Vipers Best (3)

Yuuko woke up groggy, tired and exhausted. Not yet ready to face conscience, she readjusted the blankets and curled up on the mattress.

Wait, mattress? This was wrong, Momoko's apartment was too small for beds, so they both slept on futons. Looking around, Yuuko realized that she was also not in Vetochkina's apartment. The walls were clear and the room small, but empty.

As soon as she was about to cry, a voice started to call out to her.

"Hello!"

Yuuko looked up. "There is?"

"This way." Across the hall, there was a small furry figure in another cell. They were dressed in a simple hospital gown much like hers, but with a black collar around their necks.

"It's me, you tiny neighbor." He said, in an incredibly optimistic tone. Yuuko blinked, more than a little confused by what was going on. "What am I? A monkey? A platypus? Or a little human?" He smiled, showing pearly white teeth. "My real identity is - Animal Hero: Reykjavik!"

Yuuko couldn't help it, she laughed a little. She didn't see the mammal start to animate.

"Say, now that I have introduced myself, what is your name?"

She swallowed. Well, the guy said he was a hero. "Morakawa Yuuko."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Morakawa-chan."

Despite knowing that he was a hero, and just being polite, the girl stiffened a little. "Um ... would you mind calling me Yuuko?" She asked timidly. "I like more."

"Not at all, Yuuko-chan!"

~ XxX ~

Accelerated Research Division MICAH

Diary of Doctor Orochi Mairu

The healing properties of the subject are, to be honest, incredible. While under sedation, his healing repaired multiple lacerations in the subject's arms and legs, as well as marks left at the injection sites. It was mesmerizing to watch. The Morakawa-chan mutation could only repair damage to the epidermal layer of the skin, and he had to actively use his peculiarity on himself. Meanwhile, we were barely able to keep Morakawa-chan open during the procedures, as his cure was to constantly repair surgical incisions. Somehow, it also made her work during anesthesia and start waking up in the middle of surgery, we will need to do more tests.

Meanwhile, I would like the containment units to have audio, in addition to visual surveillance, because when the girl woke up in the postoperative period, Subject T-0864-y started talking to her. Although they may certainly be planning something, we are dealing with the intelligence levels of an eight-year-old girl and a unique specimen. Okay, the individual T-0864-y is almost as smart as a 10-year-old, but the question is still standing. Whatever stroke of luck he has, there is no way he can get out of here unless I, I mean, unless MICAH, allows it.

In another case update: Senhora Mayara's sleeping gas did not perform as expected. Apparently, the 'adjustments' my co-workers made to try to get unconsciousness across the gender barrier didn't work. Still, we learn from our failures, as well as from our successes.

Speaking of which, now that we've finished testing Morakawa-chan's self-healing skills, it's time to move on and see how his healing affects others.

~ XxX ~

Controlling the flow of information was vital in a kidnapping case, both for kidnappers and the police. If a criminal is intelligent, he will have it so that each member of the team knows just enough to do his part of the job and nothing else. This gives them more time to prepare and possibly run if they decide that things are getting too close to be comfortable.

You also had to control the information that the hijackers themselves knew. Of course, she could play the desperate guardian for the TV cameras, begging for Yuuko back and promising anything for his return, if Yuliya really thought they were after a monetary bailout. But, as she was not really that wealthy and there was no contact requiring anything, it was safe to assume that Yuuko was taken away for other reasons.

The more the kidnappers think they are in control and everything is going their way, the safer Yuuko gets. That is why the news only reported that Yuuko had been taken and Yuliya Vetochkina was injured, not that Nonaka and Tabata had already been taken into custody. Now, obviously, these sons of bitches had no idea who they pissed off, otherwise they would have sent it better than this little potato.

"Where's Morakawa Yuuko at?" She asked, the moment the kidnapper woke up.

The criminal took a moment to orient himself and noticed how he was handcuffed to the bed. "I will not say anything without my attorney present."

"Wrong answer." Using the fault line, Yuliya had already identified the man's weaknesses and decided to start with the ribs.

"OW! What the fuck is that? Cops can't-"

"Where's Morakawa Yuuko at?"

"I said I won't tell you anything!"

Then came the left kneecap.

"Stop! Stop!"

"Not until you tell me what I want to know."

He was not giving it to her. The right kneecap came next.

"OH MY GOD, HOLY FUCK!" He shouted. My God, that boy had a pair of healthy lungs. "I WILL TALK! I TELL EVERYTHING! "

"Good boy." She praised her.

"I don't have a name! Everything was done over the phone. However, we all received cash in advance, in unmarked and non-sequential notes. While counting mine, I found an ATM receipt in the envelope." It can be a planted lead or it can be a mistake for an inexperienced newbie. But it is something.

"AND?"

"And it said that the money was withdrawn from an ATM in Roppongi. That's all I know. I swear."

"Hm ..." Yuliya stopped for a moment to watch the man, and let him squirm. "I believe you." She then punched him in the face to knock him out.

Opening the burner phone, she left the room and signaled to her man guarding the door. The young policeman shook his head and relaxed visibly, ending his concentration. The Bubble of Silence was such a versatile and useful skill that it allowed the user to cancel any noise coming from an area of ​​ten feet by ten feet of their choice. Two years ago, a desperate young man tried to use it to break into and steal Holiday's cash register. Now he was the Yarasa officer in the Tokyo police department ...

It was really incredibly satisfying to see someone make the most of his second chance. By the way-

"I have an update on the case." Yuliya told Valkyrie in Russian.

~ XxX ~

Luphinus yawned as he poured himself a cup of coffee. It was two in the morning and ten o'clock since Morakawa Yuuko had been kidnapped by a group still unknown. He had returned to the Hamura police station to meet and discuss the strategy with the police about the case. Valkyrie was apparently meeting with another contact at Parque Hamura, someone who could narrow his search parameters, Roppongi wasn't exactly a small area, after all. Valquíria's tip about the location of the ATM helped, but it would take a while to wake up a judge and get them to sign a warrant to see the withdrawal statements.

It was then that a uniformed policeman entered the bullpen, looking as if he had run all the way here.

"Luphinus! Detective Aoki! There may be a new clue."

"Hm?"

"There is a woman downstairs who claims to have relevant information about the kidnapping case."

"Well, then don't just stand there, bring it up!"

Mayama Teiko was a simple woman with dark hair, close to forty. She looked nervous, but more "uncomfortable" than guilty. Luphinus also noticed that she was wearing fingerless gloves and long sleeves, despite the fact that it was not so cold outside.

He is one of the other detectives who watched from behind the two-way mirror while Aoki interviewed the woman. His coffee hadn't even cooled down yet, how quickly things were happening.

"Now, Mayama-san, did you mention having information relevant to the case?"

"Yes, I believe that my gas was somehow used in the case of kidnapping. The one with the little girl with the white fuse."

"I beg you pardon?"

"I can produce gas, more specifically produce a powerful, albeit limited, sleep gas, that black gas comes out of my skin just like sweat and in contact outdoors turns into gas and makes people sleep in just a few moments, as well , in this case only men, as far as I know. When I saw the news of a girl being carried by a cloud of black gas, I recognized him as mine. "

Luphinus and the detective looked at each other through the mirror.

"Maybe she has relatives who could be involved? Someone with a similar skill to hers?"

"Or maybe we should let her keep talking." Luphinus suggested.

Detective Aoki pressed a handkerchief to his face, but motioned for the woman to demonstrate. Mayama then removed one of her gloves and a black liquid started to come out of her palm before turning to gas. She let it hang in the air for a few seconds before putting the glove back on. Luphinus recognized him instantly.

"Before saying anything, you have to understand: I am a legal assistant and my husband cannot work very hard because of his debilitating health. So when I was approached with a way to get his heart medicine at a reduced price, I took that option. "

"Please work this out for me."

"MICAH."

Luphinus froze. "I beg you pardon?"

"The Medical Institute for the Continuous Advancement of Humanity. It is full of scientists who study genetics and bioengineering and things like that." She rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb. "They approached me about three months ago, saying that if I helped them with a little bit of their research, I could get my husband's pills at a reduced cost."

The detective continued to speak to the witness, and while Luphinus listened, he could feel the pieces starting to fit in his head. MICAH was the organization whose scientists were doing illegal genetic experiments on animals. There was an investigation and scientists were accused of animal abuse, and the spot of unethical behavior would likely put them on the black list of any self-respecting research institute. At least, that was the story. Reykjavik did not accept this result very well.

Luphinus admitted that he was not the best at reading Reykjavik, years of isolation and prejudice left him paranoid about revealing his true feelings, but even he could say that the animal hero was not satisfied with the outcome of the trial.

"Thanks for coming to use, Mayama-san."

"Really, you shouldn't be thanking me for that. However, there is one thing ... my son, Mayama Emmett. He is planning to apply to the Gran Rey Business Department next year. It will not ... affect your chances, right? "

The detective blinked for a few seconds before he understood what she was getting at. "I don't believe it. Nothing you did was in any way illegal." Although if MICAH was involved, it would constitute something like the manufacture of weapons. "Thank's for your time." The woman nodded and was escorted out by another officer.

Aoki leaned back in his chair, organizing his thoughts. "So what do you think?"

"It is not an absurd theory. MICAH has a history of employing people who carry out unethical experiments. Morakawa Yuuko is a girl from a low-income neighborhood with no living family.

"Hm. Well, as the kidnappers did not make contact with any kind of ransom request, my next theory was some kind of human trafficking. But with the healing ability, it is easy to see why an organization obsessed with advances may want to try to test her to start some kind of innovative medical research. But it's the kidnapping that bothers me. Why bother kidnapping a child when you could just ... I don't know, offer money or something? "

It reminded him briefly that they hadn't heard anything from the girl's foster mother in a while. Yoshio immediately dismissed that thought. Kaguya Momoko was almost immediately dismissed as a suspect. Although, yes, most kidnapping cases are perpetrated by parents, usually with stories of domestic violence, Kaguya Momoko was a single adoptive mother who, by all accounts, was doing her best to provide a safe home for Yuuko. She simply had no reason to kidnap her own adopted daughter. As crazy as it was, evil scientists kidnapping a girl to study her mutation was the most reasonable theory they had now.

Aoki sighed and left the interview room. As soon as Luphinus was leaving to follow her, her cell phone started to buzz. After three rings, he stopped. This, combined with the fact that the number was blocked, told him it was Valkyrie trying to contact him. He stayed behind, closed the door and tried the number.

Valkyrie answered three rings later.

"Ah, my favorite confidential informant. Any progress on your side?"

"My contact is spreading the word through his little winged agents. The news runs fast, but we should know if they have anything in about an hour. In the meantime, we have two hundred more eyes looking for Yuuko-chan."

"Two hundred?" He smiled, "You continue to surprise me with your 'contacts', my friend." Even after nearly four years of working together, Luphinus really knew very little about Valkyrie and how it operated. When they met in that arson case, everything about her screamed like a self-taught benefactor trying to cope with the problems of her neighborhood alone. Then, she disappeared for an entire month and returned with military-grade equipment, a fighting style that could best be described as 'brutal but efficient' and much better control of her Telekinesis.

After that, she hung up abruptly. Luphinus looked at the phone for a few moments. When he returned to the bullpen, Aoki was there with a mug of coffee in his hand.

He pointed to the cell phone, probably unnecessarily. "That was my contact."

"Right." The detective nodded. "You know, I wanted to ask you something. How do you think Valquiria was as good as she is now?"

"I beg you pardon?"

"Come on, it's basically an open secret that the two of you work together sometimes." Luphinus blinked. He had no idea that the police would have such a relaxed attitude towards the vigilante, even though she had been operating for about four years.

"Well, she has a valuable form of perception as ... criminal." He lightly tested the waters there.

The detective rolled his eyes. "Please, if you really believe that, I doubt that you are working with her on such a delicate case. But that does not answer my question." She took a sip of coffee.

"Well, uh, whenever I try to ask, she kind of changes the story."

-I was functionally a homeless teenager for most of high school, and once I fought a homeless guy for a bank-

-A former Russian special forces spy watched me for over a month and then taught me about her ways-

-An old troll kept breaking my ribs, pushing me off roofs and taught me to lie to hospitals-

That last excuse really made him call his former teacher and teacher and ask if the retired hero was training some guards in his spare time. The old man only laughed for five full minutes, then hung up on him.

"... But whatever it is, I am almost sure that she reached this level of skill in the same way as most professionals: hard work. I can say that she works to improve herself, while keeping her own limits in mind. Although with this particular case, I care about her. "The detective was silent.

"Wow, it's almost like you have a crush on her or something." Aoki commented before taking a sip of coffee.

!

"What? No! Detective, it's not like that, please understand that we are professionals. Yes, she is a talented watchman and I admire her dedication to the neighborhood, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for her."

The detective gave him an empty look, but said nothing more about it.

~ XxX ~

Reykjavik was in the middle of a sermon to the girl the first time he was taken away. What started as a simple conversation about Russian verb conjugations, Yuuko-chan was apparently learning the language from someone she called Veto-san, jumped from linguistics to history and sociology while the animal hero found himself discussing what the training professionals should have to work properly internationally. He could tell that Yuuko-chan was listening too, based on the way the girl asked questions when she didn't know something, or to clarify a connection she had made. It was incredibly satisfying to see her try to get involved with what he was saying.

So satisfying, that Reykjavik had essentially forgotten to ask the girl how she ended up here, or started to probe the idea of ​​an escape plan. Ah well, it is better to reassure the girl first and gain her confidence before addressing the issue of escape.

The snout was first of all. He had tried to bite Orochi's nose with a bite, and the scientist was probably still a little angry about it.

"Such a fascinating subject, really. Did you know that the white stripe on your bangs is actually vitiligo? It's not related to your genes. Oh, right, vitiligo is when the skin loses its pigment cells." Reykjavik rolled his eyes mentally, sometimes it was quite annoying to pretend he was just above average intelligence, instead of his true genius.

XxX

"It was an annoyance, Morakawa Kyouya was such a good guinea pig. Young and healthy, and the right side of naivety. And to have this fascinating line of research suspended by a strange car accident?" Orochi snapped. "But when one door closes, another opens, as they say. A colleague of mine has been doing a longitudinal study on the increase in the production of genetic factors over the past decade, so maybe that could also be of some use to him. "

Reykjavik was not looking at Orochi, but he certainly listened to all this very carefully, trying to distract himself from what would certainly be ... unpleasant.

"Now, for the next experiment with you ... I have been meaning to get some brain tissue samples for some time now. No need to worry, it will be a great chance for Morakawa-chan to show his healing skills."

Well, shit, that was going to hurt.

~ XxX ~

Yuuko was alone for a long time after they took Reykjavik away. The girl was not sure how long, since there were no clocks anywhere and all she could really do to measure the time was by the amount of coloring book pages she had filled out.

She tensed the moment she saw movement in her line of sight. He was one of the scientists or something, he probably came to get you.

"Murakawa-chan?"

She tensed, but remembered to breathe. Do what they say so they don't get mad. Striking back will only make things worse.

As they left the windowless laboratory, Yuuko had a chance to look through the large windows in the main hall. The guard had an iron fist in his right hand, but Yuuko was still free to look around. So, ready! On the perch of the window washer was a crow.

The bird looked at her and inclined its head. Ravens know faces, said Mura-san, and talk to each other. You healed that wing, everyone knows you now. Yuuko wasn't sure if Mura-san was speaking with common sense, but he let his left hand shine briefly for a few seconds, certain that no one was looking.

"Murakawa-chan?"

"Right here." The guard answered for her. Yuuko dismissed her glare and waited for the bird to understand and return to Mura-san.

Yuuko activated her Triage the moment the hero returned to her line of sight. Various lacerations, tissue damage, electrical burns. When she thought it couldn't get any worse, Reykjavik moved and Yuuko took a look at her right eye. To put it simply, it was ... bad. Too bad. Like a crappy horror movie poster. And she could say that while she was on the other side of a double mirror.

"Ah, and the star of the hour has arrived." Yuuko tensed again when she heard that voice. It was syrupy, condescending and extremely fake. She didn't like that man in the doctor's coat immediately.

"Now then, Morakawa-chan, your ability has a double nature, doesn't it? Tell me, what happens when you focus on it?"

As much as she hated to do anything for these people, Yuuko focuses on and re-reads the diagnosis that her mutation provided. "... He was burned, and, um, he has cuts on his skin." There, speaking the truth, but still keeping a little to yourself. Vero-san said that the best lies are those that are most true. "Besides, his eye is, uh, bad."

"Hm, indeed." The doctor moved on. "So, why don't you try to fix it for him, wouldn't it be good?" The last thing Yuuko wanted to do was follow what they were suggesting, but, she saw the way that Reykjavik's eye was bleeding, even with healing it would not resolve. It was like ... a black hole, was there something still in the socket?

Yuuko entered the room alone, feeling his eyes on himself with a mirror on the way. She resisted the urge to show them the middle finger.

Carefully, she approached where Reykjavik was huddled against the corner. She could hear the pro-hero breathing, inhaling and exhaling. Yuuko would do this whenever he woke up from a nightmare, trying to be silent so that no one else would move and shout at her, or in the case of Momoko and Veto-san, be worried.

She stopped, about a foot from where the professional hero was curled up. "Reykjavik-san?"

The hero's ears perked up. "... Yuuko-chan, what are you doing here?" He was trying to keep his voice upbeat for her, but he failed miserably.

"They-I-" She took a deep breath, planning her words. "You are hurt, please let me heal you." Reykjavik's ears twitched before he slowly turned to face her. Yuuko tried not to react too badly, but he felt himself shudder when he saw Reykjavik's eye. It was… much worse, up close.

"Yeah ... is this your Mutation? Healing ability?" He asked. Yuuko nodded his head.

"It's called 'Triage', I can kind of ... focus on the people who are injured and find out what's wrong. So, well ..." She held out her hands and called her power to her. His blood vessels began to glow yellow inside. "I can also touch people and heal them."

She let the power remain in her arms for a few more seconds, waiting for a sign from Reykjavik. Yuuko knew what it was like for people not to respect their limits and to treat him as one thing. So she would try to give as little dignity as she could to the animal hero.

Reykjavik looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head. Yuuko gently placed her hand over Reykjavik's eye and let her power flow to him. After a few seconds, she withdrew her hand and he blinked. And she blinked again, before the animal hero cautiously touched the skin around her eye. Yuuko was not talented enough with his Mutation to heal others without any kind of scarring. But his eyes were back, at least.

"I'm very sorry." She said, almost out of reflex.

Reykjavik looked at her again, considering. "You have a very kind ability, Yuuko-chan, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

There was a moment of silence, a moment of almost peace, before the door opened and Yuuko was dragged away, kicking and screaming.

Reykjavik moved to try to help, but felt the familiar shock of electricity hit his neck, and the animal hero fell back to the floor.

Reykjavik walked up and down in his own cell while waiting for Yuuko's return, his genius mind did not help him as he theorized one of the various 'experimentation' methods used against the girl to test her abilities and limits.

When she returned to her cell, Yuuko was the model of compliance, keeping her eyes down and not saying a word. When the guard closed the door and left, she removed one of the blankets from the cot and wrapped it. Then, she started to cry. She was crying. And not big, damp sobs, but sighs from someone who cried and did his best not to make a noise while doing it. Reykjavik felt his heart break when he heard that.

"I just want to go home." She finally murmured, apparently everyone screamed. Upon hearing this, Reykjavik's sadness began to give way to another emotion: anger. He allowed himself to give in to that anger for a brief moment, imagining in visceral details what it would be like to hit Orochi on the head with a fire extinguisher. Then he forced it back and turned his attention to Yuuko.

"Hey." He said, kindly, but loud enough for her to hear. Yuuko-chan looked up, eyes hot and red with tears. Low and steady, Reykjavik started to speak. At first, it wasn't about anything in particular, just small talk to try to calm her down. Then he changed the subject to the idea of ​​escape and, quietly and quietly, he proposed his plan.

"Well, I know this is going to be scary, but if you distract him, I should be able to get the security key out of his belt when they come to feed us."

"I can just take the key, if you want."

"… I beg you pardon."

"I know how to handle my pocket. Veto-san taught me how. We were in the park training before I was taken."

Reykjavik made a great mental note to verify this mysterious mentor 'Veto-san'. Because while the animal hero admittedly did not have the best command of raising human offspring, he knew that teaching a little girl to pickpockets did not seem particularly normal. Or healthy.

"Hm ... if it gets to that point, then maybe we can do that." Yuuko-chan seemed to be excited about this, with the idea of ​​being useful.

"Yuuko-chan ... is there anything else you can do that I should know about?"

The girl visibly destroyed her brain for a moment. "Well, I think I'm really good at kicking people's shins"

Reykjavik just shook his head. Clear. Of course she could.

"My mom taught me that. When everything else fails, just kick your shins and run."

Okay, he seriously needed to get to know this family. But first, he had to get Yuuko-chan out of here.

"Or a punch in the middle of every man's leg."

-XxX-