Chapter 27
Mahmoud Schahed/Kahu Kia`i
We gathered the unconscious thugs in the largest room, the gymnasium. Well, what used to be a gymnasium, likely from back when this place had been a school. It looked more like images of Chernobyl now. A place that had slowly rotted as time passed. It used to be a basketball court. Now the hardwood floor had rotted apart. The paint on the walls had faded and cracked to reveal the paint beneath. The Dragons had placed some pallets down on the floor in places, with tables atop those covered in laboratory equipment made for making drugs. Or cake for all I knew about cooking.
My bet was drugs though.
I carried two guys over my shoulders before placing them down in the center of the room. I felt my back crack as I straightened, then looked about the room. We'd been laying them side-by-side on their backs so far. The whole facility was now empty, far as I could tell, though some of the baddies could have done a runner when I wasn't looking. We'd take care of them if so.
Mudkip pulled another person next to one of the guys I'd dropped, rummaging in his pocket before passing me his phone. I added it to the box of phones we'd taken from the others while looking over the bodies.
Around 20 guys and gals, all knocked out. That was important. We had the cops and the media looking in on us now. We couldn't exactly kill these guys if we could avoid it. As tempted as I'd felt when I saw the damage they'd done. Mimikyu wasn't the only one who ran into horrors.
I looked to the other side of me, where Gurdurr was eyeing the knocked out gangsters. Behind him, Tyrunt was gently looking over a young woman and man. Tourists maybe. Both were thin and malnourished, covered in bruises. They weren't speaking, just staring around with blank eyes. They were the only living people we'd found.
I sighed, looking back at the people we'd knocked out. Goddamn them all.
"Ma!" a call from the entrance drew our attention. I felt relief flood through me at the sight of Slugma, dragging a certain baddie along.
"Hey!" I ran over to her. She dropped Firefly's ankle and ran towards me as well, jumping up to land in my arms. I grinned down at her, chuckling. "Good job! You kicked his ass, huh?"
"Slugma, Slug Slug!" she proclaimed proudly.
God. She looked so beat. A huge portion of her outer body was gone, making her even smaller than before, and it looked like one of her eyestalks was shorter than normal. I'd been able to feel her through the mental-link, but seeing it in person ws just so… well.
"You won," I said, feeling proud she had gotten a victory, sad she'd been beaten up so much, and happy she had won, all at once. "You want to rest?"
She nodded, exhaustion on her features.
"Kip," Mudkip jumped on my shoulder and smiled down at her, leaning over to nuzzle her nose, which she purred at, while Tyrunt and Gurdurr grinned. I took out her Pokeball and pulled her in, Slugma closing her eyes as she was enveloped in it's light.
As she was pulled in, I turned my focus to Firefly.
Firefly, dude. My second Batman villain, if you counted Grace. So, my first Batman villain.
"Kip?" the little blue dude asked me.
"Hmm. No. He's probably got traps in his suit just in case someone tries to take his stuff off. Just hit him with a bunch of Surfs and Ice Beams if you see him wake up. I'll have Alakazam check over his suit later."
"Kip, kip!" Mudkip hopped down to face the pyromaniac, sat on his haunches with his fin waving behind him like the tail of a dog.
I eyed Firefly for a moment, crossing my arms in thought. I'd done a quick Google search when I'd had the chance. Firefly was Garfield Lynns, much like the one I knew. And just like him, he had a habit of burning things to the ground. I wasn't a fan of peoples homes getting lit on fire for MANY reasons. But he was also a murderer. One who had been in and out of prison, Arkham, and many other places with no signs of rehabilitation. He was no Joker. But he was a menace. If I took care of him…
I turned away, sighing. If I killed him, then I'd have a lot of heat on me. The Hawaiian authorities were already after me for being a mildly violent vigilante, let alone a murderous one. Plus, Batman would likely come after me. If it had happened in the heat of battle, it could have been easier. But here, while he was lying on the floor, beaten, it was harder to justify, both to myself and to anyone who would find him.
Seriously though. Gotham needed to start using the death penalty. Some criminals might be worth saving, but Firefly was among a few that weren't likely to. Then again, maybe Arkham really was under a curse?
I was still musing on that when Alakazam and Mimikyu showed up with-
"Grace?" I asked, dropping my arms at the sight of the orca scientist. "What the hell- did you get shot!?"
She had what looked like canvas pants wrapped around her stomach, where some blood could be seen seeping through the brown material. She smiled a bit sadly at me. "Yeah, it looks like it."
"Oh, fuck me," I groaned. "Alakazam, can you please take her to get checked out-"
"I'm fine," Grace said, cutting me off. "The bullets barely pierced me. I think I'm as durable as you are-"
"Then go to the van. There is a first aid kit in the back," I wasn't able to hold back how angry and worried I was, barely noticing Mimikyu dragging a person behind her. "And we'll talk about this when we get back to the base."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Her nose flared, teeth flashing. "You realize you're not my dad or something. You don't have to-"
"This whole mission was already massively dangerous without putting you on the line as well!" I snapped. "Grace, this isn't me pulling some kind of alpha move, so stop flaring your shoulders and listen like a scientist."
She blinked at me, then looked down at herself. She was standing over me, fists clenched, looming to seem big as possible. As she began to realize what she was doing, I continued.
"You were shot by an assault rifle. An ASSAULT rifle, Grace. I was hit by a handgun. You aren't just as tough as me, you're likely tougher. But this is the worst way to learn that. We could have learned that without risking your life. I just-" I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "You should have waited in the van."
"...You all needed help," Grace mumbled. "And I want to make up for what I did."
"First. You did NOTHING wrong," I snapped. "This is a bunch of assholes who are using your research against your will. Second, if you want in, fine. But you can't come in half-cocked. I'm damn glad Mimikyu pulled in on a plan, but where were you before that?"
"I was… going to bust down the wall to the side room?" she said hesitantly.
"For a specific reason?" I asked steadily. "Or just at random, with no idea of your capabilities or the capabilities of the people you might be fighting?"
She sighed. "Kahu, I know I shouldn't have j-just run in like that. But then I saw him," she pointed at the guy Mimikyu had pulled in.
When I looked over, I realized all my Pokemon were silently watching us argue. Mimikyu was sitting on Mudkip's back, wearing scraps of a t-shirt instead of her Batman costume. The guy she'd dragged looked… well, freaky as all hell.
Two legs, but FIVE arms. Not even four or six like a proper spider-monster should have. One of which was insanely longer than the rest. His skin was really a carapace like that of an arachnids, but with odd and mismatched coloration. Pale white like a cave spider in some places, tan like the average Hawaiian man in others, and a strange swirling bunch of sections that reminded me uncomfortably of the Uzumaki manga. He looked like an abstract art version of a spider-monster that had been run through an H.R. Giger machine. Though he'd taken a hell of a beating as well.
"Look at him," Grace walked over, leaning down to gaze at the man. "He's… wrong. My serum was made to work with marine animals. Mammalian ones, specifically. And I'm lucky I'm somewhat stable even then! Him? His body is completely shot. No human is supposed to undergo these sorts of changes. I can't even imagine the state of his organs. He's likely going to deal with medical complications for most of his life."
"Mimikyu," the little one said cautiously, sending what she was thinking through our mental link.
"Considering what happened to him, insanity of that level is expected," Grace looked up at me. "I just. When I saw what happened to him. When I actually saw what they were doing with my research, I just-"
She didn't say anything else. But I got it. I've been told I have anger issues as well.
"Yeah. Yeah, all right," I sighed. "We can talk about actually implementing you into combat at some point. For now, you're bleeding. And we need to go. Kalini," I said both physically and mentally, reaching out to the man in the van.
"Kid, I swear, I didn't know where she went, but I can get why she-" he began to explain.
"Forget it," I said with a mental sigh. "Call the cops. It's time for phase two. Alakazam, you ready for a bit of a show?"
He smirked just a bit. "I aim to impress after all."
"One thing," Grace got up, wincing. She looked over the laboratory. "I need to take a sample of this man. Maybe… maybe I can cure him. And if not, then I'll be able to stop anything like this from happening again."
I watched her walk away, and couldn't help but feel… I don't know. Acknowledgment? Approval? Whatever.
The cops would be here soon. Time for the next part of this mess.
We took care of a couple of things before the media and cops showed up.
Before they got there though, Grace found a couple of ziploc bags, presumably used to transport drugs. Instead, she used them to carefully place samples from Carl the spider-monster. Also, Carl? What was with spider-monster creatures named Carl in comic books?
While she did that, Gurdurr tied up Firefly and hung him up from the ceiling, over the lined up and unconscious bodies of the gangsters. Alakazam took some time to teleport away with the hard drives and phones we managed to steal, but after taking a speed-read of any physical paperwork they had, we placed those on the floor. No need to take them when he could simply memorize their contents.
I was tempted to burn the drugs, but I placed them in a pile instead. Evidence is evidence after all. I took two of the guns that the baddies had though, one regular assault rifle and one modified one, and Alakazam disappeared with them. Best to find out what countermeasures they were making for us.
Then, Gurdurr expertly shattered one of the walls of the gymnasium, then one of the back walls, making sure the light would come in juuuuust right.
With all the busywork done though, Grace and Kalini drove off. Mudkip, Gurdurr, Tyrunt, and Mimikyu disappeared into their Pokeballs. Then I sat on the roof and waited.
Soon enough, the media arrived. I watched three vans squeal into the field that surrounded the gymnasium, bouncing along the uneven ground and coming towards the colorful vigilante waiting for them. I stood up, watching from the roof as they came to a stop.
I knew what they would see. The sun was at my back, rising slowly, allowing my shadow to loom down towards them. The same sunlight was illuminating the gymnasium, aided by the holes Gurdurr had torn out of the walls. They showed off the hanging form of Firefly, the unconscious bodies of the criminals below, and the spider-monster tied up on the floor.
The reporters came out of their van, staring up at me as I leaned over to look at them. Cameramen focused on me as the rising sun lit me up. I took in the sight before me. Sure were a lot of them...
"Hey," I rested my elbow on my knee, looking down at them. "There are drug dealers down there. Murderers. My Pokemon and I stopped them. Any questions?"
Give the reporters credit. They didn't let the weirdness of the situation bother them enough to stop them from doing their job.
"Are you Kahu Kiaʻi!?" one woman yelled up at me.
"That or a very good cosplayer," I replied.
"Why did you change your costume!?"
"Because I felt like a change in my life," I said glibly. "Anything else?"
"Where are your Pokemon?" one guy asked. "And are they capable of speech? Can they be interviewed?"
"They can be interviewed, if I interpret for them," I paused. "And they're here. Watch your step, by the way."
That silenced them. One guy paled, staring down at the ground. That beat was enough for someone to step in and start asking questions of her own.
"What do you want?" the reporters briefly parted to allow a woman to walk forward. She had blue highlights in her hair, and looked like she'd gotten her nose broken and reset badly sometime in the past. But she was mostly just staring up. "Moani Rober, KONA TV. You spoke to my colleague once, John?" when I nodded, she continued, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as she spoke. "Are you planning to keep doing this? Keep taking on the Silicon Dragons? You've been stopping a lot of other idiots. But our boys in blue are trying to hunt you down too. Can't have vigilantes running around, hunting a gang that literally upguns themselves whenever they face a challenge, threaten to kill more people."
She placed her cigarette in her mouth and took a pull. "So. What is the plan kid? What do you want? Become Hawaii's hero, hell or high water? Or are you just gonna give up if the Dragons start killing more than you can save? Hell, if you can stop them," that part was said with a hint of sarcasm. "Then will you just stop?"
That one kind of stopped me. I raised up, looking down at her. She had red eyes. Weird. But fine.
"I think. If Hawaii still needs help. I'll be here," I said slowly. "The Dragons need to be taken down. After that, I'll step in where I'm needed. If the police can handle something, I won't interfere. But if something comes above and beyond. If people need help and me and mine can stop it, then we'll be there."
"And you aren't worried about collateral damage?" she asked pointedly, tapping some ash from her cigarette.
In the distance, police sirens began to sound. But I ignored their approach, keeping my gaze on Moani's red eyes.
"I am," I said firmly. "But the choice is to take them out or just stop so they go back to killing a few people every day forever while ruining lives. That sounds like a far worse choice to me," I stepped off the roof. The reporters screamed, while the Moani woman's eyes widened. I came to a stop just before landing on the ground, my fall turning into a gentle float to the ground. Thank you, Alakazam. "This place, behind me. It's full of the dead. Men, women, children, killed, tortured, by absolute fucks."
I walked forward, looking around at the reporters. "I'll do my best to prevent the collateral damage. But if the choice is letting people die or actually stepping up to do something, then I'll step up! So here it is! I am Kahu Kia'i. Hawaii's Superhero. Permanent. And if anyone has a problem with that, well…"
Police sirens finally got to us, followed by cars. I watched as the police came out, pulling out guns and aiming them at me.
"Back up, back up!" they called to the reporters, forcing them away. I simply watched. Moani gave them a bland look. She snapped her eyes to me, took a drag on her cigarette, and winked before slowly backing off, slapping away the hands of a cop who tried to force her further away.
Soon I was surrounded by cops. One of them stepped forward, raising cuffs. "Sir, you're under arrest."
"No, I'm not. I'm standing in a field. Later I'll leave. And for the moment, I'm waiting for your boss," I said calmly.
The cop gaped at me. "That's not- you can't-"
"That would be me," one of them drew my attention. I looked at him. A gray suit over a muscular form. A hard edged face and a scowl like thunder. Sam Mokoa.
He strode forward. The cop who tried to arrest me slowly backed up to let Sam take point. The FBI agent glared at me.
"Just couldn't keep things quiet, could you?" he grumbled, looking behind me at the warehouse.
"Not this time," I admitted. I pointed my thumb behind me. "There are people in there that need help. Psychiatric and medical in equal measure."
He didn't hesitate. "Get the civilians out of there," the cops hesitated. "Now damnit! Get them to the ambulances!"
As they ran in, avoiding the unconscious piles of criminals, he glared at me again. "I need to take you in. Something like this… It's good. But it's also illegal."
"Not happening," I told him. We eyed each other. "There are two supers in that warehouse. Firefly and some sort of spider-mutant."
"And why do you think they're in there?" Sam scowled. "The Dragons will keep going. They are going to hire as many supervillains, make as many monsters, as they think they'll need to take you out."
"Like I told Moani over there," I pointed at her, which she gave a 'who me?' sort of look to. "That's bad. But I'd rather try to stop them, rather than let them keep killing people."
"...Did you have anything to do with reports of a masked vigilante that inflicted grievous injuries in the drug dealer den across the island just a few hours ago?" Sam snapped.
That genuinely surprised me. "No. I was busy inflicting grievous injuries here."
He snapped off a curse at that. Then glared at me. "If you showing up on my island leads to more of this shit…"
"Not much I can do about it."
"But there is something I can do about it," Sam said softly. "Shut it down. Let the police handle this. Or else, I'll come after you. With everything I've got. If I have to take down every copycat you summon from hell, if I need to hunt down the Dragons just to find you fighting them-"
"If you had done that from the start, then I wouldn't be doing this at all," I spat out. A bit of real bitterness came with that statement. If the Silicon Dragons had been under arrest from the start, if they weren't running around turning a tropical paradise into a Saw movie, I could have still been in hiding. Instead, this. "How about this? You do your job, and arrest the criminals. And make me obsolete. Otherwise, I'm going to keep doing this."
Sam stared at me. Wow. Some people really do have mastery of the art of glaring. "...I'm going to arrest you now."
"Like I said to your bud," I nodded to the cop who was trying to arrest me earlier. "I'm here. And now…"
There was a flash of light. Just before I disappeared, I heard my voice echo. "I'm gone."
Then I was standing in the small garden where Alakazam had made his teleport zone in Honolulu, Grace and Kalini standing there waiting for me. He circled around me, while Grace and Kalini turned to look at me. Both had been watching on a tablet together. On it, I could see myself from just a moment ago. I teleported in a flash of light. Sam didn't wait, spinning around and shouting at other officers to look for me, his voice faint from the screen.
Alakazam smirked at the screen as Kalini and Grace joined me. "That was a good exit, I believe."
"Thanks," I said.
"I was complimenting myself to be honest, but you are welcome."
"What now?" Grace asked me.
"Same as last time. We keep at it. We take down as much of the Dragons people, resources, bases as we can. Until we get to the last one. Then we finish them," I said firmly. "But for now. We need to get to talking about training you."
Grace smiled a bit nervously. "O-Okay."
"You sure about making enemies with that Sam fella?" Kalini asked. "That kane seems like the kind to hold grudges."
"If holding my ground is going to lead me to make enemies, then it's something I'll have to learn to live with. Now come on," I turned around and started walking. "The night was hard work. But the day is just starting."
And in the back of my mind Sam's comment about the drug den across town kept gnawing at me.
At Restaurant Royale
On a tv screen, live footage of the news played. A young female reporter was speaking to the camera as police officers in the background began carting out criminals, the camera getting very nice footage of all of it. Including the officers who were wasting time hunting through bushes.
"-ozens of criminals, many with warrants, all found in various states, including one man found in a basement full of bodies. The latter of whom was found in the fetal position crying about an 'Orca goddess' trying to eat him. Among the criminals, prominent Gotham supervillian 'Firefly' was found hanging from the ceiling, as well as a mutant spider shaped like a man. The vigilante known as Kahu Kia'i is still at large, but online support for the hero exploded when reports of the crimes committed by the Silicon Dragons at this location were leaked online. The controversy has-"
Sitting in front of that TV, Giovanni slowly petted Persian. Man and Pokemon watched the screen smugly. Giovanni was chuckling under his breath, coming just to the edge of outright cackling, the light from the tv playing across his face. He didn't react to Roxy entering the room, the blonde lawyer sighing at the sight of him.
"You realize things like this are why I have trouble convincing people you're a businessman and not a mob boss?"
"Of course. That is why I'm doing it by myself in the dark," Giovanni said casually. "I suppose you saw how everything went down?"
"Yes. Deadshot says he didn't even need to take out any stragglers as planned," Roxy walked over. "Has Kahu contacted you?"
"No. But he will," Giovanni turned in his seat.
"..." Roxy stared at Persian. "A white cat in your lap. Really? Are you trying to be a cliche right now?"
"Peeeeer," the cat in question stretched.
Giovanni continued as though she hadn't spoken. "For the next phase, we have some smaller locations to hit. But, I also have been looking into something else. It seems our young man may have competition."
"Competition?" Roxy asked, confused.
"Another masked individual. He was reported causing some rather immense levels of damage to a drug den in another part of the island," Giovanni rested a hand on his palm. "Sam Mokoa mentioned it. Now that is something we may need to look out for…"
He smiled slowly. "What an interesting time we live in."
Last Night, A Drug Den Next To A Port Town
Buttes had been having a good night. He had been taking a shot of heroin, not for the high, but just to test the product, and had been relaxing in the back room with his buddies. They'd had to do a job earlier, kill a couple dumb cashiers, but they were excited to get a chance to relax.
Right up until the sound of the front door being smashed down filled the air.
Now he was running. He'd tried to fight. Tried to fight the horrific monster that was breaking his friends arms and legs like fucking twigs!
But the guy seemed to ignore bullets. They shot him in the chest, the legs and arms, the fucking head, and he just kept going even with bleeding holes in him!
Big Don grabbed a baseball bat and smashed him in the back. The guy fell. They hit him in the stomach, the throat, punched him in the dick.
After letting them wail on him for a bit, he grabbed the baseball bat, got up and turned Big Don into a broken pulp on the floor, breaking the baseball bat as well. And then he just kept grabbing everything around him to destroy them.
Butte left when he ripped the oven door off and started hitting people with it.
Now he was running for the back. Everyone had gone quiet. He was alone. His Glock was behind him. He cried as he ran, the heroin he'd been enjoying now just making him feel worse. But he was making it! He could see the corner to the hallway! All he had to do was turn the corner, run to the exit, and he'd be-
"OH YEAAAAH!" the muffled voice came from his right. Then the drywall smashed apart, a dark figure smashing him in the face with a fist that felt like a sledgehammer.
"Guh!" Butte said around his now broken jaw. He landed on the floor, crying even more. He woozily stared up at the man who had been beating on them.
A fanged smile set in a yellow face stared down at him. Butte had no idea if that was really what the freak looked like, or if it was just the huge amount of drugs inside him, but it was terrifying. A loud voice that sounded like it was coming from the man's pocket echoed as the man raised a boot.
"No running in the halls!"
A size thirteen boot smashed into his face and everything went dark.
Mudkip/Mako
When they got back to their hideout, Mudkip went for a swim. After a long fight, he needed to relax and grab some food.
He dived down into the ocean, heading for a spot further away from the islands, and took out an octopus. Then he rested near the bottom of the ocean and started eating, watching the ocean around him as he did so.
It was while he was looking at a group of tuna swirl about above that he saw two shadows in the ocean. He slowly raised an octopus tentacle to his mouth and ripped off a piece, blinking at the sight before him.
The shadows slowly solidified, becoming two bipedal figures. One was wearing an orange long-sleeve scaled armor and green pants of similar material, his blonde hair wavy in the water. The other was wearing a red vest and was shaved completely bald, a pair of what looked like sword handles on his back.
They came to a stop before him. Mudkip stared at them. Then he swallowed the piece he had been chewing on, and placed another piece of tentacle in his mouth, eating it slowly while eyeing the pair.
"Hello," the blonde one said, somehow speaking in his mind at the same time. Not really the way Alakazam did. It was different somehow. More 'familiar'. "You're new to this ocean, aren't you?"
"Kip!"
The blonde smiled. "Well. I suppose that makes sense… I don't suppose you can talk for a bit? I've been hearing a bit about you. And I'd like to know more."
Mudkip thought about that, then shrugged. "Mudkip."
"Good enough," the blonde man chuckled. "I'm Arthur. This is Kaldur, my protege."
"A pleasure to meet you," the bald one said.
"So. Let's talk."
Author's Note: The Aqua duo is here :D Oh, and a new vigilante is running around. Kahu is dealing with Grace's need to punch evil. All sorts of fun stuff this chapter.
I'll try to have the next one out ASAP. Let me know what you guys thought of this one! Next on my will be more What's A Koopa To Do? , A My Hero Academia/Bowser SI. I'm excited for that, since it's been fun to write. But Momo will be updated much more consistently from here on out.