บท 43: Chapter 48: Purlieu in mind!

May 29th, 2020, late night arrived and though his father didn't care whether it was day or night when he took up duty, Derek enjoyed the late night air and dark of the hours. The hero's trained and adopted Mississippi kite which was named Fenella flew on top of his shoulder after soaring through the night sky, his smile and the bird's mood told the same story. "To be honest, I don't know when I'll return to Chealb, I'm kind of liking it here anyway, the buildings are all bunched up letting me be like my second idol besides my dad and hero, night Peregrine!" Derek monologued to himself as he swiftly ran around and flipped from building to building with the greatest of ease and grace. "The swiftest acrobat, able to dodge even a few bullets, able to ricochet his talons 109 times if he has to… able to move 3 tons of weight, If I can't reach my dad's accomplishments. I'd be happy with matching his accomplishments, honestly…" Derek thought to himself. Hearing a far cry full of sheer terror for help from what sounded like a distressed woman below caught his attention, the cry forced him to go check it out, his worry became heavy.

"I would love to cut you up because you're so broken, little girl, but you have somewhere to be, our bosses want you to be pretty alive!" Said a sadistic hoodlum, Derek jumped down and very quickly grabbed his collar and threw him down, having him slide on the dirty ground feet away in this alley. The hoodlum's friends looked back at the hoodlum who got thrown watching as he got up hastily and ready to kill whoever did that to him. "If I demand it with a pretty please, would you doofuses save us all our sweet time?" Derek inquired as he flipped and sat perched on top of a dumpster in this alleyway, the thugs all quickly turned and looked up at him as he squatted on the smelly can. "Why're you wearing that pristine white hero suit while sitting on that filthy thing? C'mon, man." Derek smiled as one of the stranger's assailants broke their act. "Argh, I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Said the sadistic hoodlum from before who he tossed away, furious and about to explode like he was a volatile volcano. "Self-cleaning outfit." Derek answered the thug.

"No wait, you morons, don't you know about Mist-runt here, who the clown's father was or whatever was a legend, but I also know you've never dealt with anyone on the level of the anomalous gangs in this town." The hoodlum that's fair to assume is deserving of being their leader who told his gang and taunted Derek earlier in the back. "Oh… Anomalous gangs, you say?" Derek replied to the hoodlums as he got off the can. The volatile thug sprinted and charged, Derek defeated him while showing off in front of the others hoping to discourage them from attacking him. "Fair warning puny Mist-runt, the anomalous here follows the city's result of the government not caring for it and now our town's best quality, freedom for the bold!" Said the hoodlum that's fair to assume is the leader as he and the others left except the scarred and volatile thug. "Yeah, which usually doesn't include the honest folks." Derek thought to himself as he went to check on the man hurting on the ground. "You and I, you're not even as big as the brutal guy in your hero panties." The scarred and volatile thug replied, finishing it with a creepy chuckle.

Derek turned into smoke before the sadistic hoodlum could pull out his gun and shoot him, he flew over and blindsided the hoodlum from behind and took the gun from him without a struggle before he chucked it at his face, while the sadistic hoodlum was discombobulated and his nose was bloodied, Derek delivered on his promise, he lifted him up and dumped him inside the dumpster he stood on earlier.

The man who was cornered and silent that entire time didn't move and still remained silent even though the men who were causing him trouble were down. "What's up with people staring at me like they never saw a vigilante before?" Derek asked rhetorically, "This city had the greatest vigilante at one point... sometime ago... years ago.." Derek started with his tone getting sadder the more he finished stating the fact.

"Sorry, I'm-I'm Anthony arvin, and a-a an investigative journalist by the way. Which is why they were.. after me, I'm close to busting a scandal by the police, they've been doing atrocious activities but covering up crimes for someone or something!" Anthony informed Derek but with an annoying stutter at the beginning. "Hang on guide, those guys were officers?!" Derek asked angrily and confused. "Some of them were and some weren't, like the one you were speaking with mostly, he works with the head drug dealers in the city, his name is Norvin emre, cops and criminals have always worked together to a certain capacity but years ago, they basically became as close as best friends." Anthony informed Derek in a far more confident tone, not so much stuttering anymore. Derek took a moment and thought about this new information he was being delivered by the stranger he saved. "Hearing this makes me appreciate the officers who hated my guts for being a vigilante back home. I see, well I really appreciate your info, I'll look into this but I have to urgently continue my patrol now, maybe we'll meet again?" Derek blurted out before he leapt into a cloud of smoke Anthony realized suddenly began floating above the vigilante's head.

Before Derek actually flew away he was still hearing the investigative reporter yelling out for him and decided quickly reverting back into human form to head him out further. "Hey, wait man, don't you see we both want the same thing?" Anthony asked him with his friendliest and calmest tone. "We both want the city to go back to how it was when your predecessor was out on the beat everyday, when he was alive." Anthony is interrupted by the feeling he might have said something wrong to the hero despite him being unable to tell it by his eyes. "We're not teaming up, I'm not really for putting innocent civilians at risk for any reason. Your information was valuable but this is where we part ways, try to stay away from trouble from now on or maybe carry a weapon for self-defense?" Derek asserted and recommended. Anthony had the facial expression of a disheartened and disenchanted man on him and the attitude of a thwarted villain as he watched his hero's successor reject his assistance but as he was in the midst of leaping the investigative reporter thought of an idea that he himself wasn't sure of but still decided it was his last resort.

Two weeks after his encounter with someone who was also inspired by his father's work, seeing one good and genuine soul in a city that's declined, it made Derek wonder, it made him think and his grandfather's influence over the years he was known as essentially Mist-kid in Chealb began to show, but Derek was blind to it.

Still he thought to scope out what should be the strongest power in any city, it's most common and seen government workers aka the police department. Sometime scoping out all of the officers in the police database, Derek took the identity of a cop who looked supernaturally like him but who also hasn't been seen in months by his co-workers or anyone really, still he wore thick sunglasses to help completely solidify his plan. Derek's first day on the job took him far.

"Hey Ekard, I know we haven't spoken much since the last time, but you're back earlier than everyone thought you'd be, you enjoy the vacation the captain gave you for that drug case?" Said a cop who worked with the guy he's currently impersonating. "Errr, Yeah, It was great!" Derek answered. "Your voice sounds a lot higher than when we last spoke, you alright man?" The cop asked. "Yeah, I have a bit of a cold, it changed my voice a little, anyway, I gotta go!" Derek replied before he stormed off, he was investigating a different cop with less familiarity with the cop he's impersonating, he wasn't ready for that one to have said anything to him. "Wait man, I wanna speak a little more, how were the women of the streets the captain set you up with on your vacation?" The cop asked with a little emphasis on "Women of the streets" when he said it.

"They were nice, but let me ask you this, why do you think they nicknamed this city, "The city that entails survival" years ago, I mean I keep hearing it being called that by everyone." Derek asked and revealed. The cop stared at Derek for a good while before answering. "Every time I see or hear you, ya just never ask very deep questions, I thought you were just a simple man and you know why, quit jokin', chump." The cop responded. "I am a simple man, I love drugs, sex and guns, all in that order, but sometimes I do get curious about what others think about that vigilante who vanished." Derek answered based on the research he did on Officer Kurt Ekard, the cop he's impersonating right now.

"I don't know damn it, I have to go abuse my power somewhere, I DON'T like this deep you, go back to being simple, man." The cop who bothered him said before he left the station to do many corrupt acts. "Dang, this city has gone down so hard the law enforcement is comfortable admitting to breaking the laws themselves in public." Derek recapped in his head as he watched the cop he was just talking to walk out.

"Hey Ekard, you're back, big bud?" Another, different cop with less familiarity yelled out. "Want to go find some Chinese to arrest?" He yelled out all the way across the police station's lobby, with many cops present. Derek's mood and face changed when he heard the other cop yell that, he reluctantly answered "Not right now!" While he tried to hold himself back from breaking his bones.

"I need to talk to Morciunti, actually." Derek said when he then turned his attention toward her. "Me, I'm new here, why me and who are you?" She asked nervously, "I'm officer Kurt ekard, I've been here a while and I get curious about the fresh meat that comes here but I've been on vacation for a while, heard your name and situation through a friend who works here." Derek answered her as he made his way over to her, then when he got to her, he leaned on her desk and looked her in the eyes.

"Oh so, what do you want then, exactly?" Morciunity asked in an interested tone, "I want to get into your mind and see what you think of this city, of this police department, you know?" Derek told her with a similar face as her on his, as he leaned closer and closer to her. A cop who's actually friends with the one he's impersonating looked over from his desk with a disturbed face on him.

"Ask away, ask me anything, Mr.Ekard." She replied, "Why do you think they call this place "The city that entails survival" like they do, I'm too curious about your answer." Derek asked as he internally sighed from his bad impression of the officer he's disguised as while asking. Audrey Morciunity had to think about that question for a moment, she pondered and pondered for a little while as Derek waited patiently, leaned up against her desk but looking elsewhere.

"To answer that properly, I think you're going to need to know the stories of a hero called Mist-Sentinel. From my studies, he was the sword this city had that scared off thugs and gangsters, any of the few Anomalous good and bad, after his death though..." Derek interrupted her like the guy before who assumed he was dead. "He's not dead!" Derek assertively stated as fact. "If he's not dead, then he abandoned us, but either way, nobody had the balls to stand up to him, crime still happened but folk understood if you had powers, he wouldn't go easy on you and his idea of easy was breaking and shattering entire limbs to those without powers, so, most of the anomalous I could imagine had nightmares while imagining what he'd do to them if they did anything to someone else." Audrey Morciunity finished. "Like what Soo-Ae— told me." Derek reminded himself of the nickname she used for him.

"I get it, if a man like Most-Sentinel came my way, I'd piss my pants." Derek commented as he was nodding. "Mist-Affliction? Yep, hunk's disappearance has everything to do with the nickname this city has earned and now since the bastard's left… This city I once thought of as beautiful is now crawling with anomalies everywhere, fighting for power and control, abandoned by the government. They used to call this place the first rate town but now you can't see very far." She finished off her true thoughts.

"First rate town, huh?" Derek, using his Ekard impression, asked her quietly. "Wanna be the first with me, hotness?" Morciunty answered confidently and flirtatiously. "Alright, that's all that was on my mind, I'll see ya 'roun!" Derek excused himself as he started walking away to a different cop to ask questions towards and gain a better grasp of the police station. The woman stood around with a look of confusion on her face. "Wait, can I get your number or something Kurt? You seem cool." The woman asked, still very, very confused. "Only if you want to be a woman of my harem?" Derek shouted out to her as he continued walking away and onto someone new. The cop from earlier laughed and giggled. "I thought something was fishy but that's classic Kurt for ya, ugly fella, but you can't make this stuff up!" The cop that was eavesdropping stated as he started cracking up hard. Audrey wrapped her arms and had a bad attitude. "Shut it up, Bertie!" She angrily commanded him, taking the anger she had on Derek out on him. Officer Morciunty threw her hand up to her chin and began asking herself if she was willing. For a good amount of that day, Derek with the disguise of an officer on deep into his vacation went all over that huge police station and asked questions similar to the one he was asking and asked that same question to many others, but by far, only Morciunity gave him an actual detailed reply instead of something simple or blowing it off.