Let's reach 100 Powerstones for an extra chapter
***
The second floor was a stark contrast to the chaos below. Inside a lavishly decorated office, cigar smoke hung thick in the air, mingling with the scent of stale liquor. A group of hardened gangsters were huddled around a mahogany table littered with cash and various… paraphernalia.
Seated at the head was their boss, a grizzled man with a network of scars crisscrossing his face, each telling a silent story of violence and survival. He was mid-sentence, but the sound died in his throat as the door burst open, revealing Isaac in his Kamen Rider guise.
The boss's eyes widened. "You are… the Goggles Armored Man?"
He shot to his feet with surprising speed, a silver pistol appearing in his hand as if by magic. He leveled the weapon at Isaac, his gaze flicking up and down, assessing the threat.
Isaac just shook his head. "Remember this, I am Kamen Rider Gotchard, not some Goggles Armored Man."
Without another word, Isaac's revolvers barked. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three of the goons surrounding the table slumped forward, joining their brethren in the Land of Nod. The remaining gangsters scrambled for cover, but it was too late.
In a heartbeat, Isaac was upon the boss. The speed was unreal, a blur of motion that left the man no time to react. Isaac snatched the pistol from his grasp, the movement so swift it was almost invisible. With a brutal backhand, he slammed the boss's face into the polished surface of the table, the impact sending a shockwave through the room.
"You… what do you want to do?" the boss whimpered, his voice trembling with a mix of pain and terror. He was no stranger to violence, but this… this was something else entirely. The sheer speed and power radiating from Isaac were suffocating.
"Are the recent disappearances in National City related to you?"
Pressing the gun barrel tightly against the back of the gangster's head, Isaac asked directly.
"I… I don't know what you're talking about!"
Though scared of the gun against his head, the gang boss still tried to argue.
"Don't play games with me; my patience is limited. If you don't want your head to explode, you'd better confess honestly."
Facing the gang boss's lies, Isaac was unmoved; he just pressed the gun down a bit more, speaking with a colder voice.
"Alright… I'll talk. Recently, someone did approach us for cooperation, asking us to help capture some children and teenagers, but we are only responsible for capturing people; we know nothing about anything else!"
Cold sweat seeped from his forehead; feeling Isaac's voice grow colder, he knew he had no retreat and could only grit his teeth, finally speaking.
"Who instructed you?"
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Isaac chuckled inwardly, thinking he had made the right gamble, but his expression remained cold as he continued to press for answers.
"It was a guy named Andre. He gave us a large sum of money to help us capture people. As for what he wants the kids for, I really don't know!"
Speaking with anxiety, the gang boss feared Isaac wouldn't believe him.
"Andre…"
Frowning, Isaac had never heard that name, but clearly, Andre was behind the disappearances.
"What else do you know?"
The gun barrel pressed down a bit further, and Isaac continued to press, trying to dig out more clues.
"Nothing else, really nothing else! We just took money to do things; they absolutely didn't let us interfere with anything else!"
Hearing Isaac's words, the gang boss eagerly defended himself.
Isaac stared at him for a few seconds, confirming he wasn't fibbing. He then pulled the trigger, only a tranquilizer dart shot out.
"That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below, to accomplish the miracles of the one thing!"
Extending his palm, Isaac chanted an incantation. The boss's fancy suit transformed into thick, sturdy ropes, binding him.
He repeated the process with the other executives, leaving them trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys.
Back on the first floor, lugging the secured boss and his now-underwear-clad goons, Isaac rubbed his hands. Time for a little bit of creative expression.
He practiced his material transmutation, turning their clothes into rope, and then strung them all up at the door for all to see. It was a statement piece, really.
Finally, Isaac zoomed off with only the head honcho. After driving his Golden impact close to the city's police HQ, he found a street light and strung him up like a piñata. Attached was a note. It read: "This person is the mastermind behind the disappearance and kidnapping cases. His accomplices are at the XX Bar, address below. Left by Kamen Rider Gotchard."
[9 AM, Superman saved a crashing plane over the Atlantic Ocean.]
Around 10 AM, sunlight streamed into the living room through the curtains.
Isaac lay sideways on the sofa, propping his head with his right hand. His eyes were glued to the news on TV, but his brows were pulled tight.
Originally, Isaac planned to spend his Saturday hanging out with X Wizard and practicing Alchemy. But, because he was curious about what happened to those gangsters from last night, he decided to stick around the house and watch the news first.
But even after the news ended, there wasn't anything about it. It was like last night never happened.
No news reports? Are the police trying to follow the clues and take down the whole network? Maybe they're keeping it quiet for now.
That means that kidnapping ring isn't just that one gang.
After a bit more thinking, Isaac frowned harder.
He figured the police might be playing the long game since that gang was just hired muscle. Andre probably hired other crews, too.
"Mom, I'm playing ball with some friends, so I won't be back for dinner. Don't wait up."
With that, Isaac jumped up, called out to Veronica, who was working on her laptop at the dining table, and rushed out.
He wanted to hit up the small villa first, see X Wizard, and do his daily Alchemy studies. Plus, he wanted to see how her helper gadget was coming along.
With a gadget, he could patrol the city better, find other people Andre hired, and handle any crimes that pop up.
"Sigh, still so impulsive. I wonder who he gets that from."
Veronica barely looked up before Isaac was already gone. She just shook her head and sighed.
Instead of summoning Golddash like usual, Isaac headed to the garage. He was going to take his mom's birthday gift—a BMW S1000R.
Ever since that chase with Golddash, that motorcycle Chemy was pretty famous. To keep anyone from tracking him, Isaac wasn't planning on riding Golddash unless he was transformed.
***
Advance chapters in p!|r$0n.com/Najicablitz