Less than ten minutes later, I watched the unarmed Grunters being taken away by the cops.

A detective approached me gingerly. "Mr. Nightflame, sir?"

"Belessar," I rumbled.

"Sorry - Mr. Belessar. We were wondering if you could answer a few questions."

"You can ask - in front of them." I pointed to the news crew standing nearby.

"We'd prefer to do it downtown."

"And what might these questions be about?"

"We'd like to get the sequence of events leading up to the assault…."

"You mean the rescue mission?"

"It's not actually a rescue…."

"Detective, could I get your name?"

The detective looked taken aback. "Bennett, Mr. Belessar."

"Detective Bennett, have you spoken to the ladies?"

The detective winced. "A bit. We understand that they were in an unsafe position…."

"They were prisoners of a supervillain, Detective. Unsafe position does not begin to describe it. Let’s take a walk, shall we?"

The detective followed me towards the news crew. "This isn't the way we carry out investigations, Mr. Belessar."

"This was a supervillain base, Detective, guarded by a masking field that made it undetectable. It housed more than twenty gangsters with combat armour and lasers, with heavy antitank weapons and backed by a sociopath Master." I turned to look at him. "How many good cops would have died storming it?"

The detective quailed under my gaze. "I…."

"How many, Detective?"

Bennett looked defeated. "We wouldn't have tried."

"And so eighty-seven human beings would have lived in slavery for more months and years, exploited by human traffickers. Until I intervened. Tell me I was wrong. No," I pointed at the rescued women, "tell them I was wrong."

The detective followed my gaze. "What will we find when we go in?"

"A lot of things that certain people would be happy to sweep under the carpet. Also a fusion reactor, so try to get some Inventor to take a look at it."

"Fusion reactor….. can that explode?"

"Like a bomb, actually, so be careful."

The detective nodded, pale.

"The Grunters have a massive presence - drugs, clubs, illicit gambling, extortion - in addition to this place. Many of the girls are from other countries. Grumman's been bringing them from across the world…. under the guise of humanitarian missions."

Bennet was noting down things in his pad. I continued. "You can expect him to smuggle some more in from Nigeria, soon. That man, Fitz Harris? He runs their finances. Follow the money trail.”

“Men like him don’t talk.”

“Tell him that if he doesn’t, you’ll release him. To me.”

“That would be unethical.”

I shrugged. “You’ve got until Grumman comes back. He still has a few battlesuits left, then he’s going to storm whatever station you’re keeping him at. I recommend extreme secrecy.”

“Mr. Belessar…..” the detective said nervously, “... you understand we can’t just let you go.”

“Are you going to detain me, Detective?”

“I’m asking that you cooperate with the investigation.”

Brave man.

: balls of steel on that one

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I walked towards where paramedics were helping the girls.

Donna was there, still clutching on to the rifle.

“Good evening, Miss Donna,” I remarked.

The woman nodded. “Good evening, sir. You’re here for your gun?”

“It’s just Belessar. And it’s a rifle, not a gun.” I paused thoughtfully. “Maybe you should spend some time learning the difference. After all, it’s yours now.”

ASSIGN LASER SNIPER RIFLE PERMANENTLY TO DONNA BARTOLI?

LASER SNIPER RIFLE PERMANENTLY ASSIGNED TO DONNA BARTOLI. THE RIFLE IS NOW DNA-LOCKED TO THIS USER AND CAN ONLY BE REASSIGNED BY YOU.

Donna’s eyes widened. “You’re letting me keep it?”

“Yes. It’s DNA-locked to you now, so no-one else can fire it. Use it well.”

“Thank you.”

“How many of you got out in total?”

“All of us…. Eighty-seven.”

“Detective, that’s your answer. Eighty-seven lives saved. Now you can choose to argue about my methods. Or you can help the ones saved. Which would you prefer?”

Detective Bennett kept quiet.

I turned back to Donna. The side of her face was still swollen. “How old is that bruise?”

“About half an hour.” She gestured at Harris, now cuffed and secured in a police car. “I think he’d just given me the shiner before things started exploding.”

“Stand still.”

I invoked Heal.

Golden light washed over Donna’s face. She flinched.

+30 HP TO DONNA BARTOLI!

RELATIONSHIP WITH DONNA BARTOLI INCREASED. DONNA BARTOLI IS NOW A FRIEND (+5).

“The pain…. it’s gone,” gasped Donna. “Thank you!”

“It’s fine,” I shrugged. “Anyone else need medical attention?”

Five women from the group stepped forward.

“You can heal?” murmured Detective Bennett.

“Only minor injuries,” I replied, casting Heal in quick succession over the women, one by one. “Not permanent damage.”

“Even that would be very useful in battle,” remarked a new voice from behind me.

I turned.

Lady Lumina’s costume glowed in the dark. Its bright white surface was studded with tiny bulbs that shone with a bright yellow glow. A golden tiara on her head and her trademark silver whip completed the look.

: uh, sorry, should’ve warned you - she just appeared out of nowhere

: it’s fine

I acknowledged Tanisport’s foremost heroine with a nod. “Lady Lumina. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” replied the ultra. “Belessar, I understand?”

I nodded.

Lumina’s gaze swept around the crowd - cops, former captives, a few Grunters in custody, reporters - and refocused on me. “Might we have a few minutes to talk, Belessar? In private.”

I nodded cautiously. “Not too far, though.”

The heroine smiled. “As you wish.”