Cops were on the way; thus, the vigilante needed to skidaddle.

They didn’t know who Iphi was — fair enough — but it let him know he wasn’t at risk either. If Peacekeeper were tracking him, considering her suspicious appearance, then Gabe might be at risk. For what? Who the hell knows! But you don’t exactly want a hairy stalker following you, y’know?

As they took their leave, Gabriel showed off his credentials. He was a detective for Ouros, he gathered all the money and returned it to the cashiers as the manager stepped onto the floor, and people resumed their day. Albeit, a bit scared. Now, to deal with the cops. With how he dealt with the aftermath, he hoped the suspicious play caught on camera would… make sense? If anything, the immobilized criminal should hopefully get him out of that bind, too.

The kicker? It was all self-defense! The bad guy swung first. And then a vigilante — or unknown hero, working in the shadows, as he’d tell the cops, came and bailed him out of a tough spot.

Only thing…

Their voice…

Was I saved by a teenager??

---

Gabriel walked up to the man, money bags in hand — an attempt to appease and de-escalate the situation. While he was an accomplice at the moment, when they went out to the parking lot, he could wrestle the knife out of the man’s hand. Maybe even deck him in the schnozz while he was at it, too.

But things went from bad to worse.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He offered the man the bag of money, hoping that he’d let go of the hostage. And luckily for him… he did.

“Do you think I’m fucking dumb?” The man took a wild swing at Gabriel, who would have ducked out of the way if not for the cashier within range of the slash. He pushed them out of the way and into the arms of a few people to the side. Then, as he moved backward in tandem, he received a gnarly gash to the arm as he tripped backward over a handbasket.

Crap, crap, crap!

Not his best showing so far. He needed to think quickly. The man was aiming a vital stab towards his neck and he had nowhere to go.

---

No one did anything.

At most, they looked around. They looked desperately at each other. They looked at their groceries. They looked through the windows outside, praying for a hero. But there wasn’t a hero. The closest thing they got was Gabriel sending a message to Ouros. The closest thing they had were the few, brave souls looking at the man, the knife, and the cashier. The closest thing they had to a hero, now, was letting things play out as they were.

None of them could do anything.

One move and someone died. Yet again, Gabriel was here confronted with a murderer and an inability to do a goddamned thing. Almost twenty years and he’s as helpless as ever. And there’ll be blood on his hands for his cowardice.

“Hey.”

Everyone turned. The brave, the cowards, and the criminal. They were all looking at Gabe.

“Let me help.”

People were more confused than ever.

“At this rate, you’re never gonna get out of here in time. You get what? A few thousand bucks? Let’s open up a few more machines.” Gabriel started moving on his own. The proposition was so absurd it bought him time. He skipped the line and went to the cashier next to him. “Open this damn thing up.” By this point, the back of his head was toward the man, allowing him to mouth the next few words.

I’ll save them. And then a few words for himself alone. What the hell am I thinking?

---

[attr="class","likedo"]

Neat.

Now that the man was hogtied, by hair no less — an interesting insight into her quirk — he didn’t have to worry about his normal self. Gabe was admittedly nervous at the prospect of having to wrangle him a second time. Alone. Now all he had to do was wait for a sign of heroes and then disappear before they arrived.

In the meantime, he’d pull out his phone. He’d start recording as he aimed toward a departing Peacekeeper. Yeah, he was playing dirty but who didn’t love free information? They might have even slipped up and thought of their real identity. Might use that later.

Sirens.

Okay, time to go! Gabriel runs off as a sidekick arrives. “Chasing the rest down. Keep an eye on him!”

“W-wha— o-okay!” They stutter before coming to their agency. “We’ve got one down. In pursuit of another!”

Gabriel couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation. But by the sound of it, the agency was not happy.

---

Her strike landed.

The behemoth staggered, losing its balance for a moment before regaining composure. It rubbed the back of its head as it turned its attention to JoJo. Chirp was struck by a flash of genius — the man may have been strong, but he was still human. Weak spots existed. And with how ill-proportioned they were, they were more susceptible to toppling over.

“Hey, ugly!” Gabriel needed to distract him. Quickly. He picked up a few rocks off the ground and tossed them to the back of the man’s head. It didn’t have the same striking power as JoJo’s kick but the irritant would get his attention.

“Same spot!” Gabriel called out. Then, when JoJo would strike he’d make his move. But that was under the pretense she understood what needed to be done. Hopefully, this oaf was too simple to understand their plan. Even if they could understand each of the words individually.

“Hope you’re not stuck this way,” Chirp muttered. Criminal or not, people deserved better. “It would be a damn shame…”

---