Chapter 54: Distress signal

Several months later, in the middle of a dark forest, the elongated shadows cast by the scant moonlight, combined with the amplified sounds of various animals, gave the place an eerie and mysterious feeling.

Suddenly, the forest's stillness was interrupted by four figures dressed in bright colors, moving with feline, superhuman agility through the trees and obstacles that crowded their path, crossing the forest at impressive speeds.

“The target changed direction, heading west of our position.” Ragdoll's voice quickly echoed through the forest. The other three figures nodded, then shifted direction.

As they got closer to their target, the Pussycats began to face more obstacles, as the terrain became increasingly rough, with fallen trees and large rocks greatly hindering their progress. However, thanks to their experience and incredible physical abilities, the famous group of heroes managed to overcome them.

“Huh?!” Suddenly, Ragdoll exclaimed in surprise, which caught Mandalay’s attention, who quickly asked as the full moon’s light illuminated her face.

“Is something wrong, Ragdoll?”

“The target has drastically increased its speed; it's leaving us behind.” Ragdoll commented gravely. Mandalay immediately issued a command with a serious expression.

[We can't let it escape; there are already more than 17 victims in its hands. Activate your Accomplices, Sentinel; cover us.]

[[[Understood.]]]

[Understood]

In response to Mandalay’s telepathic command came the voices of her three teammates, along with a synthetic male voice from her virtual assistant. At the same time, imposing panthers of different colors materialized in front of each of them, onto which they leaped agilely.

[Full speed ahead!]

[Yes!]

At Mandalay's order, the group advanced on their Accomplices, exponentially increasing their speed, quickly catching up with their target, which appeared to be a silver humanoid wolf running on all fours at blinding speeds through the forest.

[Pixie-Bob!]

[Got it.]

The moment they were close enough to their target, Mandalay gave the telepathic order. At the same time, the Accomplices vanished, causing Pixie-Bob to quickly extend her hand forward. This triggered two thick, flexible metal cables, which were coiled in some sort of reels at her waist, to shoot towards the 'wolf' from different directions. But somehow, it managed to dodge the attack with beastly agility.

[Damn it! Pixie-Bob, surround it! Ragdoll, Tiger, attack on my command!]

[[[Understood.]]]

After seeing the attack fail, Mandalay quickly gave the telepathic command, causing the team to swiftly split up. Pixie-Bob touched the ground with her hands, causing the earth to rise, forming a circular, compressed earth barrier around the wolf, which immediately tried to climb it, leaping at high speed.

With its incredible speed and agility, the wolf quickly reached the top of the high barrier, only to be struck by two powerful blows—one to the snout and another to the chest—delivered by two earth beasts that formed from the barrier. This sent it flying back toward the center of the area.

[Ragdoll, now!]

Just before the wolf hit the ground, Ragdoll, showing superhuman speed and strength, arrived through a tunnel prepared by her teammate and unleashed a powerful blow with her cat-paw glove. The blow was charged with a potent electric current, sending the wolf flying again while leaving it incapacitated, unable to move its muscles.

[Tiger!]

Showing impressive synchronization, thanks in large part to Mandalay's telepathic commands assisted by the reliable virtual assistant, Tiger managed to intercept the wolf in midair. At the same time, his arm stretched out as if made of rubber, then retracted rapidly, hardening along with his cat-paw glove, delivering a powerful blow to the wolf's head. This sent it crashing to the ground with a great impact, completely unconscious.

[Pixie-Bob, capture it.]

[Got it!]

Upon receiving the telepathic command, Pixie-Bob quickly ran toward the unconscious 'wolf' in the middle of a deep crater. She then shot her metal cables toward it, tying it up by its hands and feet. Afterward, she casually split the remaining cable with a flick of her hand, causing it to coil back onto the reels at her waist.

As the whole team gathered around the wolf again, Ragdoll made sure to scan the area for any potential dangers, which inevitably led her to notice something. As some sort of smoke began to rise from the wolf, she started losing clarity of its position through her quirk.

“Is something wrong, Ragdoll?” Tiger, who was closest to her, quickly noticed her odd expression and couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, something very strange is happening. The ‘wolf's’ position in my quirk is becoming fuzzy.” Ragdoll responded, somewhat confused, as such an event was quite rare.

“Fall back and stay alert; we may have fallen into a trap.”

Hearing Ragdoll, Mandalay quickly ordered with a serious expression, prompting everyone to position themselves back-to-back, staying alert to their surroundings. But after a few minutes, the smoke dissipated from the wolf, revealing only a handsome man with silver hair.

“Isn’t that?!” Pixie-Bob exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the man's face, to which Ragdoll commented with a grim expression.

“Yes, it's him, and the wolf's location has become indefinite in my quirk.”

“So now we know how he managed to escape until now.” Mandalay nodded with a look of understanding, to which Tiger couldn’t help but add.

“We really have to thank Kai for the Accomplices. If it weren’t for them, this guy would’ve gotten away, and who knows how many more victims would have fallen into his hands before we managed to identify and capture him...”

“Indeed. Also, if Sentinel hadn’t identified his ‘hunting’ patterns, we’d be searching for him on the other side of the prefecture right now.” Pixie-Bob added with a small smile on her face. But just then, the cat-shaped communicators on their heads went off simultaneously.

[A distress signal has been received.]

“Sentinel, who is it, and in which direction?”

Hearing the announcement, everyone present shifted to serious expressions as Mandalay asked gravely. The virtual assistant quickly responded.

[The distress signal was sent by the heroes Water Horse, 56.2 kilometers to the west.]

“Kaede?!” Mandalay couldn’t help but exclaim, both surprised and concerned, to which Pixie-Bob quickly commented.

“Let’s respond to the call; it must be something serious!”

“Yes, I’ll take the villain to the police, and you can go ahead.” Tiger added quickly as he picked up the bound man from the ground.

“Come on, Mandalay, we can’t waste time.” Ragdoll added, looking unusually serious, which deeply moved Mandalay, who could only reply, visibly touched.

“Thank you, guys.”

“No need to thank us; we’re heroes, and we’re a team.” Pixie-Bob quickly responded in a serious tone, looking at their leader.

“I understand, thank you, but Tiger, it’s better if you don’t stay behind since you’re our strongest attack power. Now that Ragdoll has identified both of the villain’s ‘identities,’ we can leave him halfway at a police station, and if he escapes, we can easily capture him again. Besides, Sentinel has already sent the alert to the authorities along with the identity proof.”

“All right then, let’s use the Accomplices to get there as fast as possible. We can’t afford any delays.” Tiger agreed while putting the villain over his shoulder. After all, Mandalay was right—it wasn’t a good idea to split up now, especially when responding to a distress call from another hero.

"Sentinel, try to keep us covered."

[Understood.]

As Mandalay gave the order to their incredibly useful virtual assistant, four imposing, horse-sized panthers of various colors appeared before them. The team mounted them swiftly and shot forward at blinding speed toward the location of the distress signal, displayed in the lenses they all wore.

As she sped along atop her Accomplice, Mandalay couldn’t help but clench her cat-paw gloves in worry. The distress signal had been sent by her cousin, the only family she had left. Though they weren’t the closest, they were still family, and she knew her cousin had had a baby a couple of years ago. The last thing she wanted was to experience another tragedy, like with her beloved Kai.

The ride on the Accomplices was incredibly smooth. Despite their speed, easily rivaling that of a bullet train, the riders hardly felt any wind or movement. From their perspective, it felt like they were gliding on a cloud at the speed of a leisurely bike ride.

A few minutes after dropping the 'wolf' off at a police station, the Pussycats arrived at the location from where the distress signal had been sent, only to find a place littered with craters, water, and blood. A tall man covered in disproportionately large muscle fibers stood victoriously, his face smeared with blood, in front of two people in terrible condition.

The male hero lay on the ground, his body crumpled at an awkward angle. He was dressed in a hero suit with what appeared to be a red life vest, and his snorkel-like mask was shattered across his face. His arms and one of his legs were twisted in impossible directions.

But the woman was in far worse shape. She had been literally split in half below the waist, her face completely disfigured, and her arms shattered. Worst of all, she still seemed to be painfully breathing, her body suffering from violent convulsions.

“KAEDE!!!”

Mandalay screamed in shock upon seeing the horrifying scene, her voice drawing the villain’s attention. He turned to face her as she rode up on a giant panther, stopping just in front of the woman he had brutally attacked.

“Heh, more heroes? Sorry, but I’m not going to—”

The villain’s arrogant, condescending words were suddenly cut short by a powerful blow to his lower-left side, sending him flying through the air as he spat a mouthful of blood.

As the notorious A-grade villain, Muscular, was hurled through the air, he couldn’t help but glance with his one remaining eye at the spot where he had just been standing. There, a muscular man dressed in a skirt and top approached at blinding speed, his expression full of rage and one of his arms stretched back like rubber, ready for another strike.