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Chapter 3 by Machinistmage Machinistmage

What were your powers?

Gadgeteer

Maybe power set was a bit of a misnomer. You preferred to rely on crime-fitting gadgets and your own wit and intelligence, which was to say that you didn’t have any superpowers. They weren't exactly common and you'd grown up believing that anyone could be a hero. Even if that someone had a body that might best be described as petite. Standing at only 5'8" and weighing a measly 120 pounds was bad enough, the fact that your hips were naturally curved meant that your skin tight uniform looked a little too good on you. It was half the reason you liked fighting from the backlines or striking from the shadows, hired thugs couldn't mock your figure if you knocked them down first.

That said it felt nice to be a hero, to help your city. Unfortunately, your city need a lot of help. Bankrobbers, muggers, and burglars were only the beginning. A new wave of criminals were rising up out of the woodwork, a completely different class of viallains. They possessed talents or even superpowers that made them a danger to the entire city, especially when combined with their assumed goals.

Pacing back and forth in your lair, a cramped room in an abandoned apartment complex, you look over a bulletin board that had a list of all your leads. It was a confusing and tangled mass of pictures, news articles, printed blog posts, and map locations connected vaguely by string and notes. Still you saw through it all and identified the notable so-called 'supercriminals' that you had a duty to investigate and arrest.

-Marionette: A faceless villain whose name and gender are unknown (despite the feminine nature of their name). Responsible for a number of attacks and robberies purported by animatronics and robots, they only make themselves known through a calling card, a static-filled message left on a jumpdrive at the scene of several crimes. They could be a technomancer with mental control over machines, or they could just be a very skilled hacker.

-Spiral: The alleged source of a series of strange kidnappings. Victims would disappear for a few days and return completely different, apparently hypnotized into acting as if they were someone else. The perpetrator seems to have a sense of irony. For example, a businessman went missing for a weekend and returned to the job as their own secretary. All victims can just remember a spiraling pattern during their time missing, hence the name.

-Miss Black: An infamous cat burglar who has traveled the world over stealing from everywhere she travels. Her victims range from wealthy business owners to lowly college students, yet they all have one thing in common. All of Miss Black's victims are either never seen or turn up days or weeks later in some humiliating state. Bondage seems to be a kink for Miss Black and she steals more for the lust and adrenaline of it. Nevertheless, reports indicate she might be targeting your city now.

Aside from these three major players, you still had the usual fare when it came to crime. Banks were still being robbed, back alley deals were being conducted, and mob bosses vied for control of the city. You could wait for a better lead on these super criminals and simply try for another nightly patrol. It was worth remembering that criminals were becoming more wary of heroes, a simple patrol could end with you in a trap...

Who do you go after?

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