Kaleb pulled his car over to the curb and sighed heavily. From the passenger seat next to him, Milly whistled happily as she ate. He'd thrown a few pellets down on the seat with her and she'd been munching away the whole evening. Which had been fairly boring so far. He'd done multiple laps of their assigned territory and found little aside from a few minor public events. Cats up trees, lost dogs, noise complaints. Farrah's people had said it was kinda calm, but this was beyond his expectation.

"What's the game here?" Kaleb said into the air as he looked at the empty street.

A reply came over his car stereo. "I don't think it's a game at all now."

"Why's that Farrah? I thought you and your people were blaming the police for this."

"We were, but it turns out they are just as confused as we are. Someone has gotten the gangs under control and they are now keeping to themselves."

Kaleb chewed his lip and reached over to scratch his new pet. "Well, I don't like that at all."

"Me either. We don't know if this hidden third party is doing it to be helpful or if a new player has entered our neck of the woods. But if they have the power to bring the gangs to heel while avoiding the police, we're in trouble."

"What have the others found?"

"Same as you. Just a few minor incidents with the locals. Our popularity is on the rise, but we also aren't really getting any major arrests. Which means that we aren't making any major credits."

"At least we get paid for maintaining the contract, right?"

"Yes, but that's peanuts compared to arrests bonuses. It's designed this way to encourage heroes to pick up multiple contracts. More contracts, then the bigger your monthly payment is."

"But that would require us to have a bigger team."

He could hear Farrah's nod. "Which would mean increased cost, which would mean we'd need more contracts, and rinse and repeat. There is a point of breaking even, but you have to survive that long. Also, more people means more dues being paid to the guild."

Kaleb ground his teeth at the wonky system as Milly squeaked happily under his hand. Farrah went quiet for a time, letting him take in the street. He was currently on Imperial, just a block away from Blue Bluff, and he could see the store fronts closing down for the night. The NPC citizens checked the street before closing shop and jogging to their cars. Fear of the gangs was still rampant, but Kaleb knew the others were doing their best.

They hadn't been out here long, and they were slowly getting the regular citizens on their side. The demon incident had been a big win. But they needed more. Which wasn't going to happen with the gangs behaving. Kaleb grit his teeth in annoyance at it all. They needed the gangs to act up to do their jobs, but if the gangs were behaving, that meant their beat was safe. But safe was also boring!

He sighed again as he picked Milly up and set her on his lap. The blue marmot whistled indignantly until Kaleb grabbed some of her snacks as well. He was hand-feeding the little lady some pellets when Farrah called in again.

"Professor, Abby has an idea. Patching her in now."

"...Just make sure he won't be an idiot on this one. We need this to go smoothly and, bless his heart, the Professor is a hammer that sees every problem as a nail." Abby's voice echoed in his car as Kaleb froze at her words.

He cleared his throat loudly as she stopped speaking and waited. There was a long pregnant pause as Abby seemed to clock on to what had happened. He heard her cough awkwardly before speaking up again.

"I stand by what I said. You have trouble being circumspect in your investigations."

"Y'all act like I try to blow shit up all the time. Need I remind you that, most times, I'M the one getting blown up?"

"This just needs a gentle touch, Prof. So make sure you're on your best behavior."

"If that's an issue, why even call me?"

"Cause Claire is worse than you when it comes to stealth, Jar-lock is a stick in the mud, and Two Gun does nothing without his wife. You are at least fun, and if shit goes sideways, I can blame your luck."

"What's the plan?"

"Well, remember all that legwork the rest of us did on hunting down the Demons in our neighborhoods?"

"While I was slaving away in a hot lab building, you shit? How's that new blaster, by the way?"

"Works amazing and, yes, while you were doing an equally important task."

"What about it?"

"Well, when I was out exploring, I found a Demon hideout. Jar and I marked it and then later went back with most of the group to clear it out. We caught fifteen gang members in one raid and found evidence of drug smuggling. It was great!"

"Okay…"

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"But since the Demons are gone, the place is abandoned. Or, at least, it was."

"And now?"

"Now I am looking at a bunch of low-level thugs using the small building as a hangout spot. They've been partying the night away. Drinking, dancing, and fucking for the past hour."

"Okay, so you want to move in and bust some heads? How does that require me to be stealthy?"

Abby sighed heavily. "No, Professor. I want to get in there and find out what's going on! These guys are small time. We could wipe them up in thirty minutes and be on our way."

"So let's do that and then investigate their hideout."

"Prof, we don't want whoever is holding these guys back to know we are on to them. We have to do this stealthy. At least for now."

Kaleb mulled it over for a few seconds before Milly bit his finger. Looking down, he realized he was out of treats and the little marmot was getting surly. He sighed to himself before starting his car back up and asking Abby for directions.

"It's a quick drive, Prof. I'm out in Woodland Hills."

"On my way."

"I've got drones on standby, you two. Don't do anything too risky." Farrah spoke up.

"Just keep the cops away, Farrah." Abby said.

"We'll have to report the incident at some point. But we can forestall the report in the name of operational security."

"Another fucking stick in the mud," Abby whined before she cut her comms.

Kaleb rolled his eyes as Milly leapt from his lap into the passenger seat, looking for more pellets. When she found none, she turned a glare on Kaleb. He was sure he saw a blue spark of electricity behind her eyes, but Kaleb merely shrugged at her. She whistled indignantly before splaying out on the seat in a huff. They rode in silence for three minutes before Kaleb checked in with Abby for specific directions. The shadow-wielding mutant had him park his car and walk down several back alleys before he spotted their target. Milly took her spot on his shoulder for most of the walk before melting into his arm again.

His target was an actual house. A three story colonial with a large porch and vast bay window. Kaleb would've mistaken it for an average family home if it wasn't for the thugs sprawled across its porch and yard. They wore their gang colors out in the open and brazenly scowled at any passersby. Kaleb almost leapt into action when he spotted a young couple hurrying past the house, but nothing happened other than some catcalling.

"See, I knew you were going to have issues." Abby's voice said from the darkness to his left.

She was in an alley off to his left, her eyes fixed on the house. Kaleb quickly ducked into the alley and joined her in watching the house.

"Excuse me for trying to be a hero."

"Which is better? A passing good deed or lasting safety for this neighborhood?"

Kaleb bristled. "All I can do is the good in front of me, Abs."

She glanced up at him before blowing out a breath and looking back to the house. "They are prepared for me."

Confused, Kaleb turned back to the house in question. She was right. The house was lit up like a Christmas tree and not just from the inside. The gang of thugs had flood lights and lamps on the lawn outside. It was like they were trying to light up the entire neighborhood. Which Kaleb suddenly realized was empty. The houses next door to the gang's hangout spot were empty. So were the buildings across from it. Which made a kind of sense to Kaleb. He bet that the gang had scared everyone off. Which gave him an idea. Milly must have sensed his plan, cause she chittered happily within his arm, drawing Abby's eye. She glanced at Kaleb before looking down at his chittering arm.

"My new pet," Kaleb said as Milly exited his arm at the shoulder.

Abby took one look at the blue marmot and snickered. "Fearsome."

"Say what you want, but she's about to get you into that house."

Abby's face became serious as she looked between Kaleb and Milly. "How?"

"I kill the power to the house. Like we did at the warehouse, remember?"

"I remember how that went. Didn't we all wind up in a fight?"

"I turned off the generator to lure in some guards before we raided the place. This time I'll fry everything in that house and I can do it from next door." Kaleb pointed to the squat blue house next to the party.

"How long will I have?"

"Fucking ages. I'm going to fry out everything on that lawn. Maybe blow a few bulbs as well."

"Whatever you do in the privacy of your own home…" Abby quipped before turning back to the house he'd indicated.

Kaleb shook his head at her dig before she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think I can get us over there. But once I do, you have to stay put. I'll slip into the place, grab what I can and then slip back out. No matter what you hear, stay put. Even if they catch on to what I'm doing. If they do, I'll lead them away and then you can rush inside. If things go well, I'll pop back to you and we'll get out."

Kaleb rolled his eyes, but nodded. As he did, he felt a coldness seize him at the elbow. Looking down, he saw an inky black shadow swallowing him at the arm. The shadow stretched over him completely as his vision went black and Milly chittered loudly, ducking back into his arm. A sinking feeling came to Kaleb's stomach as he felt himself go weightless. The next thing he saw was a pale blue wallpaper seemed to be fading even more at the edges.

Abby's hand yanked him down to a kneeling position as he realized she had shadow-walked them into another building. Abby was panting next to him as light streamed in from a window just above Kaleb's right shoulder. The sounds of the thugs partying was even louder from here. Kaleb swore he could smell cigarette smoke and cooked meat from his position on the floor. Abby put a finger to her lips and shooed him away. As she did, Kaleb saw her mouth the words 'get to work.'

Kaleb gave her a nod and searched around the room. He was already kneeling, so he crept along the floor, his eyes on the wall until he found what he was looking for. When he did, Milly poked her head out of his shoulder and Kaleb caught her eye. Using what limited connection they had, Kaleb tried to explain what he wanted from the creature. She stared at him for a long time, so long that Kaleb thought his idea was already failing. But then Milly sank back into his arm and it whirred loudly. Kaleb had just enough time to brace himself before his arm practically exploded with energy. Ironically, he felt like he just stuck his finger in a light socket.

That thought made him grin wickedly as he reached out with his overpowered cybernetic hand. With a jerky motion, he tapped his finger to the power outlet on the wall. A huge blue spark leapt from his finger and hit the outlet with a pop. A pop that was followed by a loud sizzling and then a spark of electricity climbed up the wall and through the lines beyond. The sounds of electricity popping and the room filled with the smell of something burning before a louder pop came from outside. The pop was followed by several more until Kaleb's entire world went dark again. Outside, the music stopped, and the gangsters started shouting in confusion.

Kaleb turned back to Abby and gave her a nod. The short mutant woman nodded back and then sank into the darkness like a ghost. Kaleb turned his back to the wall and tried to ignore the stench in the room. Outside, the thugs were still arguing and shouting. He kept a hand on his Cybar and waited, reaching up to his shoulder to give Milly a congratulatory pat on the head. But the marmot wasn't coming out. For a moment he worried she had hurt herself frying the house's wiring. But then she sent him her feelings and Kaleb had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. She wasn't coming out while the nasty stench was in the air.

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