Anarchy's Mystery

Chapter 2

The shadows served as perfect cover as Natalie made her way through the dark streets, only encountering someone once. She reached her destination and turned a corner into the alley. Her back straightened as she turned back into a human, pulling her hood down over her eyes. She left the alley, taking a left turn into a store with black windows.

"Hey, Matt. Have you got the medicine? I need it tonight." She called into the seemingly abandoned shop, pulling her hood down off her head. The wall behind the counter began to flicker as the camouflage on the person began to fade away. Matt, a man with a short, brown beard with dark brown hair appeared in front of her.

"Got it in this morning. I kept some back here for you, seeing how quickly it goes. I knew you would want some as soon as we got it in." He said, reaching behind the counter to pull out a bottle of pills.

"Thanks Matt." Natalie sighed in relief. If her mother didn't get medication soon, her health would deteriorate and she would maybe die. "How much? And don't say nothing, because you wouldn't for anyone else."

"12." He said, looking regretful.

"12?! That's double the last price!" Natalie looked shocked.

"Nat, I'm sorry but the demand for this particular medication has skyrocketed over the past weeks. Many people are getting sick and they need the medication. You should be happy there's some here at least. I may be able to give it to you for 10 though, if you don't mention it to anyone."

"I only brought 6 with me tonight though, so I'll have to pay you the other four another time." She said, rubbing her forehead.

"Don't worry about the 4, you can just owe me a favor sometime." Matt said, holding out the bottle.

"Thanks Matt." Natalie smiled, a thin, tired smile that never reached her eyes. She took the bottle with one hand and with the other poured 6 gold into his hand. She turned to leave the store when Matt spoke.

"Nat... Be careful out there. I know you'll say you're fine... but there's people out there you might want to avoid."

"I'm fine, Matt. I know my way around here and how to avoid people." She replied.

"Just... be careful." He slowly camouflaged into the background of the store once more and Natalie caught his worried expression before she could no longer see him.

"Right." She said, turning and walking out the door into the street, pulling up her hood as she left, the medication in her right jacket pocket, zipped up. She hurried down to a different alley than before, the shadows seemingly moving as she walked past. They gave her a feeling she was being watched. She went to change into her cat form when a hand grabbed her and pulled her further into the shadows. She yelped and a hand clamped over her mouth.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked in her ear. Natalie relaxed.

"Oh, Ingrid, it's just you." Natalie sighed as the hand moved away from her face. Sinking against the wall, the could just make out the slim outline of her friend in the darkness.

"That doesn't answer my question, Nat. What do you think you're doing out here?" Ingrid asked, an annoyed tone in her voice.

"I was getting medicine. Like I do every week." She frowned.

"You should know not to be out tonight!" Ingrid angrily replied, Natalie taken aback. Ingrid was never this angry with her. Or careless. Someone could hear her and she would be locked up.

"Calm down Ingrid, she can't be expected to remember everything." Another figure walked out of the shadows and placed a hand on Ingrid's shoulder.

"Hi Leroy." Natalie sent him a tired smile.

"Ingrid has a point though." Another voice sounded through the alley as the one and only Winston Pratt walked over, his orange hair flaming.

"She should be more careful." The shadows grouped together to show Phobia standing nearby.

"Winston? Phobia?  What are you all doing here?" Natalie asked in confusion.

"Natalie, tonight is four years to the day from Day of Triumph." Leroy said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder as her eyes widened.

"You're joking." She said, looking around desperately at her friends. They didn't move. "Please tell me you're joking. Tell me I wasn't that stupid."

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid." Ingrid said as Winston hit her over the head. He was rather protective of Natalie, and nowhere near as crazy as he was with everyone else.

"Like Leroy said, you can't be expected to remember everything." He said to Natalie as she smiled.

"Thanks Winston, but she has a point. I should have remembered. The anniversary of my dad's death." Everyone was silent for a few moments before Phobia spoke up.

"We need to get you home before someone comes by. And by someone, I mean the Renegades."

Meanwhile, at the Renegades Headquarters...

"Are you sure she is?" Captain Chromium asked. The Council was sitting on their chairs, a technician standing in front of them. They each had an expression of varying levels of worry on their faces.

"No, but it seems like a good lead." The technician replied.

"If she is his daughter, this could be bad for us. What if she's like him? A reincarnation of him?" The Dread Warden replied, frowning.

"I think we're overreacting. We don't even know if they're related! Even if they are, they may not be similar at all!" Thunderbird exclaimed, raising her hands for emphasis.

"But they may be, and that would be bad for us." The Dread Warden frowned. "We can't allow that to happen.

"Do you think you could find out more about her? So we would know if she's a legitimate threat to us?" Tsunami asked. "Maybe find out if she's actually Ace's daughter?"

"I can track her down; find out where she is, what she does, her age... Maybe find out what her personality is like." The technician suggested.

"Thank you, that would be appreciated." Captain Chromium said, a smiling hiding his worry. He glanced over at Simon (The Dread Warden) who was frowning. He then looked over to Kasumi (Tsunami), Tamaya (Thunderbird), and Evander (Blacklight) who were all looking sceptical about this mystery girl. The technician turned and started walking to the door.

"Wait." Evander said as the technician turned and faced the Council once more, tilting his head to the side. "What's her name?"

"Natalie Walter."