Lily's personality came out on top for the rest of the day. It was a school day, so I didn't get as much time with Ben as I wanted, but the evening was long, heart-warming and contained quite a lot of me flying up the stairs with him on my back. It was a shame we didn't have more space, but I wasn't going to risk flying with him outdoors in daylight.

I offered to give mum a ride, but she quite resolutely declined.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so nighttime came. My parents stayed up late while I gave them a more detailed account of my past few weeks, sparing some of the gory details, but otherwise playing up how well Lily had handled herself. Or how I had handled myself? No, never mind, phrasing it that way still sounded weird...

They went to bed angry, as one might expect. This world is... unfair. Massively so. I wasn't going to claim that I had any intention of rectifying that, but perhaps as a side effect, some of what I did might help. Or perhaps I was just doing my part to add to it, merely tilting the unfairness to the advantage of me and mine.

I set out into the night. I'd let them know what I was planning, and that I didn't know when I would next return. They didn't try to stop me. Mum had even given me some cloth to tie around my face as some sort of disguise, which was a nice idea; I was pretty sure that the whole country was going to actively be after me after this, but I would appreciate it if no-one linked me to the human Lily or my family just yet.

From my vantage point way up above, I could see that yesterday's alley had been disturbed, but wasn't taped off. Probably some passer-by stealing their equipment but not notifying authorities. The rooftop where I'd left their remains was untouched. Good.

Today I managed to find an arsonist, busy pouring petrol around an industrial unit. It was one in a lengthy terrace, but he'd obviously been focusing on just that one. It seemed to be a vehicle garage. Was he a disgruntled customer? A competitor? The owner performing an insurance scam? Maybe one day I'd stop to ask, but not today. I dropped on his head and snapped his neck with a twist before he had a chance to scream. I dragged him back to yesterday's rooftop, and once again fed.

No doubt that crime scene would be detected soon enough in the morning; there would be plenty of foot traffic as the units opened, and while I hadn't left any blood, there was a lot of petrol around. Hopefully nothing would accidentally set it alight.

Feeding was important. Aside from the obvious that I didn't particularly want to starve to death, I believed this was one of the advantages I had over my less intelligent kin. Yes, the control chips had a negative effect, apparently by slowing down their reactions, but that wasn't the whole story. I remembered my time in the cage, when I'd lashed out at the steel walls and barely been able to scratch them, whereas now I knew I could shear through them with one slice. I'd been hungry back then, and I'd got stronger as I fed.

How much did the mayor know? He apparently suspected I'd been chipped, which was foolish enough and would result in him underestimating me, but did he know the restricted diet weakened us? He must do, but did he know how much? Would he have taken precautions against what I was planning? I was hoping not. Would I be able to carry out my plan? Even when hungry I'd been able to lift a tonne of cow, but today I was intending to lift far more.

From my position high in the sky, I watched around for activity. As luck would have it, the misty woods were west of the city, so by remaining in the east I not only reduced the chances of anyone looking for me, but also the sun behind me meant that anyone who did happen to be looking would struggle to spot me.

I didn't have long to wait; the motorcade assembling outside of the mayor's residence was obvious. I didn't see the man himself, but a large, unmarked, black car with heavily tinted windows emerged from a service road leading underground, and assumed position in the centre of the formation. That would be my target.

I waited for them to start moving, still well within the city, but travelling through a residential area far away from the mayor's mansion, and then I dived. I still saw no-one looking upward, even though they were literally on their way to hunt a harpy. One that he suspected of being under a third party's control, which should have raised the possibility of ambushes and traps. They didn't seem to be taking this seriously at all. Perhaps the whole thing was a trap for me, and the car was empty, and would explode the moment I got close.

There was no reaction as I drew near, now at my top speed. I probably had only a couple of seconds to pull this off before the shooting started, but it would be enough. It was time to teach humanity to fear the open skies. I landed on top of the mayor's car, killing my momentum with a single flap of my wings. My claws tore through the roof, my talons gripping tight. I flapped a second time, and the car left the ground. I accelerated upwards, not stopping to enjoy the view of the stupefied faces around me, the logical part of me that I'd inherited from Lily hoping with all her strength that I hadn't just picked up a tonne of explosives. There was screaming coming from within, but my target wouldn't hesitate to throw away a few henchmen, so that meant nothing.

No attack or retribution came, and I was soon flying west, seeking the fastest route from the city, high in the air with my new cargo. Grand theft mayor was a success! How much did this car and its contents weigh? A good amount more than the cow, for certain, and yet I'd just plucked it from the road with as much ease as I'd pick up a human. I laughed to myself as my hair streamed back in the wind. Well, there will certainly have been eyewitnesses to that. I'd make the news tomorrow, for sure. Hopefully, with my mask, no-one will link me with Lily. I'm just generic harpy #1. No relation to humans at all.

The next question was how to deliver my cargo. Frankly, I didn't want to land with it, because the mayor was likely to have some very big guns with him, and while he might be loath to blast me with them while I was all that was standing between him and a deadly appointment with gravity, he'd no doubt be ready to fire if I got closer to the ground. On the other hand, I quite wanted his head intact for the next phase of my plan. After umming and ahing for a bit, I decided to play it safe. I found myself a nice patch of exposed rock, and... didn't need to let go, because with a deafening roar, one of my legs and a large portion of one wing had gone missing.