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Mine chapter 10 (Bad match) {Updated}
🕑 Added 2024-10-10 03:18:47 +0000 UTC
Tammi had a lot more information about this city than Cole expected. She knew a large amount about what the Empire was doing and she offered some rather valuable targets with a small shrug.
She did not see the need to protect the Empire’s interest when they did not bother to care for her. She was just a worthless pawn in their eyes. That may change because of her gaining powers but Tammi would know the truth of everything. Even if they roll out the red carpet and say the sweetest words, they would not be able to erase what they did.
Tammi knew that the gang would offer her the world for her help but that was not something that concerned her right now. All she really cared about was making sure Cole was as safe as he could be. She would have felt that way before their relationship changed in the way that it did. They still had not labeled what they were but the both of them knew what the other was thinking.
So she offered the juiciest of targets she could think of. It was tempting but any of the gang-controlled territories were kind of out of his reach at the moment. It rubbed the pride of Kaito Kid wrong but superpowered ganglords would mess him the fuck up. It was easier to just target the civilian populace and steal from a high-end electronics store or a bank.
The only people after his head when he did things like that would be the PRT which he was fine with. Like he said earlier the only thing he had to fear from them was a strong armed recruitment.
Getting chained down by them would make furthering his goals harder as they would probably frown on stealing things. If only for PR reasons. Still, if they knew his power grew from stealing things they might let him target the gangs for the betterment of everyone.
It was a bit of a coin toss considering the good-guy nature of the PRT. Then again they were run by a shadow cabal. Not that Cole wanted to get on any big radars right now.
Tammi could see his point so she stopped mentioning places that were currently out of his league. She then pointed out some stores and banks that would make good targets. She was a bit hesitant about mentioning the banks but a determined look flashed across her face and she told him.
He could see why. Stealing from a bank brought far more heat which would be troublesome. So he was going to stick to the stores for now.
He got a surprising amount of energy from stealing the Flute from the locker. He questioned the system about why that was as the Flute was not exactly an ancient relic. The system simply told him that the Flute had a metaphorical weight from its role in this world. Stealing it changed the tides of fate here and that ripple was worth its weight in gold.
He was not at the same level of energy that stealing the Shard did but it was not the only source of energy he got this day. ‘Stealing’ Tammi’s heart had changed things. The ripples from that particular theft were still being felt. So couple that with his theft of the Flute and you got almost the exact same energy levels.
So before he started his heist for the night he decided to use some of it to open up a world and steal something. It was unlikely to be anything useful but he wanted to expand his pool of worlds.
[Theft in process.]
[Hook thrown.]
[World found.]
[Target identified.]
[Bypassing protections.]
[Theft Successful.]
[The Theft System has stolen Cursed Technique Decay from the cursed sprite Kechizu.]
[Comment from the victim: Nee-san help! Something strange is happening!]
[Would you like to leave a comment?]
Cole blinked at that. He was not expecting to actually get something good and having Jujustu Kaisen open is amazing. Sure the technique of that sprite was not anything amazing but it was another ability to add to his tool set.
He chose to not leave a comment as he wanted to get a handle on his new technique. The knowledge of its use was hammered into his head and he felt an odd mixture of emotions.
The ability let him alter the corrosive nature of his blood. Allowing him to decay targets infected by his blood. When a target was infected they only had 15 minutes until they were completely consumed by the corrosive blood infecting them.
It was a lethal move and there was no middle ground there. Showcasing that sort of lethality was not a good idea for the most part. It was better to be underestimated but some people really deserved to be put down. If he could get Jack with this technique his final moments would be amusing.
It would work wonders on human targets but the Endbringers would laugh at it and the Warrior would not even notice.
It was also rather difficult to use as he needed his poisoned blood to enter fresh wounds or to stuff the thing down their throats. He could also use his blood as a sort of acid-like substance but it was not that effective.
He was not like the cursed sprite Keichizu who could puke out gallons of blood at their target. Every time he used this ability he would have to make himself bleed. So yeah, it was powerful in a way but also almost impossible to use.
He did not have the massive reserves that the Cursed Womb Painting had either. No, he had a relatively small pool of cursed energy that was only opened up as the technique got shoved into his head.
The real prize here was opening up Jujustu Kaisen as a world to steal from. There were absurd concepts to steal from there. Oddly enough the abilities of the two kings of the world were not that interesting. Limitless and Dismantle were not game-changing in this world.
Idle transfiguration on the other hand might hurt the Warrior as meddling with its soul might actually kill the thing. It was a bit of a coin toss as Mahito should only be able to fuck with human souls.
Cole absently stroked Tammi’s arms as they lay together on the motel bed. She did not rest well as she was too worried about him. So when there was no longer something so urgent on her mind she started to doze off. She dragged him to the bed and used him as a body pillow but he did not object to his newfound role.
No, in fact he kind of rejoiced in it. He wanted to enjoy it a little longer but it was not going to be a good idea in the long run. So he took out an inflatable doll from his inventory and swapped his position with the thing.
Kaito had the strangest things as props. It was not Batman level of having random stuff but it came pretty close.
Once he was free he put his mask back on and took one last look at Tammi slumbering and left the room. It was starting to get late and he wanted to get some more energy. Hopefully, with this heist, he could get his pool back up to the level of Shard Theft.
He could not afford to wait around in her arms even if he wanted to. He was already limiting his time by going to school like everything was normal.
Cole went into the Alley and changed his outfit to his Cape outfit. The bright white pristine suit was not a good choice for stealth but god was it stylish. Cole bounced off the alley walls to get to the roof of the building near him and started roof-hopping to his destination.
People rarely look up even if the city was known to have flying capes. So this mode of travel was probably his best bet with his current outfit on.
As he traveled across the roofs he made a slight mistake. Usually, roof hoping would be the best route to take. While there were flyers in this city they tend to keep to certain areas. Which is where he made his mistake.
This side of the city was the good part. It was under the control of one of the good-natured factions. In this case New-Wave. The one faction with an abundance of flyers and one particular flyer that really enjoyed smashing skulls and patrolling. So he should have expected the bright cheerful voice shouting at him from above.
“Woah sweet suit!” The voice shouted out and Cole flinched for a moment before looking above him and catching sight of who got the drop on him.
Bright blonde hair that seemed to shine like rays of light. A pristine white dress that billowed in the wind like his own cape. Gold accents across her body and a glinting tiara on her head. Her body was shapely but clearly athletic.
She was lazing about in the air with an odd confidence. That no matter what happened she would have a handle on the situation in front of her. She also had this lazy smirk on her face that screamed she was hot and she knew it. After living in this world for so long not recognizing Victoria Dallon was impossible.
“Ten out of ten definitely asking for your tailor after tonight.” She let out a low whistle that had Cole sighing.
“I’m afraid they are rather busy right now,” Cole spoke out as he adjusted his cape to no longer billow behind him. She threw a pout his way and puppy dog eyes which was odd to Cole.
“Really? I can’t convince you to give out their name. What if I say pretty please?” She asked with that pout clear on her face and he found himself drawing his gaze towards her.
There was something about her dazzling hair that just drew him in. Like shining stars in the middle of a bleak night.
“I’m afraid it’s just not possible Glory Girl,” Cole spoke out with a shrug and a wry grin on his face. Vicki let out a sigh and adjusted her position in the air.
“You can’t hide them forever mystery cape! Someone with that sort of skill can’t remain unknown for too long.” She spoke out with misguided confidence.
Sure she was right in a way but this was a long world away from her finding Kaito Kid’s tailor.
“That's the fun of it, my dear. A nice little game from me to you.” Cole spoke out softly and for some reason, he felt the odd urge to call her darling. He only managed to change it to dear after a moment. He felt light and airy and the conversation seemed to be flowing far too well with a woman he knew was trouble.
With a bout of clarity, Cole remembered a part of Glory Girl’s abilities. The Aura of awe and respect. She drew far too much awe out of him. He almost said things that he did not want to.
Now knowing what was happening the dazzling image she was displaying was not as enchanting. She was still lazing about like she had complete control but it no longer looked so charming.
“My dear? Sorry buddy but I’m taken.” Vicki spoke out feeling rather smug about the compliment despite her protests. Cole just ignored her current outlook. Breaking the calm scene here was not going to do him any favors.
“Really? Such a shame but I did hear that a certain boy did have your eye. I’ll just have to deal with my broken heart in other ways Glory Girl.” Cole spoke out calmly with dramatic fake tears and a handkerchief dabbing at his ‘wet’ eyes.
“Well, I imagine it’s going to be more than your heart that is broken by the end of this.” She spoke out with a smile that screamed the cat that caught the canary. The aura of awe trying to draw him in changed to a fierce aura of intimidation. It would have worked on most mooks but he was out of that league.
Cole stiffened at the change in mood but expected something to happen so he let out a sigh.
“Such a shame getting my heart broken and having to fight one of the strongest capes in the bay. May I ask what has brought this about?” Cole asked calmly not too bothered about her words or actions. Vicki raised an eyebrow but decided to humor him as she had been doing all night.
“Well, a certain birdy told me that a cape matching your description broke someone out of prison meaning you are a villain. Which means you get broken bones and a stern talking to even if you have style.” She spoke out with a small shrug as she started to crack her knuckles.
Cole let out a sigh but started to get ready for what was to come. Glory Girl made a difficult opponent for most people but sadly she met her match here.
“Well, that’s a shame but I have no intentions of getting a stern talking to so I’m afraid you are going to take a bit of a nap Glory Girl,” Cole spoke out with all the bravado a world-class thief needed.
Vickie only gave a cocky smirk before she blurred into motion. Her flight speed was impressive but not anything to really write home about. So while she blurred into motion Cole’s own reaction speed was more than capable of handling her attack.
She was aiming to punch his arm likely wanting to break it Cole tossed out several pellets that expanded into inflatable dolls. Glory Girl did not even take a second glance at them as she was too confident in her own invincibility. Cole also did not throw those pellets at her.
So Cole was able to swap positions with a doll the moment her fist was about to touch him. Vicky’s arm pieced clean through the doll and she had a horrified look on her face for a brief moment before the doll deflated.
She was used to not holding her strength back but pushing her entire arm through someone had to be traumatizing. So she took a bit longer to recover than expected.
She spun around in search of him but his Card gun went off hitting her harmlessly. The metal disk did no damage to her but it was not meant to do so. It was just meant to test if he could break her forcefield.
“Alright, I admit that is a neat little trick but you are just delaying the inevitable,” Vicky spoke out as she locked onto his position. The various dolls around were not exactly perfect replicas after all.
Glory girl seemed to understand that charging at a Cape you had no information about was probably a bad idea. So she held back on her brash nature for a moment as she looked over at her surroundings.
“I’m afraid I could do this all night Glory Girl,” Cole spoke out with a wry grin on his face. Sure, it would be annoying playing bullfighter but with his reflexes and Tricker’s powers handing her became a fucking breeze. If he wanted to he could have left here ages ago.
He had already plotted out countless escape routes and with a smoke pellet he could disappear right in front of her. Even if they were currently in the open air.
Still, while he could run he also knew that he could handle her. It was brief but Cole was absolutely sure that his gun broke her barrier. Which meant his plan was going to work out just fine.
The card gun was not really anything to brag about but it did a decent amount of damage.
Cole walked around the roof in a cocky manner making sure to throw out some more dolls to swap out with. He was not planning much with them but throwing her off of her game was going to be a major part of victory here.
Vicky blurred into motion over and over again trying to hit him. She did not succeed a single time. It was honestly a bit of fun watching her frustration build as she was ultimately doing nothing. A punch, a kick, or god forbid her simply charging straight into him. Nothing changed and she finally appeared to get that.
Glory Girl let out a sigh but she appeared to get a better handle on what he was doing. Clearly, these dolls had a purpose just not one she knew about. Well, she probably got that he swapped with them but she did not know his real purpose here.
“Like I said it was a neat trick but swapping with your little dolls is not going to save you from a beating. I’ll just pop all of them leaving you nothing to swap with.” She spoke out as she swung her fist and popped one near her. Her gaze focused on him in case he did something else.
There was a tense moment in the air as she started to pop the dolls slowly. Cole smiled brightly at her before shooting at her with his card gun while leaning on one of his dolls. She dodged some of the cards but one did hit breaking her barrier.
As soon as the card made contact with her Cole swapped her position with the doll he was leaning on.
They were close enough that she had trouble comprehending what happened to her before she knew it his hand was wrapped around her mouth stuffing a pellet inside of it.
Glory Girl might have a force field but she was just a normal squishy human underneath it. Meaning his knockout pellet was more than effective on her.
So as the pellet dissolved Glory Girl was instantly knocked out. Like he said she had met her match here. She might have a better shot at taking him after she got used to his moves but in this moment she was out of the fight.
Cole might have been able to knock her out with a knockout gas but he did not want to risk it. Her forcefield might be able to filter the air she intakes after all. That was probably not the case but it was best to be cautious.
He was probably going to have to fight her again at one point so he had free rain to test those gasses later.
Cole looked over at the slumbering blonde thinking if she had something valuable to take….if he took her panties would that bother Amy enough to cause waves providing him a good amount of energy? No, that’s a stupid idea.
There were other things he could ‘steal’ from her that would send ripples but he blanched at those thoughts. He was not desperate enough to stoop to something like that. It was probably for the best that Glory Girl just took a slumber here while he completed his little heist. Well, Cole could steal her cell to stop her from calling in his actions in case someone stirred her awake.
Not that she knew what he was doing here. She just saw him on a rooftop and decided to take action. Again really reckless but she was a teenage girl with the powers of Superman. If at a much-reduced package.
Cole took one last look at Glory Girl and felt a little bad about leaving her knocked out of the roof but she should be able to handle it. Still, she was going to catch a cold if she was left here for hours. So Cole took off his cape and covered her with it to offer some protection against the wind.
The billowing cape really drew in eyes and really made the outfit but it was also a hindrance. At least that was the case for now.
He was probably going to send New Wave a message from Vicky’s phone to get someone to pick her up after he finished robbing the place he eyed. Leaving her sleeping on the rooftop bugged him after all.
Vicky might have a password on her phone but Kaito Kid had more than enough tools to bypass something like that. Cole would say that Vicky did not strike him as a person who put a password on their phone.
Cole continued his trek to the electronic store Tammi told him about. The place was filled with a large amount of goods that would sell for a pretty penny in the black market.
It did not have anything really high end but it was like a best buy. Cole should be able to get a variety of electronics and maybe his energy reserves will be back to an acceptable mark.
It was not like he was stealing things to get a large amount of funds. Sure money would help with getting Tammi set up but he did not need the amount of money a bank could provide.
Selling the electronics on the black market would work out but Cole did not want to do that. Cole may be using Kaito’s props all the time. He was going to have to start making more things. Which would be helped massively with all of these electronics.
For the chemical compositions of his knockout drugs, he could rob a pharmacy but that was for later.
Cole caught sight of the store he was looking for. While it was dark outside and the store was clearly closed there were still people lingering on the street. One of the perks of living in the nice part of town.
So Cole dropped into an alley looking for a side door. When he found it he looked it over. It was clearly set up in a way to set off an alarm when opened. That alarm could be a silent alarm in order to get the robbers into a false sense of security but it was not going to fool him.
Some more props and the door opened up without everyone and their mothers being aware of what was happening there. While he avoided the alarm for now he knew it was only a matter of time. This place had surveillance and some night guards. They would not really stop him for very long but they were certainly there.
Cole went through the shelves storing everything he could get his hands on into his inventory. Even the stuff that had no reason for being in this store. Why in god’s name was candy being sold in the same place where a Roomba could be bought?
There was also a surprising amount of liquids that might be funny to use later on but for now, they got shoved into his inventory. As Items started to disappear at a rapid pace the guards would start to notice things were going funky. So he abandoned subtly and just started tearing things off the wall and throwing them into his inventory.
With him being rather blatant an alarm started blaring and curses started to ring out accompanied by loud shouts. Thankfully he was able to grab a ludicrous amount of goods. He did not fully clear them out but the store would be hurting at the end of all of this.
Cole slunk his way out of the store avoiding any of the various people shouting here. Cole was not afraid of the police getting involved but the PRT did have a speedster on their side even if they were rather lame.
Cole bounced off of the walls of the alley and arrived on top of the building. He could hear sirens ringing out and the sound of a loud rumbling engine coming this way but it was not that close. There was a crowd looking over at him with his bright white costume and blatant Cape pose on the roof of the store.
They chattered to themselves gawking and staring. Some of them had their cell phones out recording what they were seeing. God, people in Brockton Bay do not have a survival instinct.
Cole shrugged got a doll out of his inventory and threw some smoke pellets all over the street to get some chaos. Before they broke eye line Cole swapped a person in the crowd with his doll. He then used the smoke cover to knock them out and steal their outfit.
A quick change of mask and Cole was just another member of the now panicking and rushing crowd.
The crowd was looking for excitement and to gawk at the new cape but the billowing smoke around them caused massive amounts of worry.
With the smoke around he could not swap again. Thankfully he did not need to. He just jumped off of the building into the streets. All of his actions were covered by the thick smoke covering everything.
He was definitely going to have to hit a pharmacy to make more pellets. Drugs are the answer to everything after all.
Cole looked at Vicky’s phone as he ran with the crowd out of this place. He was right about Vicky not being the type to have a password on her phone. Cole sent a text to Brandish with Vicki’s location and her being knocked out. He almost immediately got several buzzing texts after that he also received a call.
Right, this is someone else’s family drama. Cole threw the phone into his inventory. That way he did not have to deal with constant texts and worried family members.
Now he just had to focus on rushing out of here making several disguise swaps and avoiding the various cameras pointing everywhere.
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Energy levels are back up to middling power steals. I also rolled for the world being stolen and the rarity of things being stolen. Got really fucking lucky on that. As for blind steals, the majority is trash and commons pulls. 8% to get anything useful with the higher tier pulls being increasingly harder to pull.
Comments
Layden Dangova
Was seeing a better response on Mine but I'm not dropping it. I'll write a chapter tmrw. I'll also put up a poll to see where the interest is here.
Dwhateverprof
No more bridge?
