Scorched Earth [ONC 2024]

Chapter 6 - Gathering Intelligence

Varen kept looking at Aira, just to keep an eye on her. He still half expected her to try to electrocute him, but she'd been behaving herself for now.

Her brother seemed to be much more agreeable, though Varen didn't like the way Nerian kept hanging around Marek. But he was definitely not jealous, dammit. He just didn't trust either of them.

But as much as he hated to admit it, Aira's plan was a good one. She'd suggested simply waiting for SOPISOC to send her and her brother in to fight the new villains wherever they might show up, luring one of them outside, and Varen and Marek joining in to capture them.

With their combined forces, they should manage this easily. Then they could interrogate the person, which should help them shine more light on this situation.

Varen was watching the museum that was the current victim of attempted robbery. As ever, the attack was happening at night, but Varen was very comfortable with that. Like this, he and Marek could easily stay hidden in a nearby alley, surveying.

Lights constantly flashed from the museum's dark windows as the heroes and villains battled within, Aira's lightning shooting around the place.

It would have been safer to run into the museum as well to join the fray, but there were more SOPISOC grunts within, and they would definitely try to fight him and Marek. So instead, they would wait.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the museum door to slam open, someone flying out of it.

For a split second Varen thought that perhaps this was a person whose power was flight, but it soon became obvious that they'd just gotten thrown outside when they came crashing to the ground.

Varen rushed forward, raising his fist up to his chest to make the soil around them grab the person's limbs, keeping them pinned.

He didn't need to do anything else. The next moment, Boltstrike ran out, rushing to their captive. Varen slowly eased off his grip on the supervillain, letting Boltstrike restrain them.

"Okay, got him," said Marek as he grabbed the supervillain, his hand over the man's mouth to muffle his protest. "We'll keep this one from running off until you handle the other one."

Aira nodded, running back to the museum while Marek started dragging their captive to the car.

"I hope this guy knows something. I really do," Marek muttered to Varen, who nodded.

Indeed. They couldn't move anywhere with this investigation otherwise. Despite Varen's research, he had few actual clues. His assumption that SOPISOC was somehow to blame for this was simply that—a deduction based on the fact that they are the ones profiting the most from this situation. But he didn't have an actual proof.

Varen drove them and their captive to the abandoned house downtown they'd selected for this. Varen would have chosen a safehouse the Undertakers owned, but it was better not to. If they left any evidence that they'd brought two SOPISOC members there, Flesheater would not be pleased.

Their captive kept trying to threaten them in the car, but Varen barely listened to him. There was nothing the man could do. He was at their mercy, even more so once he was tied to a chair in the middle of the old, decrepit living room they'd chosen for this.

The house was abandoned, falling apart, with boarded up windows and very few neighbors around to see anything. Varen didn't turn any lights on, though. They didn't need to test just how well those windows were covered up.

"Who hired you?" Varen asked the man, narrowing his eyes. The man spat at him, to which Varen didn't react at all.

Instead he pulled the man's mask off, frowning when he was met with a face he didn't recognize in the slightest.