Chương 121: B2. 16.3 - Boss Red Hood

Amber Deen Leska"Kelsey? Kelsey Fletcher?" Amber Deen scanned the purple Adumbrae's face. Despite the scales and the sharper features, like angular cheekbones, sharper jawlines, and wedge-like brows, she did look like Kelsey. The tall nose was there. The intense eyes, though they were purple now. The oval-shaped face. This explained the uncanny feeling Deen had when she first saw the Adumbrae. It was as if they had met before. And they had; they talked a few times in law school.

A splash of relief and happiness momentarily pushed away Deen's worries. The person they had been looking for was found when they least expected it. A major success after continued failures.

"Yes, it's me," replied Kelsey, her voice trembling. Her scales fluttered, shining bright purple for a moment.

"Mother Core!" Johann exclaimed. He gasped and covered his mouth, looking at Blanchette. Deen knew that she had to act fast so that Red Hood wouldn't take offense at what he just said.

"Oh my gosh, Kelsey! We were looking everywhere for you! Wha-what…? Erm, how are you? Have you been with Blanchette for long?" Deen recalled Myra mentioning that Blanchette denied knowing Kelsey's whereabouts. Shaking her head, Kelsey said, "Red Hood rescued me from the PCM only yesterday." It turned out that Blanchette wasn't lying back at the docks.

"It was truly you," Deen said.

"The Adumbrae who escaped…" The pieces arranged themselves. When the 3Bs attacked the bunker, they inadvertently damaged one of those short, columnar machines—they suspected that it kept the imprisoned Adumbrae away. They ended up finding an Adumbrae captive of the PCM, but the wrong one. Kelsey, on the other hand, escaped because the anti-Adumbrae machine in her area was down. Myra's insistence that the Adumbrae was her sister proved true. Deen mistakenly assumed that Myra was delusional because of desperation.

The PCM hunted for Kelsey in Marsh Row, but Blanchette came to the rescue, given that this was her territory.

"Are you… Are you in control?" Deen hesitantly asked. After the initial surprise and elation at finding Kelsey subsided, Deen realized a major concern—was she talking to Kelsey or the Adumbrae? Most likely, the latter. Kelsey had fully transformed into a monster while apparently retaining her mental faculties—a Completed Manifestation.

"Yes, I am," Kelsey said, not assuring Deen one bit. Of course, the Adumbrae would lie about everything.

"Through Red Hood's help, I managed to push away the Adumbrae from my mind. It may be hard to believe, but that's what happened. Some of my transformation has even reversed." Was this even possible? Deen hadn't heard of any instance where the human mind regained control after their body had fully become inhuman. Would Kelsey regain her original human form? Were they truly talking to Kelsey Fletcher, Myra's sister? Deen looked at Blanchette, asking for confirmation. Blanchette stared back with her steely gaze.

Was that a 'yes'? Can I trust her…? Doubt seeped into Deen's heart. Blanchette was her savior. Blanchette had also saved Erind, and now, Kelsey. But who was in control of Blanchette's mind? It had to be the Adumbrae—Deen was certain of it. Blanchette transformed into a Titan who wiped out everything that the 2Ms could throw at her. Judging such a display of power, it was impossible that a shred of Blanchette's human mind, whoever she was before, was still present.

Deen knew that Blanchette's help wasn't an act of altruism per se. It simply aligned with her goal of fighting the 2Ms. It just so happened that Deen was somewhere in the vicinity, needing help twice. As for Kelsey, Blanchette was simply saving a fellow Adumbrae from the PCM. Deen had thought of Blanchette as a 'good' Adumbrae. Blanchette never claimed that her human mind was still in control.

Contrast that with the Adumbrae Kelsey claiming to be the human Kelsey—Deen became more guarded and reined in her celebratory mood. The Adumbrae was talking using Kelsey's body. Ultimately, was finding Kelsey a pyrrhic victory? Maybe… it wasn't a victory at all.

"This is great news!" Johann was beside himself with joy that he almost tried to hug Kelsey. He stopped himself, realizing that Kelsey was taller than him now. Also, those scales looked uncomfortable to touch.

"We've been looking for you since the Adumbrae attack on the trains." Johann doesn't realize the problem. So far, Gabe was silent. Deen decided that she should pretend that nothing was wrong; she couldn't let Adumbrae Kelsey realize that she had figured out her true nature.

"Were you with the PCM all this time?" Kelsey nodded.

"I went to them for help. They were offering this… treatment. But it didn't help me, as you can see." She gestured at herself.

"It actually made things worse. I was lucky that Red Hood saved me. But the PCM has captured Myra, haven't they? Is that why you're here?"

"Ye-yes," Deen said.

"Myra was looking for you. She assumed that you were still imprisoned by the PCM. Unfortunately, they caught her." Adumbrae Kelsey would help them rescue Myra, not because she cared for her sister—technically, they weren't sisters; Kelsey was separate from the Adumbrae—but to unleash vengeance on the PCM. Deen and Johann had to be careful not to be collateral damage along the way. Blanchette might not bother stepping in to save them this time.

"Dammit, Myra should've told us about her plan," Johann said.

"This wouldn't have happened if the whole team were with her!"

"Myra didn't want Dario to know about Kelsey," Deen said. Was contacting Dario now the right move? It might make things worse.

"Well, we should've been there with Myra!" Johann said, his voice rising to almost a shout.

"We could've stopped her from killing a bunch of people and alerting the police and the BID about—""Myra really killed people?" Kelsey softly asked, her expression conflicted. Really killed? Why that phrasing? Deen guessed that Blanchette may have an inkling of Myra's activities; the gangs could've picked up wind of it through their presumably vast information network. It explained why Blanchette didn't seem surprised about Deen and Johann's visit.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Adumbrae Kelsey was pretending to be bothered by her sister killing innocents for her sake. Crocodile tears, as far as Deen was concerned. This Adumbrae was different from Blanchette. But they had to play along with her antics.

"Myra was desperate to find you," Deen said.

"She… attacked PCM offices. We're not sure what actually happened, but the PCM seemed to have lured her into a trap and captured her. They have the means to do so. They have these machines that—""I know all about those," Kelsey interjected.

"Do you know where they're holding her?"

"A PCM compound an hour out of the city," said Johann.

"It took quite an effort to find the location. We almost got caught several times snooping in PCM bases. Deen here saved us with her ability. She can—""I joined after the Adumbrae attack last month," Deen cut in, not wanting Adumbrae Kelsey to know how her power worked. It'd be their only trump card should the Adumbrae consider them food.

"The short version of how I joined Dario's group is that the 2Ms kidnapped me. Blanchette saved me back then." Deen nodded at Blanchette.

"Then Dario came along and forced me to join their group."

"Ah, that asshole was like that to my sister, too," Kelsey said with a growl.

"Anyway, are you sure that my sister is in this PCM base you mentioned?"

"They could've moved her after we discovered it," Johann said.

"But I don't think so. They wanted Myra away from the city to prevent an easy rescue. You see…" Johann glanced at Deen, whispering, "Should we tell them? Is it okay?" No word from Gabe. Blanchette wouldn't have a violent reaction to what Deen would say next.

"Blanchette… I hope you won't get angry at us. When we attacked the PCM to look for Kelsey, we claimed that you… sent us." Her voice lowered to a squeak at the end. She was ashamed to use Blanchette, her savior, this way, dragging her into this issue as payment for saving them. Blanchette was writing something on a piece of paper. She had some difficulty because she didn't have a flat surface to write on, and it was a challenge to hold a marker with her claws. It looked comical, but no one was laughing.

"I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart," Deen said, expecting a dressing down from Blanchette. She couldn't explain it, but she didn't want Blanchette to be angry at her.

"We thought that we'd be safe from the PCM's retribution if we used your name. I know that we're being too presumptuous asking help from you, but we really don't have—" Blanchette held up a piece of paper. It said, "The PCM wants to meet with me."

"I… that must be because of our fake story," said Deen.

"They think you're attacking them, and they've captured one of your subordinates."

"This has really spiraled out of control," Johann said.

"They're going to use Myra to draw out Red Hood," Kelsey said.

"They'll want to capture her as they did with me. Red Hood is a much stronger Adumbrae than me—the PCM will pack the meeting place with as many of their bullshit machines as they can."

"I wonder what they used to capture Myra," Deen said. She didn't continue further because she didn't know what Blanchette thought of artificial Cores. Blanchette knew that she wasn't human, but should also sense that she wasn't an Adumbrae, right?

"Whatever it is, we should be careful of it, too," Kelsey said. Blanchette opened the door and motioned for someone to enter. It was Overdrive, Blanchette's right-hand man. He was difficult to talk to earlier, so Deen was forced to display her superstrength. Thankfully, Gabe was there to instruct her on how to navigate the situation and avoid fighting these criminals under Blanchette's command. Blanchette showed Overdrive another paper.

"Where's the meeting place?" Overdrive read.

"Ah, it's outside the city, boss." He described the same location that Johann had found while hacking into a PCM computer.

"The PCM wants to meet Red Hood where they're holding Myra?" Johann snorted in disbelief.

"That's a huge mistake on their part. I thought they brought Myra out of the city so that Red Hood couldn't easily save her." Blanchette held up another paper.

"PCM avoids the BID." Johann snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right! The police are investigating the PCM buildings that Myra hit. The BID, huh? I guess Myra left a hell of a mess that looked like the handiwork of an Adumbrae. Shit, if they're joining in this salad of a fuckup."

"The PCM moved Myra far away," said Deen, "probably because BID agents are already sniffing around. Myra isn't an Adumbrae, but she isn't a normal human either. The PCM is interested in her and wouldn't allow her to fall into the BID's hands."

"I see what the PCM is planning," Kelsey quickly said.

"They'll show off Myra to Red Hood during the meeting. They're not worried about Red Hood coming up there with a posse to kick their asses because they'll concentrate all their equipment in the same place." Deen smiled a little at the way Kelsey spoke. She sounded like Myra at times.

"If it's a trap for the boss, then why would we go there?" Overdrive asked.

"To save my sister," Kelsey hissed, her irises flaring purple. Overdrive cowered, raising his arms.

"I-I didn't know! I, uh, of course, we should save your sister. Bu-but it's still a trap."

"We have plenty of firepower," Kelsey said.

"Me, Red Hood, you." She pointed at Deen.

"Will your powers be of any use if we're going to walk right into a trap?"

"Most definitely," said Deen. Blanchette raised a paper and tapped it with a marker.

"Let's go," it said. Several minutes later, Deen and Johann were riding in the back of a van together with Kelsey. Their van was one of the vehicles in the convoy of gangsters heading to the PCM base. Guilt tortured Deen at the thought of Red Hood sacrificing her men fighting the PCM. Deen wanted only Blanchette to help them, but Blanchette brought along around thirty armed-gang members.

Deen couldn't ask Blanchette to keep the normal humans away from the fight because Blanchette rode in a different vehicle, along with Overdrive. Later, when they'd reach their target, Deen promised herself to gather the courage to speak up to Red Hood.

"Is Blanchette the real name of Red Hood?" Johann asked Kelsey.

"I don't know," Kelsey replied.

"It's my first time hearing it. Where did you get that name?"

"I was guessing," Deen said.

"Red Hood answered to it, so I called her Blanchette since then." Deen needed to change the topic because it was getting dangerously close to talking about Gabe. After all, it was Gabe who told her to call out 'Blanchette'.

"Kelsey, when did you… change? Was it during the Adumbrae attack?" Kelsey told them that scales covered parts of her body after fighting one of the Adumbrae during that incident. She approached the PCM for help; she had been in contact with them for some time, looking for a way to cure herself without relying on Dario and the Professor. It was during the PCM experiments that Kelsey completely transformed—this was the moment that the Adumbrae had taken over.

"Damn, that's sick…" Johan whispered after Kelsey told them of the PCM experiments.

"Myra did right to trim the number of those sickos." Deen would've corrected him that most of the PCM members didn't know the truth about their organization, but she was preoccupied with figuring out how to deal with this Adumbrae in front of them.

"How did Blanchette save you?" Kelsey smiled at Deen.

"I see how it is."

"What's going on?" Johann asked. Kelsey pointed at Deen.

"You think that I'm not Kelsey. That an Adumbrae is controlling me."

"That's insane!" Johann exclaimed.

"This is Kelsey. Her appearance has changed… but…" He slowly looked at her as it dawned on him that they were probably not talking to the Kelsey he knew. But the Adumbrae knew him, having access to Kelsey's memories. Gabe wasn't saying anything, so Deen assumed that Adumbrae Kelsey wouldn't turn violent.

"Yes. Yes, you're right. Are you the Adumbrae inside Kelsey?" Deen asked.

"You're mistaken. I'm me. I'm Kelsey. I know what you're thinking—I've turned into a monster. The Adumbrae inside me is controlling me. There was that time, yeah. But Red Hood did manage to drag my consciousness back out."

"She did? But that's not possible… I think?" Deen didn't know anything about what Adumbrae could and couldn't do beyond what was taught to them. And she doubted that scientists knew everything about how Adumbrae worked.

"I also didn't think that it was possible before. But that's what happened."

"What did Blanchette do?" Deen asked, still not believing Kelsey. She tilted her head.

"You can ask her yourself after we save my sister. It's going to be a long talk. I expect that Red Hood—Blanchette—has a lot of other things to say to you."