Potted Plant and Honeybee 🌱🐝

Intermezzo 1 : Lost Child.

  The lights of the city reflected in his goggles. It was a cloudy night. No stars or moon visible. His black cloak made him blend in with the shadows casted by larger skyscraper, stronger than the lights emitted from the few rooms that were still occupied despite most people having left work for the day.
  He looked down from the building he was standing on. What he was looking at was a group of gangsters, all of them masked and bearing the same symbol on hoodies, shirts, pants, bandanas or caps - everyone had it on different spots. It was a chinese character which looked kind of like a 1 and a capital E that was lying on its side with the middle line being the longest.
  Their leader was the only obvious non-human: A large reptilian, possibly a kind iguana, with sandy brown skin and a long thick tail. According to an informant his name was Goru or something like that.
  Blackwood dropped a few green capsules from the building, which all landed where the gang was. The nine or so people all turned to the odd capsules which had fallen down. Looking up they seemed to not notice anything. Those capsules were definitely suspicious, and staying near them was definitely not a good idea.
  They probably thought it were bombs. They weren't exactly wrong, but not right either, but knowing this will not change their fate. You cannot run from Blackwood!
  Just as the group dispersed into different directions, vines came shooting out of the capsules grabbing them all by their arms, legs, necks, tails - whatever the vines could get. They started to wrap around the gangsters and then pulled them together.
  Starting to understand the situation the gangsters (at least the ones who were still conscious, and also not distracted by the horrible itching skin caused by the plants) tried to free themselves only to get captured by another vine. And then something cut them. Their leader looked around.
  Click click. A figure in a black cloak was there moving very fast. Something metallic was seen shimmering in the dark. Was that a blade? Only four of the gangsters were still standing. Kinda. Sorta.
  Bonk bonk bonk. Goru was sitting in a mess consisting of vines, blood and his own underlings, and he couldn't get free. He saw a few of his fellow gangster struggle with vines. And the police sirens were heard in the distance.
  Now a hero stood right in front of him, having the lower part of his right arm replaced by mechanical parts.
  "Toxicodendron radicans, more commonly known as poison ivy. Did you know that most humans are allergic to it?" The cloaked guy pulled one of the captured guys to himself. "Given that most of you are human this improved version of the plant will feel extra nice. And to that comes my blade." He showed off a blood covered blade coming from his arm and stabbed into the man's abdomen.
  After this Blackwood turned to the leader, who was producing some rather pathetic threatening grumble. "But you, my fellow, are quite a hard one. Reptilians have tougher skin, and poison ivy doesn't really do anything to them either." The hero simply dismissed Goru's hissing and attempts to attack him with a scaly tail.
  "Don't worry, I won't kill you. That would be pretty immoral. I just need some info..."
  "Halt!"
  Blackwood turned around to see who interrupted them. A tan skinned woman with black hair and yellow strands stood there, behind her a bunch of armed policemen.
  The officers all ran to the bundle of criminals and arrested them. The woman however approached the young hero.
  "This is the fourth or so time you had pulled off one of these... I am not sure what to even call this mess!"
  Ye, ye, whatever. It's not like taking you with me will change anything. Hm, maybe it will, but to the worse. So yeah, let me just work on my own. That's what he thought, but didn't say. It wasn't like Detective Meli Peyton wanted to hear that.
  "Blackwood, are you even listening?!"
  "To be earnest, nope. Not at all. We ain't actually partners, remember?" Her words, not mine.
  It seemed like Meli wanted to add something else, but she just let out a sigh and told him: "Let's go back to the car, and stop going on solo-missions."
  You aren't my mom. You aren't my sister. You aren't even my friend. In the almost three weeks they had known each other the two had had barely any conversations - especially those about themselves.
  They barely knew each other, but there seemed to be no need to. The captain will soon see that they just are not compatible. Then they won't be official partners anymore. But that would mean he would lose access to police files. Yes, it did have a downside.
  But maybe it was worth it.