Larissa drove the van with Jack and Ning on the backseat on either side of Waveshot, who remained there with his eyes closed, leaning back against his seat. His hands were cuffed, so he could do nothing right then to escape even if he wanted to.
Ning removed the cloth from his face that he had used to hide the manâs face.
Larissa glanced at him in the overhead mirror for a moment before dragging her eyes away. She started the van and drove on.
The van remained silent for some time, but at some point Larissa simply couldnât keep her curiosities to herself.
"Alright, what the hell was that back there?" she asked. "How the hell can you turn into a giant bat like that?"
"I told you, itâs new," Ning said. "I only recently got that power."
"Huh? Wait, that was you?" Jack asked with a surprised look. "I thought it was a bad guy who had found Waveshot."
"No, that was me," Ning said. "I can turn into a bat. I had to go after him."
Waveshot glared at him with a hateful look before slumping even more on the seat.
"How can your power be new?" she asked. "Iâve never heard of someone getting their powers this late into their adulthood. Everyone is supposed to get it during their puberty years."
"Well, I donât know what to say," Ning said. "Unless youâre saying that Iâve been hiding my powers all this time instead of helping you guys when you needed it."
Larissa didnât know what to say. In a way, she kind of did believe that. "When did you get it then?" she asked.
"Itâs been a week," Ning answered. "Not that long."
"Have you been to the power registration facility yet? You should go before youâre caught," Jack said.
"I should," Ning said. "I just... I havenât had the time to. But I suppose I will be heading there in a day or two."
Larissa still watched him with narrowed eyes, but she couldnât say anything to contradict what he had said.
"So what exactly is your power? Can you just turn into a giant bat?" she asked.
"Just a giant bat. I think Iâm a little stronger physically as well, but thatâs about it."
"Right!" Larissa remembered how she was saved from those wave attacks thrown at her by Waveshot. "Thank you."
Ning shrugged. "You donât have to thank me. I just did what was right."
"I think Iâm still missing a few pieces of information," Jack said, looking at the superhero that sat next to him. "Anyone care to fill me in?"
"Youâll find out soon," Ning said. "Although, we might have to deal with some annoying folks before that."
Larissa gave a small nod, no longer glancing behind. She moved her focus back on the road and drove them back to the station. There, they brought Waveshot with them, through the watchful eyes of many people in the station, and put him in an interrogation room.
"I need my lawyer," Waveshot said. "I wonât speak without my lawyer."
They could not deny him his rights, so the heroâs lawyer was called right away. While the lawyer came, they waited.
Mira tried to ask Ning for more information on how he had realized it was him, but before Ning could answer, both he and Larissa were called away.
Ning left with Larissa, walking over to the chiefâs office, where the man sat with papers spread around his desk. When they knocked on his door, he turned around.
"Come in and lock the door."
The chief was a green-skinned orc with two tusks rising out of his bottom jaw and a gold earring around his thick ears. He was a muscular man, but he wore his uniform that made him look more like a man with a brain instead of brawn.
The chief threw down the papers he was holding and looked at them. "So you really did it, huh?" he asked. "You really captured Waveshot."
"I wasnât of much help, chief. It was mostly him," she said.
"Youâre in charge of him, so any success he brings is your success as well, Captain Larissa. Remember that," he said.
"I will, chief."
"But, now that youâve captured a hero, one ranked 22nd no less, weâre in some deep trouble from everywhere."
Just as he said that, the phone rang.
"Chief Rangtar of Limaro PD speaking, who is this?" the man spoke into the phone. "Oh, Sir. Yes. Yes, I understand. No, weâ no, yes. I understand. We will deal with it as quietly as we can, sir. No, I have my finest working on this. This is not a mistake. This wonât reflect poorly on you, sir. Iâ"
He paused. "Bastard didnât even let me finish talking," he said with a sigh.
Larissaâs eyes narrowed. "Was that your superior?" she asked in surprise.
"No, that was the mayor. He has learned about one of the cityâs heroes being confined in our interrogation room. He wants us to do this with as little drama as possible. Now, are you confident that this is the person weâre looking for?" he asked.
"Almost, sir," Larissa said.
"Almost isnât going to cut it."
"He attacked the two of us, sir. And ran out of the 12th floor of his apartment. Even if he wasnât responsible for the other crime, he can be arrested for this. And he almost confessed about the other crime to us. He made it clear that he knew what we were talking about and was worried we would capture him."
"Hmm, thatâs good," the chief said. He turned toward Ning. "Good job. I made a damn good choice bringing you back into the force. When are you going to join this department?"
"Iâm not sure I will just yet," Ning said. "Let me take some time to think."
"You can think later," the chief said. "Right now, you have a confession to draw. You may leave."
Both Ning and Larissa gave a slight nod and walked out of the room.