Chapter Twenty-Six – The Report

Emily was feeling sore in new and interesting places the next day.

She was sure the exercise had something to do with that, but she was also partial to blaming the weird stretches Jezebelle had made her do.

The entire day (a class day) had been spent trying not to limp too hard from one class to another, and sitting down had been a lot harder than it should have been. She felt like she was a hundred years older.

Her sisters, on the other hand, had seemed completely fine, even if they’d been running around and exercising with a million times more enthusiasm than Emily had. Still, she managed to get through another day of lessons.

Her schoolwork was probably not at the same level it would if she hadn’t gained powers and a bunch of little sisters to look after, but it really wasn’t that bad. So far they hadn’t had big exams to worry about, so it was mostly a few essays and some additional reading materials.

Unlike high school, college seemed to work under the impression that people had lives outside of the school, so the the workload wasn’t that bad.

Or maybe that was just the courses she’d picked to start off with.

In any case, Emily felt like she was doing… acceptably. She wasn’t going to graduate at the top of her class, but she was never aiming that high to begin with. After picking up her sisters from Miss Headerson’s place and bringing them back to the bunker, she read from one of her textbooks and took notes while boiling noodles on the stove, then she cursed as she cooked some canned spaghetti sauce and little droplets of it stained her textbook.

That book had been one of the most expensive things she’d ever bought, she didn’t need it covered in spaghetti stains!

Once the kids were fed, then threatened into taking showers, Emily finally, finally, had a few minutes to herself.

She decided to spend those on the USB stick that Jezebelle had given her.

First, though, she had to make sure that this wasn’t any sort of trap. Emily dug out an old laptop, one that she really didn’t care for and which they’d found collecting dust in one of the bunker’s closets. It was at least ten years old, and as far as she could tell, had been wiped clean a long time ago.

Making sure that it wasn’t connected to the internet, she plugged the USB into the machine, then opened its contents.

There were several files. Some text, others images and scans of papers, and a few dozen photos.

She started with the photos, of course. They were mostly of a young man, and seemed to all be dated. Obviously, they were all of Rattles, but Rattles before he picked up the moniker.

The first was a highschool yearbook style image. An awkward, lanky looking boy, with hair done up in gell-laden spikes who had pouches under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in a while. He looked… normal. Just some teenager that Emily could have gone to school with. He didn’t have an aura of evilness, or mean eyes, or anything.

She clicked through to the next images, and discovered Rattles as… another villain that wasn’t Rattles.

It was clearly the same boy. The same chin and eyes, the same colour of hair, but now his costume looked like something he’d just thrown together. Gloves and a ripped up shirt and some cargo pants. He was carrying a large hammer, but it was clearly just a spray-painted store-bought sledgehammer of some sort.

There was another image of him in a similar costume, this time with a rough faux-leather coat on. He was with another group of masks that she didn’t recognize. They were clearly villainous though. Heroes didn’t wear that much leather, or that many spikes.

The last few images skipped ahead about a year or so. Rattles was now in a brighter costume, one that looked more professional. He’d discarded the hammer at some point. The images were rough though, taken from afar and from what looked like security cameras that didn’t have the best quality.

The last image was of Rattles as Emily knew him, in his leather jacket, looking thin and imposing with that half-mask he wore and his hair all slicked to the side.

He… wasn’t the kind of guy Emily found attractive (she didn’t have a thing for bad boys) but she could admit that he was handsome in a ‘plays in a rock band’ sort of way. She imagined he was probably pretty popular online.

The text files were next. The first couple were all incident reports from a couple of years ago. They only mentioned Rattles in passing, but he was mentioned as a person of interest, a lesser mask in a group of them.

Then she found the most up to date file on Rattles.

HRF CASE REPORT

CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL

This document is the property of the Heroic Response Force (HRF) and is intended for official use only. Its contents are classified under the HRF Information Security Protocol 102. Unauthorised access, duplication, or distribution of this document or its contents, in whole or part, is strictly prohibited and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including criminal prosecution.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

File #: 2357-HRF-CAN-578

Subject: “Rattles”

Additional Aliases: “Bones”, “Shivers”,

Real ID: Kevin Lebeouf

Powers: Level One Confirmed. Kinetic energy manipulation with speciality in vibration amplification.

Affiliations:

Former: The Reapers

Former: Skeever’s Crew

Current: Independent villain

Rank: Villain. -Confirmation Pending-

DETAILED ASSESSMENT

Subject Profile and Conduct:

Kevin Leboeuf, aged 21, is an unregistered metahuman, identified with the ability to control and amplify kinetic energy, with a particular emphasis on vibrational forces.

Leboeuf became affiliated with The Reapers (GOI-146-HRF-CAN), a small-scale criminal organisation, shortly post Power Day when he was 19 years of age. A subsequent escalation in his participation in criminal activities led to a parting of ways with The Reapers and an alliance with a more sophisticated criminal syndicate, Skeever’s Crew (GOI-159-HRF-CAN).

Throughout his criminal career, Leboeuf has predominantly functioned in an auxiliary capacity, offering his unique abilities as a supporting force for larger criminal initiatives. He has never sought or accepted a leadership role within these organisations, and as such, has not previously been deemed a primary threat. Consequently, comprehensive personality assessments of the subject have not been deemed necessary until recent events.

Leboeuf exhibits a pronounced aversion to authority figures and an inclination toward eventual independence. This behavioural pattern is postulated to be the driving force behind his voluntary departures from both The Reapers and Skeever’s Crew.

In his independent operations, Leboeuf has been characterised by his unpredictability and sporadic activity, making him a significant challenge for surveillance and apprehension efforts. His criminal actions, despite varying in their scale and impact, consistently exhibit a pattern of disruption and chaos – a distinct signature of his extraordinary abilities.

Power Assessment:

Kevin “Rattles” Leboeuf possesses the powered ability to manipulate and amplify kinetic energy, with a pronounced emphasis on vibrational frequencies. This power allows him to produce and control vibrations of varying intensities and scales, from the microscopic level to vibrations potent enough to dismantle macro structures.

His power’s impact ranges from minor disturbances to catastrophic damage, based on the level of kinetic energy he chooses to harness. At a low scale, he can generate vibrations to disorient adversaries or to produce infrasonic waves that can induce feelings of discomfort and fear. At a more destructive scale, Rattles can amplify vibrations to such an extent that they can compromise the structural integrity of buildings, cause vehicular malfunctions, and in some cases, even cause physiological damage to living organisms.

While his power output appears to be contingent on his concentration and emotional state, it is worth noting that Rattles has shown the ability to control his powers with a high degree of precision. This level of control, combined with his understanding of the physical properties of materials, allows him to target and exploit specific weaknesses in structures or individuals, leading to efficient and highly destructive attacks.

Please keep this power assessment confidential and restricted to authorised personnel only, as per HRF Information Security Protocol 102.

HRF Recommendation

Due to Rattles’ unpredictability and the potent threat his abilities pose to infrastructure and human life, he is designated as a Category-3 threat. Surveillance and intelligence-gathering are highly recommended for effective prediction and disruption of his activities.

Active engagement is not recommended without a specialised response unit equipped to handle vibration-based attacks. A special team of heroes, preferably with energy absorption or manipulation abilities, would be best suited for direct engagement.

It is of utmost importance that all encounters with the subject are reported immediately and handled with extreme caution.

Commander P. Sullivan

Heroic Response Force (HRF)

Emily lowered the laptop, then rubbed at her eyes. This told her… a lot of nothing, and yet filled in a few gaps.

She didn’t know how she could use this to help herself.

But she had a very good idea of how to use this to hurt Rattles.

***

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