I jerked awake.

My bedroom was on the ground floor, next to Paul’s so that I could respond quickly in case any of the bed alarms sounded.

Had one of them woken me?

TEST OF PERCEPTION: PASSED.

DANGER ALERT: AN UNKNOWN THREAT APPROACHES.

.. what?

Some sort of muted sounds from outside the room.

I got out of bed quietly. Still in Paul’s too-small pyjamas, I walked up to my door and gently pushed it open.

Nobody there.

The mumbling resolved into voices:

“.... and there’s only the girl and her dad.”

“Good, we can….” the noise faded out.

I froze.

Strangers in the house?

Robbers?

I checked quickly around for a baseball bat or some such improvised weapon. No luck - but there was a metal tray. I grabbed it and quietly crept towards the sounds.

I crept up to the living room, trying to hug the walls and maintain a low profile.

I peeked.

Three men were rummaging through the drawers and cabinets. Each had a black plastic bag and was wearing a stocking face mask.

Ultras?

I willed myself to Observe.

PAULIE KITTS

CLASS: ROBBER

FACTION: CRAWLEY GANG

LEVEL 6

HP 125/125

MARIO BROGGS

CLASS: ROBBER

FACTION: CRAWLEY GANG

LEVEL 5

HP 105/105

LUKE CRAWLEY

CLASS: ROBBER

FACTION: CRAWLEY GANG

LEVEL 5

HP 100/100

TEST OF PERCEPTION: FAILED.

“Well, well,” came a nasal voice from behind me, “Lookie what we have here.”

The three men froze. So did I.

I turned, slowly.

The man who’d spoken was at least six foot six and built like a Goliath. His grey denim half-shirt and ratty blue jeans did little to hide his rippling, muscled arms. In his right hand was a huge kitchen knife, while his left waistband had a pistol tucked into it.

EZEKIAL CRAWLEY

CLASS: MURDERER

FACTION: CRAWLEY GANG

LEVEL 8

HP 160/160

FACTION LEADER: +25% MORALE BOOST TO FACTION MEMBERS FIGHTING ALONGSIDE

Crap.

The cops we’d met had been Level 5. This guy was Level 8. And had a title.

And a profession called ‘Murderer’.

And his three henchmen were also staring at me now.

This did not bode well….

“Who’re you,” drawled Ezekiel, “and what’re you doing here?”

“I’m Andrew Drake,” I replied. “I live here.”

“He’s not from here, Zee,” the one called Paulie said. “There’s just the dad and the daughter. No boy.”

“I know that,” snapped Ezekiel, “and I told you before - no names during jobs.” He stared at me. “Maybe you’re the boyfriend? Little miss upstairs isn’t so little after all? We should go pay her a visit after.”

“I’m Paul Drake’s son,” I tried. “Please leave my sister alone.”

TEST OF CHARISMA: FAILED.

YOU CANNOT NEGOTIATE WITH THESE MEN. THE LEADER IS NOT INTERESTED IN NEGOTIATION AND THE OTHERS ARE TOO AFRAID TO DISAGREE.

PERSUASION OPTIONS UNAVAILABLE.

TEST OF ATTRACTIVENESS: FAILED.

YOU CANNOT CHARM OR SEDUCE THESE MEN. NONE OF THEM ARE ATTRACTED TO OTHER MEN, AND YOU’RE NOT PRETTY ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR THE DIFFERENCE.

CONTROL OPTIONS UNAVAILABLE.

My power would have been funny if I wasn’t so terrified.

“Let’s put a few holes in him,” interjected the once called Luke. “Or we can make him dance.”

“Shut up,” replied Ezekiel. “We don’t need any interruptions.” He turned to me. “You. We’re going to tie you to a chair and steal the stuff from your place. Once we’re done, we’ll leave. You can get your sister to untie you when she gets up.”

TEST OF PERCEPTION: PASSED.

EZEKIEL CRAWLEY IS A MURDERER AND KNOWS YOU HEARD HIM CALLED ZEKE. IF HE TIES YOU UP, YOU WILL BE AT HIS MERCY AND HE KNOWS IT.

QUEST ALERT: RESOLVE THE SITUATION WITH THE CRAWLEY GANG. REWARD: +500 XP. FAILURE: DEATH.

YOUR OPTIONS ARE TO RUN, FIGHT, OR SUBMIT. CHOOSE WISELY.

… Crap.

If I submitted, Ezekiel would probably tie me up and slit my throat. Then Anne would be at their mercy.

If I ran, I might get away, but they’d probably chase me - and possibly catch me. And Anne would still be at their mercy.

If I fought…..

The noise might wake Anne, and she might be able to escape. Or call the cops.

All these thoughts went through my head in a fraction of a second.

“Anne!” I yelled. “Robbers! Run!”

Then I spun and tried to punch the nearest thug, which was Paulie.

My punch connected with his jaw with a meaty thunk:

HIT! PAULIE KITTS -12HP.

I followed up with slamming the tray on his head.

HIT! PAULIE KITTS -36 HP, CONDITION: STUNNED.

Paulie fell backwards. I twisted as the other two jumped at me.

I dodged a blow from Luke and kicked Mario in the gonads. Mario screamed and a -24 HP notification jumped up.

Luke tried to grab at me again. I swung, and slammed my fists first into Luke’s stomach, then into his jaw.

A crack! sounded.

HIT! LUKE CRAWLEY -12 HP. CRITICAL HIT! LUKE CRAWLEY -24 HP, CONDITION: BROKEN JAW.

Keep going!

USE SKILL: DEADLY BLOW?

Why not.

The notification vanished at my thought, instead of needing to be touched.

I thrust my arm forward, fist bunched into a punch, and hammered Luke’s nose.

DEADLY BLOW! 5X NORMAL DAMAGE + WEAK SPOT HIT. NOSE INJURY.

LUKE CRAWLEY -60 HP, CONDITION: SHATTERED NOSE, BLEEDING.

Luke Crawley collapsed to the ground.

An elbow wrapped around my throat from behind. Mario was back. And he was trying to choke the life out of me.

YOU ARE BEING CHOKED BY AN ENEMY.

STATUS EFFECT: PARTIAL SUFFOCATION. -1 HP/SEC.

I grabbed his arm at the elbow.

When you’re in a choke hold, you can’t break the choke by forcing the attacker’s arm away. You have to move your face downwards, so that the pressure on the carotid artery is relieved, and then pivot.

I pivoted.

I had Mario’s hand in a vise grip. My neck was free and the pressure was gone.

STATUS EFFECT PARTIAL SUFFOCATION REMOVED.

And now Mario’s arm had become his trap.

I twisted in a move I could half-remember having learnt sometime, somewhere.

Mario sailed through the air as I executed a judo throw.

The robber landed on his neck.

CRACK!

OVERHEAD THROW! MARIO BROGSS -48 HP. CONDITION: SHATTERED ARM.

I followed up with another kick, this time aimed at his throat. My bare foot smashed into it.

CRITICAL HIT! MARIO BROGGS -36 HP.

Paulie, meanwhile, had gotten off the floor in a daze and was now lurching towards me.

I lashed out with a high kick. I also tapped into whatever skills I had and activated Deadly Blow.

My foot slammed into his jaw.

DEADLY BLOW! PAULIE KITTS -90 HP.

Paulie flew backwards and slammed into the TV cabinet.

“You bastard!” roared Ezekiel from behind me. “Stop now or I fill you with lead!”

The sound of a hammer being cocked.

Oh well, it had been a good life.

I stopped and turned around slowly with my hands raised. Ezekiel Crawley was pointing his gun at me. Hammer cocked.

A whole bunch of new options were also showing up below my screen, right beneath Critical Blow.

“You moved too goddamn fast,” snapped Ezekiel. “You should’ve stayed still like a good boy. Now you’re gonna pay.”

“Why don’t you use the knife?” I asked Ezekiel. “The gun will wake the whole neighbourhood.”

“You…. want me to use the knife?”

“Gun’s loud. Knife keeps it quiet.” I tried to shrug with raised hands. “Be more interesting that way, too. You’ve killed before - I’ll bet you did it with the blade, not the gun.”

“You’re right,” snapped Ezekiel. “And you’re no newbie at this. You don’t talk about guns and knives like that unless you’ve used them.”

“Maybe I have. You don’t know me. And you won’t - unless you take some time.” I grinned.

TEST OF CHARISMA: PASSED.

EZEKIEL CRAWLEY GAINS STATUS EFFECT: INTIMIDATED

EZEKIEL CRAWLEY THINKS YOU ARE DANGEROUS. PERHAPS AS DANGEROUS AS HIM.

THIS WON’T STOP HIM FROM KILLING YOU. HE’S JUST THINKING ABOUT HOW TO DO IT MOST EASILY.

Break the momentum.

Before, Ezekiel had been in control of the situation - and he’d had all the power. He’d thought he was dealing with an unarmed teenager.

Now, his three men were down, and he was facing the same teenager - alone. Who looked just as harmless as before, except calm and composed in the face of possible death.

Which made Ezekiel hesitate to pull the trigger. Because yes, guns were loud. And what if I wasn’t alone?

I had to play the psychological game for what it was worth. Make him hesitate.

Because every second, my depleted AP meter was refilling by 2.3 AP.

“You don’t know who I am,” I said calmly.

“You don’t know who I am, either,” snapped Ezekiel.

“I know you. Ezekiel Crawley. Leader of the Crawley gang. The guys on the floor are Mario, Luke and Paulie. Am I right so far?”

If Ezekiel had been rattled before, now he looked shaken. “How? How the hell did you know?”

“I know everything,” I intoned mysteriously. “As does my master. He’s not back yet, but when he is, he’ll make you pay.”

“.... Your master?”

“My master. You don’t know who he is, but he knows you. I know you, Ezekiel Crawley. I know the lines you’ve crossed. I know what you can do - and what you can’t. Sure, you can fire the gun.” I smiled menacingly. “But can you really kill me? Will that be enough?”

“Who the hell ARE you?” screamed Crawley.

I smiled. Menacingly. “You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?”

Crawley fired.

I activated my newest skill - DODGE BULLETS.

My body jerked out of the way. 50 AP vanished. I was now at 82/132.

I charged at him.

Crawley jumped back, and fired again.

This time, I didn’t even need to dodge. Crawley’s shot went wide.

I slammed into him.

SKILL USED: BODY CHARGE. DAMAGE = STR + DEX + VIT.

EZEKIEL CRAWLEY: -35 HP.

My fist slammed into Crawley’s body, delivering another -12 HP. Crawley fumbled with the gun instead of defending himself.

I didn’t go for the gun. I focused on inflicting the maximum pain I could on Crawley in the few seconds available.

Another punch, another -12 HP.

Crawley pushed me away and readied his knife. I took a -5 HP from the force of the push.

I punched him in the ribs with Deadly Blow.

DEADLY BLOW! EZEKIEL CRAWLEY -60 HP, CONDITION: SHATTERED RIBS.

Ezekiel roared and charged at me, knife first.

I activated my last new skill:

EVADE BLOWS: DODGE ALL NORMAL BLOWS IN HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. 20 AP/SECOND.

My body moved out of the way of the knife almost by magic. I smashed my elbow into Crawley’s nose.

CRITICAL HIT! EZEKIEL CRAWLEY -24 HP.

Crawley groaned and stumbled back.

I snapped off a quick Observe:

EZEKIEL CRAWLEY

LEVEL 8

HP 17/160

CONDITIONS: SHATTERED RIBS, INTIMIDATED, INTERNAL BLEEDING.

“You’re an Ultra,” groaned Crawley. “You and your master. You’ll let me go, or I’ll tell.”

“If I don’t, you still won’t tell,” I replied in a calm voice. “Come up with something better.”

“You bastard….”

A plate smashed against the back of his head.

Crawley stumbled forward for a second, then swung around.

Anne was there in her pyjamas, looking terrified. She’d hit him with a porcelain plate.

Personally, I’d have gone with steel, since porcelain isn’t hard enough to dent skulls.

Crawley had lost another 5 HP. But now he had an opportunity.

He grabbed for Anne. She backpedalled.

In seconds, he’d have her - a hostage - and then there was nothing to stop him from running.

A butter knife lay on the table next to me. Steel.

I grabbed it and threw.

SKILL USED: EXPERT KNIFE THROW - 20 AP

The butter knife hit Crawley in the eye.

CRITICAL HIT! EZEKIEL CRAWLEY -18 HP (EFFECT REDUCED DUE TO BLUNTED KNIFE)

Crawley collapsed.

Blood seeped from his eye onto the floor.

QUEST COMPLETE! SITUATION WITH CRAWLEY GANG RESOLVED!

+500 XP.

+100 XP FOR EACH NORMAL ENEMY COMBATANT DEFEATED.

+300 XP FOR DEFEATING A FACTION LEADER.

YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!

The notifications vanished as I read them.

Anne leaned against the wall. “Who are these?”

“A robber gang,” I replied. “That one is the gang leader. There are three more in the drawing room - I knocked them out.” I quickly glanced around. Sure enough, the other three weren’t moving.

“We need to call the police,” Anne said. “We’ll need a story.”

“”Huh?”

“They’ll want to know why you killed these men.”

“...What? I just knocked them out.”

“Andrew, they’re not breathing.”

… what?

I quickly moved to the still form of Luke. He’d been bleeding, but….

No pulse.

No breath.

Crap.

...What about Mario?

Mario was draped over the TV cabinet at an unnatural angle. I tried to take his pulse - no response. I then tried to check his breath - also nothing.

Paulie was the same.

I didn’t need to even check on Ezekiel. He’d been bleeding out of his eye for more than a minute now, and had not moved from where he lay.

I hadn’t intended to kill them.

I sat down for a moment. Held myself very still.

Since coming to this world, I’d killed one alien soldier and four humans.

Five deaths in a week.

Five sentient beings, who would have been alive if I hadn’t been around.

….. Why was I here?

Was I doing anyone any good at all?

“Hey,” Anne’s voice came to me. “Are you okay?”

“I….” my voice trailed off. “I didn’t mean to. They had knives, and a gun, and were going to rob us and kill us. I just… I just defended myself.”

“I know,” Anne whispered. “I heard you yell.”

“Why didn’t you run?”

“This is my home. Where would I run to?”

I couldn’t help it.

I began to cry.

Anne called the police while I washed up.

I hadn’t realized it, but my hands were bloody. Literally. Some of the jaw punches had left a mark.

Still, it was a sobering thought. I’d killed four men with my bare hands - and my powers - and done so with hardly a bruise.

Perhaps this was what being an ultrahuman meant. Even with my generally weak powers, even with the odds stacked against me, and even with as little practice as I’d had, I was still deadly in a fight.

And there were ultras out there who made what I did look like a joke. Quick to dodge? A hero named Lightspeed could break the sound barrier. Punch hard? Bombard could shoot lasers from his eyes. Dodge bullets? Grumman’s armoured suits could shrug off anti-tank rounds. Heal quickly? Viking had been burnt by plasma fire in one of the videos, and had recovered in seconds.

I glanced at my interface:

HP: 120/120

PP: 216/216

MP: 272/272

CP: 210/2100

AP: 132/132

$ 0.00

XP: 90/3000

Ethics: +6

Huh. Four people killed, and my ethics meter still showed me as being positive.

I had gone through the notifications that had popped up in combat. In the entire fight, I’d taken a total of 7 HP of damage - two seconds of the late Mario trying to choke me, and one shove from Ezekiel.

Each punch of mine - unassisted - had delivered 12 damage to an enemy’s HP. Equal to my strength.

Each kick had delivered 18 HP - one-and-a-half times my strength number.

I tried to focus on why I’d done so much damage. The Unarmed Combat skill seemed to hold some clues.

UNARMED COMBAT:

YOU CURRENTLY KNOW HOW TO PUNCH, KICK, AND USE YOUR ELBOWS AND HEAD TO DELIVER SECONDARY BLOWS.

YOU CAN USE IMPROVISED WEAPONS LIKE METAL TRAYS.

PUNCH: DAMAGE DEALT = STR

KICK: DAMAGE DEALT = 1.5 X STR.

SECONDARY BLOWS: DAMAGE DEALT = STR.

CRITICAL HITS DELIVER DOUBLE DAMAGE.

CRITICAL HIT CHANCE: 50%.

SKILL HAS ADVANCED TO LEVEL 5. YOU CAN WIPE THE FLOOR WITH AN UNTRAINED OPPONENT AND EVEN HOLD YOUR OWN IN A BRAWL.

I remembered the kick that had knocked down Paulie Kitts - the kick to the jaw. An 18 HP kick, coupled with Deadly Blow - which gave a 5x multiplier effect - 90 damage.

Normal human beings had about 100 to 125 health points.

I could kill a normal man with two Deadly Blows.

And 50% of the time my hits were Critical hits? Double damage?

I could kill people with my normal punches if I was not careful.

I had killed people because I was not careful.

Granted, if I hadn’t fought, they might have killed me and Anne. I still didn’t want to end lives so cheaply.

What had they wanted? Cash, electronics, jewellery? There was very little of any of these in the house.

Four men died because they picked the wrong house to rob.

Anne knocked on the door. “The cops are here,” she said. “They want to talk to you.”

I steeled myself.

Several police officers and a couple of medics were in the drawing room. The entire area was cordoned off by yellow police tape, and a man was taking photos.

A plainclothes police officer approached me. “Mr. Drake?”

“Andrew,” I offered, extending my hand.

The policeman didn’t take it - not a good sign. “Detective Sergeant Bears,” he introduced himself. “I’d like to ask you a few questions. Is there a place we can speak one-on-one?”

“Sure, Detective,” I replied. “We can use my room - it’s just there.”

I led the detective to my room while quietly snapping off an Observe.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT DANNIE BEARS

CLASS: POLICE DETECTIVE

FACTION: TANISPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT

HP 120/120

RELATIONSHIP: DISTRUSTED (-2)

LEVEL 7

Wait, why was I distrusted?

TEST OF PERCEPTION: PASSED

DANNIE BEARS IS A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE WHO’S SEEN IT ALL. CURRENTLY HE IS INVESTIGATING HOW FOUR MEN CAME TO BE KILLED IN THE COURSE OF A ROBBERY. HE BELIEVES IT IS UNLIKELY THAT A SINGLE HUMAN BEING WOULD KILL FOUR OTHERS IN SELF-DEFENSE, AND WANTS TO KNOW IF SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON.

DANNIE HAS A STRONG SENSE OF JUSTICE AND WILL SIDE WITH THOSE WHO TRY THEIR BEST TO FOLLOW THE LAW. HOWEVER, HE IS BOUND BY REGULATIONS.

QUEST ALERT: GET DETECTIVE BEARS TO CLEAR YOU OF ANY WRONGDOING IN THE DEATHS OF THE CRAWLEY GANG. REWARD: +300 XP, INCREASED RELATIONSHIP WITH DANNIE BEARS. FAILURE: RELATIONSHIP LOSS WITH TANISPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT, POSSIBLE ARREST, POSSIBLE IMPRISONMENT.

I took a deep breath. Homicide, not Burglary.

Okay, I’ve got to clear my name and this detective is already suspicious of me.

Detective Bears closed the door and took the chair. I sat on the bed facing him.

“Can I call you Andrew?” asked Bears.

“Sure.”

“Andrew, I understand what happened last night was frightening. I want to assure you that you won’t be in any trouble.” Bears’ voice was soothing and friendly, and if it wasn’t for Observe I’d be inclined to trust him. “Could you tell me, in your own words, what exactly happened?”

“I heard a noise. I came out to the living room and saw three men robbing the place.”

“Did they see you?”

“The fourth man was behind me. He saw me and alerted his companions.”

“And what happened then?”

“They …. They threatened me. And my sister.”

“What exactly did they say?”

I thought back. What were the exact words the robbers had used? “They said they’d make me dance.”

It was only momentary, but I saw Detective Bears almost flinch.

I suddenly realized why Bears was really here. It was the tag that Ezekiel Crawley had borne:

Murderer.

“Did they have any weapons?” Bears asked, casually.

“Ezekiel - the big one - had a knife and a gun.”

“Ezekiel?”

“They used each other’s names.”

The detective’s eyes widened fractionally.

I realized what must have been obvious - the only time robbers would use their names in front of a victim was when the victim was soon to be a dead victim.

Suddenly, the words ‘make him dance’ seemed to convey a much more sinister meaning.

“I see,” murmured Bears. “And what were their names?”

“Paulie, Mario, Luke and Ezekiel.” I left out the surnames - the first names I might be able to get away with knowing.

TRY TO PERSUADE DETECTIVE BEARS OF YOUR INNOCENCE?

APPEAL TO THE HEART - CONVINCE HIM THAT YOU WERE ONLY DOING WHAT YOU HAD TO IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND THAT YOU’RE THE VICTIM IN ALL OF THIS. APPEAL TO THE MIND - EXPLAIN LOGICALLY THAT THEY WERE PLANNING TO KILL YOU AND ANNE, AND THAT YOU HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO RETURN THE FAVOUR. CALL TO ARMS - GET DANNIE BEARS TO HATE THE CRAWLEY GANG MORE THAN HE DISTRUSTS YOU. BLUFF - CONVINCE BEARS THAT THE CRAWLEYS KILLED EACH OTHER.

COMBINE OPTIONS FOR BETTER EFFECTIVENESS.

Somehow I didn’t think ‘It was the logical thing to do’ or ‘they killed each other while I just watched’ - would fly as an argument with Bears. A combination of Appeal to the Heart and Mind it was.

“Detective,” I began, “I’m just a seventeen-year-old kid. My dad’s in a coma and my sister is fourteen; we’ve hardly any cash in the house and very little worth stealing. These men came into our house. I don’t know why, and I wish they hadn’t.”

RELATIONSHIP WITH DANNIE BEARS INCREASES. CURRENT RELATIONSHIP: DISLIKED (-1)

“I understand,” replied Bears, “and like I said you’re not in any trouble. I just want you to walk me through what happened.”

“They said that they should pay Anne a visit,” I said.

RELATIONSHIP WITH DANNIE BEARS INCREASES. CURRENT RELATIONSHIP: NEUTRAL (0).

“What happened after that?”

“The one called Mario grabbed my throat and started to choke me.”

“And?”

“And then… I know a little bit about self-defence. I pivoted and flipped him.”

Bears frowned. “You…. pivoted and flipped him?”

“… it’s a technique for breaking a choke hold.”

“Yes, I know. Could you let me know where you learnt it?”

“I … looked it up online.”

“I see. Have you ever taken a self-defence class?”

“No.”

“Go on. What happened after you flipped him?”

“Well, he landed on the ground and the other two jumped me. They started punching.”

“What did you do?”

“Uh, most of their punches didn’t hit me. They ended up hitting each other mostly. By mistake.”

“... They were punching each other by mistake?”

“Well, one punched the other and then they started fighting each other.”

“And the fourth?”

“He fired the gun. Then the other two… the one called Paulie attacked him and then it became a bit of a mess. They were hitting, I was ducking and hitting, and the big one was waving his knife and gun about… it was a bit of a mess.”

“Take your time.”

“When it was done, the other two were on the ground, bleeding. I thought they were unconscious. The big one had his gun on me, and then Anne hit him with a plate. He turned and was going to hurt her.” I took a deep breath. “So I charged him.”

“Charged him?”

“I had a butter knife. I thought I could get him to stop somehow. I … in all the chaos I think I stuck it in his eye.”

“I understand. You stuck the man in the eye with the butter knife.”

“Yes.” There, close enough to the truth to explain events and not reveal my ultrahuman nature.

“Did you or your sister touch the gun or the knife afterwards?”

“No.”

“Can you tell me about the man who grabbed your neck….”

“Choked me.”

“Choked you. What did it feel like?”

“Like I might pass out any second.”

“How did he grab you?”

“From behind. His elbow wrapped around my neck.”

“I see. You were able to break his hold?”

“He probably wasn’t expecting it.”

“And you flipped him.”

“Yes.”

“How long did you take to study the flip technique?”

“Um… it was a while back. I suppose it took me a few minutes to understand?”

Bears nodded sympathetically. “Thank you for telling us what happened,” he said. “I would like to make a few statements - not advice or instructions of any sort - and you can choose to listen to them or ignore them. It’s entirely up to you. You are not obligated to react, these are just general statements. Is that okay?”

What was this? “Uh …. Sure.”

“First of all, under Florida law, Chapter 776, a person facing the threat of imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves has a right to use deadly force in their self-defence. Are you aware of this law?”

I paused for a second. The detective was being friendly - a bit too friendly. Even for a neutral relationship.

“Detective,” I asked, “am I being charged with a crime?”

“Of course not. You were attacked, you acted in self-defence. I’m simply stating a law. Have you heard of this law? Read up on it?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“But you acted in self-defence and defence of your sister. Is that what you believe?”

PERSUASION: PARTIAL SUCCESS. DETECTIVE BEARS BELIEVES YOU ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE BUT ARE STILL HIDING SOMETHING. HE HAS NOT YET DECIDED WHETHER OR NOT TO ARREST YOU.

INTUITIVE LEAP: SUCCESSFUL.

DETECTIVE BEARS KNOWS EZEKIEL CRAWLEY, AND HAS BEEN CHASING HIM FOR MURDER. HE ALSO KNOWS CRAWLEY WAS NOT THE TYPE TO BE RATTLED EASILY, AND THAT HIS GANG MEMBERS WOULD NEVER ATTACK HIM.

HE KNOWS YOU ARE LYING. HE DOES NOT KNOW WHY, BUT HAS A FEW SUSPICIONS.

…. I had managed to convince a police detective that I was lying. With four corpses in the house.

This was going to require some careful thinking.

“Detective,” I replied. “I believe I acted in self-defence.” I did my best to appear calm and unrattled.

Not a good idea, since I was greeted by this message:

THE DETECTIVE DOES NOT APPRECIATE BEING LIED TO OR MANIPULATED. A LACK OF REMORSE ALSO CONCERNS HIM. RELATIONSHIP WITH DETECTIVE BEARS DECREASES. RELATIONSHIP: DISLIKED (-1).

I decided to keep quiet for the moment. See what the detective asked.

“I see,” replied Bears. “How are you academically? Do you do well in school?”

“I’m home-schooled,” I replied.

“Well, that’s interesting. What about your sister?”

“She attends a regular school.”

“Which one?”

“Everard High.”

"Most families that practice home-schooling do it for either all or none of their kids.”

“It’s a complicated story.”

“I’d like to hear it.”

“It involves our family rather deeply, and I’d rather not get into it until my father wakes up.”

“All right.” Bears shrugged. “Would you say you’re rather good at studies?”

“I do okay.”

“Hm. You said you saw the move online for a few minutes.”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever practice it?”

“... No.”

“But the first time you had to use it in a life-and-death situation, you could pull it off perfectly and disarm your opponent.”

“Detective, I didn’t pull it off perfectly.”

“Oh?”

“The move is a non-lethal takedown if done right. I didn’t do it right. I put too much force into the throw - I shouldn’t have. He landed on his neck. I … had no plans of having him break it.”

“Why do you say it was broken?”

“I…. replayed the scene in my mind afterwards. I realized the angle he landed at would have broken his neck. Yes, I used too much force; at the time I really didn’t think I would survive the next five minutes.”

RELATIONSHIP WITH DANNIE BEARS INCREASES. CURRENT RELATIONSHIP: NEUTRAL (0).

“I see,” commented the detective. “I’d like to share one more thing with you, if I may?”

“Sure.”

“According Chapter 138 of the Federal Criminal Code, local and state police do not have jurisdiction over the activities of ultrahumans.”

…. He knew.

I knew he knew.

He knew I knew he knew.

“In fact,” the detective continued, “Article 3312 goes so far as to state that local police personnel are not permitted to disclose any information about the identity or actions of an ultrahuman. And ultrahumans who have actively fought in combat against aliens are granted even more leeway. Any local police investigation discovering the identity of an ultrahuman is required to delete all data and records of the same and maintain full confidentiality.”

“I don’t know what that has to do with me.”

“Where were you on the day of the attack?”

“... With my sister. Downtown.”

“Did you see any aliens?”

“... A couple of patrols. We hid.”

RELATIONSHIP WITH DANNIE BEARS INCREASES. CURRENT RELATIONSHIP: SYMPATHY (1).

“And then?”

“And we got to one of the shelters. Registered there. Then we came home.”

“And found your dad?”

“He was missing at first. We had to go to Tanisport General to find him. He was in a coma.”

“So you brought him back home?”

“The doctor recommended a home monitoring bed. My dad’s in the next room.”

“How are you paying for the bed?”

“Uhh….. we haven’t gotten that far. We’re hoping he will wake up soon.”

“What about your mother or any other relatives?”

“Our mother’s dead. She was killed in the attack on the Tanisport police station a few years ago.”

The detective nodded. “I can understand how difficult it must be to come home to what you feel is a safe place, and then find yourself under attack.” He handed me a business card. “If you want to talk, give me a call.”

… What?

“It’s fairly clear to us that this was self-defence. Stay in town, though. We may need you to attend a hearing. If you do have to go, please leave a message at the station.” With that, the detective left the room.

QUEST COMPLETED! REWARD +300 XP.

I took a deep breath and glanced at my status screen.

HP: 120/120 PP 86/216

MP: 272/272 CP 210/210

AP: 132/132

$0.00 XP: 390/3000 Ethics: +10

I’d been pushing Appeal to the Heart at maximum intensity throughout the conversation, leaving me in a situation where very little was left of my Persuasion Points. The numbers were ticking back, however, at +1 per second.

Even then, it had been touch and go.

What kind of day is it when you almost get robbed, almost get murdered, have to kill four people, and almost get arrested before lunchtime?

I really needed better luck.

Speaking of which….

AVAILABLE BOOSTS: 1

I chose Luck.

My screen updated:

HP: 120/120 PP 98/228

MP: 272/272 CP 220/220

AP: 132/132

$0.00 XP: 390/3000 Ethics: +10

Whoa. Both maximum CP and PP went up by boosting luck?

Well….

Luck impacted my Persuasion points as well as my Control Points.

Going by how the others worked, it was probably a multiplier of some sort… but what? Neither of the numbers were divisible by 9.

I dismissed the boxes. Time to think about that later.

I went upstairs to Anne's room.

Anne was sitting on the bed, quiet.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I…. will be." Her voice was breaking. "It's… I don't know. The last week has been…. it's like a nightmare and I can't wake up."

"Hey," I said, "we'll be okay."

Anne started sobbing.

I held her in my arms as she cried.

We will get through this, I swore to myself. We will.

Somehow.