cover Garden City while he's there, and also because you're a better person than half of Aquapolis, most of Garden City, and all of Diamond City," Melody responded, now sitting at on the couch facing a wall of glass looking out over the city. As usual, she was typing away at an impossible speed and had dozens of windows on the screen at once that were constantly opening and closing. Alice got overwhelmed even glancing at it and chose to look out the window instead since the bed directly faced it and allowed her to do so without moving. She liked Cosmopolis; Garden City was interesting and fairly clean but looked like an art project gone wrong with its many experimental buildings and museums on every corner. Cosmopolis, on the other hand, was even cleaner and looked more like it had been plucked straight from the Jetsons. Monorails provided most of the city's transportation, and buses and an underground train filled in the rest. Normal cars were fairly rare with most citizens opting to use public transportation or their own such as bikes or skateboards, though every now and then flying cars referred to as Hovers would pass by. They were a technology unique to Cosmopolis due to being a recent invention and not being approved for mass production, but no accidents had been reported yet so the expectation was that they'd be common within the decade.

She briefly wondered why she even still lived in Garden City and didn't just move here.

"So there are better people than me, is what you're saying," she chuckled.

Melody shrugged. "You ever met anyone from this place? They're all saints. Almost had to fistfight the receptionist so she wouldn't pay me to take the room."

"Didn't Damian Dusk take a bat to someone at his concert the other day when they called him a show dog…and then to someone on his management team when they tried to stop him?"

Melody waved her hand dismissively while keeping her eyes on her laptop. "He's from Aquapolis, he doesn't count."

Alice, deciding to make use of her time while Melody was working, forced herself off the bed and went to one of the suite's bathrooms to get ready for dinner. She still felt hesitant about wearing the black dress, stunning and perfectly tailored to her as it was; with the right job, Melody might make enough to buy another in a day, but Alice knew she would have to save up for years to even afford half of it. Retail jobs and expensive dresses didn't usually mix. On the other hand, it would make her girlfriend happy.

She immediately put her doubts aside and decided to wear it.

A quick shower, a spray of the rose-scented perfume Melody said she loved, and what felt like ten years of making minuscule adjustments to her already perfectly set hair later, she stepped out of the bathroom with her heart racing. She and Melody had been together for six years, but every time they went on a date she felt like a teenager with their first crush. She'd hoped to one day get over it, but when Melody came out of her bathroom, her hair somehow looking even softer and more perfect than it had before, a faint scent of lavender coming from her skin, and wearing a blue dress that hung off her shoulders and amplified every one of her perfections, Alice's breath caught in her throat.

"Really? You act like you haven't seen me in basically every possible outfit at this point," she teased.

Alice went up to Melody and gently kissed her. "And every single one makes me wonder how I managed to get a girlfriend as amazing as you," she said.

"And I'm constantly wondering how I managed to get an actual superhero as my girlfriend," Melody laughed, wrapping her arms around Alice's waist. "And not just any superhero. The most beautiful, smart, and strong-willed one of them all. Moonlight's got nothing on you."

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you're exaggerating," Alice mumbled, feeling her face start to grow warm.

"Nope. Sure, he's got tons of powers, and he seems like a great guy. But you? You've got some inner strength that he could only dream of. That all of us could only dream of." Her eyes flicked to the city below them. "Every day, you go out and risk your life just to do it again the next day. And for what? To get called a menace by the GPD, or to get almost killed by a middle manager riding a damn flying briefcase. But you do it anyway."

"Moonlight gets tons of hate too, though. So do you."

"Oh, absolutely. But it's easier to shrug things off when you've got powers or you can hide behind a computer screen. You don't have either luxury, but you keep going anyway, even when it's impossible. That's why I admire you. You always do the right thing even if you know it'll hurt you." She kissed Alice and smiled. "Which is why I also know you're going to let me treat you to dinner tonight. Even if it hurts you."

"Hmm…I never agreed to that last part, you know," she said.

Melody grinned, detached herself from Alice, and ran towards the door. She looked back and winked. "Too late, already paid in advance! Oh, and I picked the most expensive restaurant in Cosmopolis, by the way!"

"What!? Oh, hell no! Melody, get back here!" Alice growled, taking off after her. "I AM paying for myself tonight even if I have to shove the money down your throat!"

"Good luck, you'll find ten times that amount in your bank account tomorrow if you try!"

"I'm calling the police! Hello, 911! A woman is trying to reverse rob me! Send Baxter right away!"

The restaurant Melody chose was simple but elegant. Garden City's restaurants, both high-end and normal, were unique but sometimes experimented far too much. The one they'd visited a few months ago placed its patrons on tables that slowly rotated in the air around a fountain that spewed water and barely missed them each time. This one, Alice was glad to see, stayed firmly on the ground and had no fountain other than the small one at the entrance.

"Welcome, ladies. I hope you're having a pleasant evening," their waitress said once they'd been seated. She wore a silver mask that covered her upper face like her colleagues, fitting with the restaurant's vague theme of a "mysterious, scandalous night out". Other than the waiters, though, there wasn't much scandalous about it all.

Garden City usually goes overboard, but maybe Cosmopolis could stand to experiment a little more.

"We are, thank you. How about you?" Alice asked.

"Oh, I couldn't be better," she replied. "Especially tonight. I've got big plans after this."

"Really? Anything fun?" said Melody.

The waitress smirked and raised a finger to her lips. "A woman never reveals her secrets, right? It…also may not be appropriate to discuss here."

"Ah," said Alice, having a fairly good idea of what she meant.

"Exactly. So! I'll leave you two to go over these menus, but I'll be around. Please let me know if you need anything."

She left, and they examined the menus. It started with a vast selection of wines which meant very little to them; Melody preferred whiskey, and Alice preferred to not drink but liked vodka on the rare occasion she did. Unfortunately, the menu had almost none of either, and so the several pages dedicated to wine were mostly just an ordeal to get through before they reached the food.

"I swear, you have to read an entire novel just to get to the good part," said Melody. "Oooo, a charcuterie board! Let's get that to start with."

Alice squinted at it. "What's…bolschetto al Tartufo?"

There was a short pause, then Melody stated: "Italian cheese made with white truffle."

"Did you seriously have to look that up?" Alice chuckled.

Melody put her phone away. "What, you think I know everything?"

"Yes, actually."

She shook her head. "I know what I'm paid to know. Unless knowing about cheese is going to save your life, why bother looking into it?"

"Babe, you learned Hieroglyphics and sent corrections to the Smithsonian because you got bored," Alice pointed out. She chose to not voice the concern that knowledge of cheese might one day save her life because that sounded like something that would happen to her, and she really didn't have the patience for that.

Melody smiled and interlocked her fingers while resting her chin on them. "And you learned a style of martial arts that's only useful against a bull in winter."

"Maybe I'll fight a bull in winter someday, you don't know. When I do, you'll be sorry you ever made fun of me."

The waitress returned a short time later and asked if they were ready to order. Melody has just begun to ask for the charcuterie board when the waitress gasped lightly.

"Ah, excuse me. It's getting late so there's something I need to take care of first. Charcuterie board, correct? I'll have that put in right after," she said.

"Oh, uh…no problem," said Alice. "Everything alright?"

She nodded. "Better than alright. It's just that I realized what time it is, and it's never good to be late. Excuse me for a moment."

The waitress went to the front of the dining room where there was a single table without any plates or guests. She hopped up on it and clapped a few times.

"Could I please have everyone's attention?" she called out.

The restaurant instantly went silent as all heads turned in her direction. Alice got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She hated that feeling. It never meant anything good.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight! I know you were planning on enjoying a night of lovely food, but I've got something even better for you! I would suggest no one move, no matter how startled you may become! Otherwise, you may become…more than startled. Lights, please!"

The lights went out, plunging the restaurant into darkness. A few people screamed, but Alice couldn't hear the sound of anyone's chairs moving. Whatever she meant, they seemed to be taking her advice to remain put. Before Alice could even ask what was going on, the lights returned along with a slow, creepy bout of circus music. The waitress on the table was now facing away from them and no longer wore her waitress outfit, instead being garbed in a long red coat and heeled boots. She had a white top hat and a black glove on her left hand while a white glove was on her left. Alice had never encountered her in person, but she'd seen plenty of pictures and videos. Even without seeing her face, it was clear who this woman was and what it meant for them. Perfect plays, grand spectacles, and shows of death and pain were all that followed her…

…and if they weren't careful, they'd be the main act.

"Welcome, one and all, to the greatest show of your lives! In fact, it may be the last show of your lives!" she declared. Her American accent was gone, replaced with a thick West African accent.

"How did she change so fast?" Melody asked quietly.

"Melody, that's Curtain Call!! I need to get out of here and change!" Alice hissed back.

"I know, but I still want to know how she did it! Anyway, I'll cause a distraction if I need to, and once I do, head to the bathroom! I left you uniform in the vents just in case!"

"Do you always do that when we go somewhere?"

"You can never be too careful. Wait for my signal."

Curtain Call laughed to herself. "Before the show begins, let's see what fate has in store for all of you! Will this be a short story, or a grand play? Let's find out!"

She raised something to her face and continued to look away for a moment while her captive audience waited. No one moved. No one even dared to breath. Finally, she slowly turned to reveal she was wearing half of a white mask that obscured the right side of her face.

"A grand play!" she declared. "Yes, it will be the grandest of all! You'll know your roles momentarily! But first…a little help getting to your dressing rooms!"

The lights went out again, this time followed by much louder screams and the sound of something rushing out like steam from a burst pipe. Before Alice could do more than stand up in an attempt to rush to the bathroom and put on her uniform, she smelled something pungent in the air, and her mind became clouded. With the darkness blocking her vision, all she knew was the gradual sound of screams getting softer as even the simplest of thoughts failed to surface in her mind. The last thing she heard before it all faded away was the dirge of circus music and a cruel, echoing laugh.

***

Alice slowly opened her eyes. The view before her was hazy, and only a few colors stood out to her. Brown, mainly, with lines of red. She blinked a few times, and it gradually came into focus. She was sitting on a plush red chair, one of hundreds just on the lower level, that faced a stage. The lights attached to the metal beams above shined directly on it, flooding the dark theater with unpleasant light. An out of place, massive red curtain lined with gold obscured the view of the back, leaving only a sliver of the front in sight.

"…hey. Melody…? Where…" she mumbled.

"Right here…ugh…" came Melody's voice from beside her. As always, just the sound of it was enough to calm Alice's nerves and help her focus. She looked around and saw that they were far from the only ones who'd been taken; everyone else from the restaurant sat in the theater with them, their hands tied behind the back of their chairs just as hers and Melody's were. All faced the stage, and most were still unconscious.

"Are you okay…? I still feel like I'm going to pass out," Alice groaned.

"Yeah…yeah. I think I'm fine. I'm…honestly more worried about what Curtain Call is planning." Melody raised her head. "…hey. This is Nova Hall where Damian Dusk is performing next week…! Great…now when we go, we're only going to be thinking of this."

"Assuming we make it out alive," Alice sighed.

"Babe, do you know how much I paid for those tickets? We're going to that concert."

She didn't have time to argue; at that moment, the lights dimmed and a single spotlight shined on the center of the stage. There was a puff of smoke, and Curtain Call emerged from it with her arms spread wide.

"Welcome, one and all! I, Curtain Call, will be the ringmaster for tonight's show! Our first act is set to begin, so please do not attempt to leave your seats! You see, I've made a few…adjustments!" she announced. She took a whip from her side and snapped it onto the stage. The few in the crowd that had woken up gasped and screamed as a turret extended from the metal and shot a single round into the stage. "Try to leave without playing your part, and for those watching the show from home, attempt to interfere, and this may just be the last show any of you ever see!"

"We need to get out of here. I can't do anything unless I can get near her or I have my stuff!" Alice whispered.

"I know, but I'm not Firewall. I can't do anything either without my laptop or at least a phone to hack into the turrets with," Melody replied.

"And if that was not enough deterrent," she continued while holding up a remote with a single button, "should anyone try to sacrifice themselves on purpose or attempt to remove me from the stage, everyone here will become part of the act! If I push this button or the transmitter leaves the stage, we enter an explosive finale! Until then, the show WILL go on, so let us get started with our first performance of the evening! Let the animals take the stage! It's showtime!"

Curtain Call cracked her whip, and the curtain rose. A young man and a young woman Alice recognized as the ones sitting to the left and right of their table were revealed. Both were wearing white robes and stood on opposite ends of the stage.

"Allow me to set the scene: we come upon two lovers, forbidden to hold the other in their arms due to the war between their villages! They flee to the forest in the dead of night, desperate to see each other, to feel each other for the brief moment they can! We gaze upon such passion with expectant eyes, and they gaze upon each other with love, unaware their most private of moments is being observed by those they cannot see! All they know is each other. All they know is they may not have another chance. Begin!"

"B-but I don't even know her! How can we-" the man stuttered.

Another crack of the whip, another bullet fired into the stage.

"No improvisation! You must be perfect, off-book, a true actor! This is your only warning! Next time, you will be removed from the stage!" Curtain Call snarled. "Begin!"

The man and woman shakily moved towards each other. They both looked around nervously, likely searching for a way out or hoping to see the police burst through the doors to save them, but there was no one coming. The police knew by now, probably, but they also knew better than to interfere without a plan. Even she did, and she'd never fought Curtain Call before.

"W-were you followed?" the woman stuttered. For a moment, Alice feared that the obvious terror in her voice would lead to Curtain Call ending the scene. However, it seemed to be working in her favor at the moment since the scene called for them to be nervous anyway.

"N-no, I wasn't. I h-hope you weren't. Should your mother f-find out about this-" the man said.

"She…she won't find out. No one can know." The woman reached out and hesitantly touched his face. "T-tonight…we leave our marks on each other, marks that o-only we will see."

"Y-yes, my love…how we feel tonight will…will be remembered by our bodies for the rest of our l-lives." Shaking, he leaned in and grasped the hem of her robe…and then backed away. "I can't! I have a husband, I can't do this to him!"

"So do I! Please, we tried our best! We did your scene, just let us go!" the woman cried, turning towards Curtain Call.

For a moment, she stared at them with an impossible to read silence.

"Please-"

Curtain Call cracked her whip. The turrets fired several rounds into them both, and their white robes became stained with a quickly growing pulse of red. They collapsed and became still.

"You have failed to play your part," she said while those watching screamed and the curtain fell. She faced the audience and spread her arms. "Unruly animals cannot be tolerated! They will perform the act they have been trained to perform, or they will be considered useless and disposed of! Let's hope our next act will prove more…lively. I will now select those who will participate."

She hopped off the stage and walked between the rows of victims, eyeing each as she passed. She spared no more than a passing glance at Alice and Melody before snapping her fingers.

"Aha! Yes, you two will do nicely for the scene I have in mind! Come with me, come with me! You must learn your lines! You will be glad to know, however, that there will be no change of wardrobe necessary this time," she said, grabbing another man and woman. The man was middle-aged at most, while the woman was clearly much older.

"This is insane! If she comes down here again, I'm going to stop her myself!" Alice growled as Curtain Call removed the restraints and dragged her two new "actors" to the stage and behind the curtain.

"How? Even if you got free, one wrong move and she blows this whole place up. If I can just find a phone, maybe I could at least connect to my laptop and stop the turrets, or disable that transmitter. Probably not enough time for both, but one's better than none," said Melody.

The problem was that neither of them had their phones on them anymore, and it was highly unlikely anyone else did. Hurried whispers to those closest confirmed it: no one had their bags or any electronics on them at all, not even a watch. Curtain Call wasn't taking any chances, which meant their own chance of survival was rapidly decreasing.

The curtains opened again. The man and old woman faced each other while Curtain Call faced her "audience".

"I will set the scene!" she declared. "A man, one Howard Wiles, is a private detective! He has long been on the trail for the one who orchestrated the murder of his parents many years ago! Now, after thirty years, he has finally found the woman responsible. Wendy was a feared crime boss and gave the direct order to collect on the money Howard's parents owed! She is old now, unable to fight back, but his parents did not get the chance to see old age like she did! Now, her life is in his hands! Will he take vengeance, or will he destroy his own life's purpose by choosing mercy? We will soon find out! Begin!"

The man named Howard, at least for the scene, shakily walked towards Wendy who was desperately looking between him and the audience.

"I…I've f-found you," he stuttered. "After all these years…!"

Wendy tried to speak, but no words came out. At a crack of Curtain Call's whip, she spat out, "Y-yes! It's me! I c-can't believe it took you this long!"

"Do you know what you did to my parents? Do you…know who I am?" he asked.

"What is…what is another orphan? You all look the same to me after all this t-time," Wendy stammered.

Howard pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her. "T-then there's no point in talking anymore!"

Wendy cowered, but after eyeing Curtain Call's whip and the turrets, she said, "Will…will this help you? When I'm d-dead, what use will you be to yourself? Will your parents, w-whoever they are, be proud of you?"

"What choice do I have?" he replied. He moved directly in front of her and placed the gun's barrel at her forehead. "I l-live for nothing but this! If you know the same fear they did, that's all I need…!"

She stared at him with pleading eyes. He closed his own.

"I'm sorry," he said before pulling the trigger.

Gunfire mixed with screams from the watchers as Wendy fell backwards with a hole in her head that stained the stage crimson and gray. He whipped around to face Curtain Call.

"I did what you wanted! That was the end of the scene! Now let me go!" he cried.

"That was the end of the scene, you're correct. You did make it there unlike the previous actors. However…" she said. She cracked her whip. The turrets opened fire on Howard, and he crumpled to the ground just like Wendy. "You added an apology to the script. No improvisation."

"That's it, I'm stopping her right now!" Alice snarled. She attempted to stand up, unsure of what she was going to do or even how to get free but determined to do something so that no one else had to die. Before Melody could yank her back down, Curtain Call turned around and saw her while the curtain lowered.

"Ah! A volunteer for the next scene! That sort of attitude will get you far as an actor!" she said happily, clapping her hands together. "Come, come! I'll get the stage sorted while you learn your lines! Oh, and we'll also bring that girl next to you."

Melody glared at Alice as Curtain Call hurried to them and undid their restraints. Without even waiting for them, she rushed back to the stage and vanished behind the curtain.

"You owe me for this," said Melody.

"I didn't tell her to choose you!" Alice growled back.

"You made her notice you! How are we going to stop her now? You hit her too hard, that remote is going to fly off the stage and blow everything up!"

"You got a better idea? If so, I'd love to hear it!"

"Yes, actually. I was just hoping it wouldn't come to this." She lightly tapped her right foot. "Most of my outfits, in this case my shoes, are fitted with what's basically a minuscule EMP generator. Like I said, you can never be too careful. If I can get close enough to something for long enough, I may be able to take it out."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Alice seethed.

"Because I don't know if it'll work! I don't know what kind of transmitter she's running, it could be shielded against EMP blasts! It's all we've got, though, so for now, let's just play along and hope it works."

They went through the curtain just in time to see Curtain Call dragging the two bodies to the side of the stage and unceremoniously laying them on top the bodies of the other two, forming a horrific pile. She looked up and nodded at them.

"Welcome! I'll get your scripts in just a moment." She glanced at the pools of blood on the stage. "I apologize for the…stains. Unfortunately, I am a little lacking in help right now so there's no time to clean them up fully."

"What do you want? Why are you even doing all this?" Alice asked.

She paused. "…why? Because the stage is all we have. Why else?"

"Can't you just get involved in a community theater production of Cats like a normal person?" said Melody.

Curtain Call raised her whip. "Never insult my talents like that again!"

Melody flinched, and Alice immediately stepped in front of her. There was another short pause, and Curtain Call sighed.

"…this scene calls for two people. I must stay my hand for now," she said, lowering her whip. "You ask why. Because humans are just another kind of animal. They will play their parts, they will perform, or they will die. The world is a cruel director, ceaselessly casting and recasting without care. I, on the other hand, give my actors a chance to play their parts and go on to perform another. What is so wrong with that? Could it not be said that I am a more merciful director?"

"You murder anyone who fails to stick to your script!" Melody growled.

"And yet they have the chance to live. That is more than what the world offers."

Alice took a step forward. "Curtain Call…please, just listen to me. It doesn't have to be this way. I can talk to the cops, the CPD is always very fair. They'll be willing to listen and make sure you get some help if you turn yourself in."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between the three of them. The woman behind the mask refused to show how she was feeling, something Alice was well-acquainted with. However, she had someone to turn to when the mask became too heavy. She had someone to help her take it off. Maybe that's all Curtain Call needed, too.

Curtain Call looked away. "Do you think…there may be something more for me?" she asked slowly.

"I know there is," said Alice. "I've heard about you. Whether you help or hurt depends on the mask you wear, the same as when you choose your victims. Uh…I mean, actors. White, you help or give your actors a chance to perform. Black, and you hurt others or kill on the spot. Even if you might be a bit much when you wear the white mask and help out the heroes, maybe cause a bit more damage than you should-"

"A bit?" Melody grumbled.

"…okay, a lot more. Still, there's something there. Just remember how that feels, to help people instead of hurt them."

Curtain Call looked at her. She didn't reach for her whip. She didn't stand tall, declaring the show must go on. For the first time that night, she looked like any other woman who didn't know what to do. Who was scared.

"And you…you can help me…?" she practically whispered.

Alice smiled and held out her hand. "Of course I can. I promise."

Curtain Call paused and then slowly stumbled towards Alice as if something was desperately trying to hold her back, her own hand outstretched. They were mere feet away, their hands nearly grasping each other's-

"…and, scene!" Curtain Call declared, whipping her arm back and bowing deeply. "Now that was acting! I hope my demonstration proved useful as I will expect the same level of performance from you two!"

"I…what? What are you talking about?" Alice asked. "That was just a trick? Please, just listen to me! We don't have to-"

Curtain Call cracked her whip. "Enough! It is almost time for you to perform! How stupid you must be if you think simple words will be enough to stop my show! Nothing will end this performance until I say it's done!"

"Baby, just give up. We can't get through to her," said Melody while placing a hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Listen to your girlfriend! She has more sense than you!" Curtain Call laughed. She reached into her coat and whipped out two sheets of paper with a flourish. "These are your lines! You will have twenty minutes to study them, and I am sure I don't need to explain what happens if you are not as perfect as I was a moment ago."

She forced the scripts into their hands and retreated to the opposite end of the stage to watch them, her whip ready to call the turrets if needed.

"Why…? Why do they never listen? I can help them! I just-" Alice cried.

Melody took her into a tight hug. "Alice, we can't help everyone. I don't like it either, I promise it hurts me as much as it hurts you, but we're only human. Let's just focus on these stupid lines so we can make it out of this, okay?"

Alice wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. "Yeah…yeah. Okay." She looked down at the script and quickly read through it. It wasn't long, thankfully; both of them only had to speak a few times. With Curtain Call, however, even one line could be deadly if not performed exactly as she wanted. That wasn't what worried Alice, though. The script didn't call for them to shoot each other, or do whatever it was the first two were going to have to do, but that didn't make it better.

"Do we really have to say this…?" she asked quietly. "She even got our names right. How did she…?"

"Maybe she went through our stuff while we were knocked out, saw our licenses or something. It'll be okay. Just…stick to the script, and I'll try to stay near Curtain Call to take out her transmitter. We'll be fine," Melody replied, though there was a hitch in her voice that suggested she didn't like it either.

Twenty minutes later, Curtain Call faced her captive audience and bowed. "It's time for our next performance! Allow me to set the scene! Just as our first act, we find two lovers! This time, they do not meet for pleasure under the moonlight. No, quite the opposite: they have grown far apart, their love replaced with resentment and pain! Tonight, their hearts rip away from each other forever! Begin!"

The curtain rose into the air to reveal Alice and Melody on opposite ends. They faced away from each other, both with stony faces.

"What are we even doing, Melody?" Alice asked. She looked up at the ceiling. "We've been at this for years, and what do we have to show for it?"

"I don't know what you have. What I have is seven years of pain and regret," said Melody. She shook her head and turned, then moved a few steps towards the center…and Curtain Call. "I've tried, Alice. I've tried so hard to make this work, and you've given me nothing!"

Alice whipped around and pointed at her. "I've given you nothing!? I've given you everything! Who was it that dropped their month-long trip to Europe a day before I'd leave because your aunt died and you needed support? Who was it that's helped you with your student loans even though I make less than you do!?"

Melody gasped. "Excuse me? I never asked you to do any of that! I told you that I'd rather you went on that trip!"" She narrowed the gap between herself and Alice, now standing parallel with Curtain Call. She stomped her right foot. "This is what I mean, Alice! You guilt trip me just for existing! I'm over it! I'm just…so over it!"

"I…Melody, what are you saying?" she asked hesitantly.

"…whatever. It doesn't matter anyway." Melody crossed her arms and looked away. "It never has."

"What, you're saying we're done? After all we've been through together?" Alice said, laughing sarcastically.

Melody merely shrugged.

Alice pounded against the stage on the way over to her. "Alright fine! If we're going to end it anyway, I'll say what I really think of you and this relationship!"

"Fine! Say it!" she growled, and though her facade held, Alice had known her long enough to see the pain behind her eyes from what was coming.

"I will! I…I think you're…! I think we're…!" Alice stated, struggling to get out the words she knew she needed to say for them to both live.

Curtain Call eyed them. "Remember: no improvisation. You've done very well so far, and that's the only reason you're getting this warning. Continue. Now."

Alice took a deep breath and even grabbed Melody's shoulder in an attempt to force herself to say it. "I think…that…"

The words didn't even feel like words in her mind. They were so incomprehensible, so impossible to even think that it wasn't even possible to want to say them. Each time she tried, they felt like razors cutting through her heart and up into her throat before failing to come out, then retreating back when she swallowed and tried again.

"…alright. You want to know what I think?" she finally sighed. She looked into Melody's eyes, the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen that instantly captured her heart the first time they met. She moved her hand from Melody's shoulder to the side of her face and gently stroked it. "I think you're beautiful. I think you're the kindest, strongest, most patient woman I've ever met. I think I wouldn't be a millionth of what I am without you, and I don't even just mean our job. You're so smart, and you always know what to do. Whenever I'm scared, or confused, or feel like I'm going to give up, just thinking about you helps me keep going because for you, I'd do anything. I'd get through anything, and if I can't, I know I can count on you to help me."

Melody stared at her for a moment, then brought her hand up to Alice's. "You say that, but I'm the one who's always in awe of how strong you are. The things you've done…when I watch them, sometimes all I can do is sit back and go, wow. That's my girlfriend. That's the love of my life. I've never looked up to anyone like I look up to you, Alice. It's easy to hide behind a computer screen. It's hard to go out and fight, even harder to do the right thing even when you know it'll hurt. But you always do. "

"I guess you're right. That's why I'm saying this now." She felt the tears return and begin to stream down her cheeks. "I know I feel about you, and no stupid script is going to make me pretend otherwise. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I love you, Melody."

Pressing her forehead against Alice's, Melody said, "I love you too. I've never been happier than when I'm with you. You'll always be my hero."

Curtain Call's fists clenched. She slammed her foot onto the stage. "Unacceptable! You were close! You were so close, and you went off-script at the last moment! I told you: no improvisation! My script is perfect, my ACTORS must be perfect! The entire scene is ruined because of you!"

With a yell, she raised her whip into the air and cracked it as hard as she could against the stage. Alice and Melody closed their eyes and held each other close-

"…what? What is happening?" Curtain Call growled. "Are even my turrets going off-script now!?"

Alice's eyes flew open. Free from bullets raining down on her and with Curtain Call in a state of shock, she had one chance. She rushed over and leapt into the air. She tackled her, sending both rolling across the stage. Just before reaching the edge, Alice used the momentum to roll onto her feet with Curtain Call in her arms. She raised her above her head and threw her off the stage where she struck a row of empty seats and became still. A dead silence hung in the air as they all waited to see if they were truly free. Was the stage going to explode?

Nothing happened.

The moment they realized there was no longer any danger, the other victims exploded into cheers. A second later, police swarmed the area. No less than four of them sprinted to the front to grab Curtain Call who had woken up and struggled in vain to break free while she was escorted out of the theater.

"This is not over!" she yelled back at them. "I don't know how you stopped my finale, but I WILL have it! This show has not reached its conclusion!"

Alice didn't care. Maybe she'd escape prison, maybe not. All that mattered, the only person that did in that moment, was still on the stage. Alice ran over to her and tackled her with nearly the same force she slammed into Curtain Call with, forcing both of them to the stage floor.

"Thank God…I'm so glad it's over…that you're alright…" Alice breathed, pressing herself into Melody's embrace.

"All because of you, baby. You saved the day yet again," Melody smiled. She leaned back and ran her fingers through Alice's hair. "My love, my everything…my superhero."

Alice shook her head. "No, it's because of you this time. Without your EMP, those turrets would have been the end of us. Speaking of which, where do you hide those things?"

"Like I said, in my shoes this time. For the others, maybe I'll let you search for them later," she smirked. "But…I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you."

"…tell me what?" she asked slowly.

Melody looked up at the now-deactivated turrets. "I don't think my EMP worked. It's small, so it takes time to charge up. Maybe I got one of them. Maybe. But to be strong enough to reach the turrets and the transmitter, and power them both off…I'd need to be near Curtain Call for a lot longer than I was."

"But…if it wasn't you, then how'd they get shut off?" Alice wondered.

Before Melody could answer, an alarmingly familiar voice asked, "Are you two alright?"

They whipped their heads around, their hearts stopping in their chests. Normally, that voice would be comforting. This time, when Alice wasn't in uniform and Melody wasn't hidden behind a computer screen, it possibly meant a world of trouble.

"Y-yes, we're okay. Thank you," said Melody, scrambling to her feet along with Alice. "Thank you, Officer…?"

"Baxter," he said, holding out his hand. "Aaron Baxter. I'm a detective over in Garden City."

Melody shook it and then said, "Melody. But, Garden City? Why are you here in Cosmopolis, then?"

"I was already in Cosmopolis to follow up on a lead with another case, but when I heard about Curtain Call taking people hostage, I asked if I could help out. At first, I thought I'd managed to hack into the theater's camera feeds. Then I realized that's what she wanted. She broadcast it to anyone who would tune in," he replied.

"All part of her show," Melody sighed.

"Exactly. So we got here as quick as we could and waited for a chance to stop her. If it wasn't for the threat of bombs right as we were about to bust the door down, we'd have already done it. After all, someone has to help since Moonlight's not here, right? I heard he and Foxgirl traded places for the day." He looked around. "…where is Foxgirl, anyway? This sounds exactly like something she'd get involved in."

"Yeah. It sure does," Alice grunted.

"Not a fan, I take it?" Baxter laughed.

"Let's just say I've never been eye-to-eye with her."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. I work with her now and then. She's a little hard to wrangle sometimes, but she always comes through. Maybe you should give her a chance someday. Then again, I doubt failing to come save you is winning her any points. I'm just glad I was able to get the detonator and those turrets off in time."

"That was you?" Alice gasped.

"Yep! Foxgirl's partner, Envoy, she's got hacking skills that make mine seem like a toddler plunking away at a keyboard, but I'm pretty good with a computer when I need to be. Good thing I was here, right?" he said.

Melody rolled her eyes. "She's not that great. I'm sure you're way better, Officer Baxter."

He smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well…thanks. You're wrong, but I appreciate the compliment. Man, you two really don't like Foxgirl and Envoy, do you?"

"Again, we're very different people," said Melody. "What now? I assume we're going to be taken in for questioning?"

"I'm sorry, but yes," he sighed. "You two have a long night ahead of you. I hope you get another chance to have your nice night out later on. Especially since you're the ones who stopped Curtain Call, it's the least of what you deserve." Suddenly, he frowned. "…though, I have to say: have we met before, Alice? You seem familiar."

"Speeding ticket three years ago. Twenty miles over the limit on Vermilion Street, and I took a corner way faster than you liked. You were the one who pulled me over," she said.

"…oh! Yeah, I remember now. Wow, you've got a great memory," he chuckled.

"I remember because it was the only time I wasn't able to flirt my way out of a ticket," she shrugged. "You added an extra ten bucks on top because I tried."

"Yep, definitely remember that one now. I hope you haven't tried that again. The speeding or the flirting. I'd really hate to give you another ticket someday, especially after all this." He crossed his arms and frowned. "You know, as much as I don't get why Foxgirl didn't come help you all, sometimes I wonder if we should rely on her as much as we do. I wonder about what it means to be a superhero and whether it's something that anyone can be. Maybe we don't all have powers or know martial arts, but you just proved that there's always something we can do. Isn't that what it means to be a hero, even if just to one person?"

Melody placed her hand over her heart and beamed at him. "Well, you're our hero tonight, Officer Baxter. We owe you our lives. Just…try to keep the questioning as short as you can, okay?" She looked over at Alice, and her false smile gave way to a real one. "I've got a date with the most beautiful woman in the world to get back to…and that's one show that I'm going to make sure I see no matter what."