Welcome to the IDPD (Chapter 4)

Mari delivered a high kick to the temple of the first thug who reached her. He slammed into the wall and slid down against it, unconscious. On the other side, Cillian employed hand-to-hand combat to disarm a young man with a metal pipe before throwing him down to the ground.

"Why don't you have guns? Aren't you the block leader?" Mari asked Yerbol with a sneer while dodging a wild knife stab from the woman with the undercut. It was exceedingly easy to get proper weapons on Goria, especially for members of the Vyrath Syndicate.

"I did say I want you alive." The self-proclaimed block leader replied with a growl.

"The clichés keep piling on." Memory muttered while squatting on the ground with her chin in her hands. She watched her comrades fight, wearing an uninterested expression on her face.

"Should we help?" Deisha asked with a carefree smile and shifted her eyes from one side to the other. Despite being in a police uniform, her overall appearance stood out like a sore thumb compared to the others.

Mari swept the undercut woman's legs, then kicked the knife out of her loosened hand when she hit the ground. The latter attempted to scramble back to her feet but was met with a knee to her face. Yerbol grimaced at the crunching noise, most likely being reminded of how he had gotten his metal jaw.

"You're using excessive force." Cillian chastised Mari while dodging two attackers at the same time. If he had the time to notice what she was doing behind him, it meant that his opponents posed no threat to him.

"There's no such thing as excessive force." Replying coldly, Mari delivered a stomping kick right into the face of the thug she had first propelled into the wall. He had just regained consciousness and was about to stand up, but now, the back of his head exploded in blood.

"Hey, you don't have to kill them!" The yellow-skinned IDPD recruit spun around and accused Mari, who already turned her attention to the next approaching enemy. In that time, one of Cillian's two opponents swung a metal bat down at his head. However, he dodged it without even looking and delivered an elbow into his assailant's solar plexus.

"Keep your idealism to yourself, yellow boy. I grew up on this planet, and it's kill or be killed here." Mari glared at the towering muscle man approaching her while rebuffing Cillian.

"We're police officers. We can't be judge, jury, and executioner." Cillian declared while dropping down to all fours to dodge a horizontal swing from a machete-like blade.

"But we aren't police officers yet." Deisha suddenly joined the conversation with a thoughtful but innocent look at the yellow-skinned man. She squatted next to Memory, wholly unconcerned by the battle around her.

"Listen to Deisha. She knows what's right." Memory put an arm around her fellow slacker's shoulder and spoke in her usual emotionless tone.

"How can two GPs cause you so much trouble?" Yerbol complained when Mari ducked under the towering man's attempt to grab her and delivered an uppercut to his chin. Despite being more than two heads taller than her, the strike shook his brain so hard that he instantly collapsed on the spot without even trying to break his fall.

"Next, you're going to say 'if you want something done, you have to do it yourself' like a movie villain." Memory announced just as Yerbol continued to speak.

"I guess if you want something done, you have to do it your- huh?!" Taken by utter surprise, he blinked his eyes a few times while staring at the pale and skinny girl squatting behind Mari.

"Ahahaha! You predicted him perfectly!" Deisha clapped her hands while jumping up and down in delight. She was a girl who could find joy in even the most trivial things.

Cillian finished the fighting on his side by throwing the last assailant over his shoulder with practiced movements. With the Galactic Police uniforms they had been provided came a small plastic cuffs dispenser. He used them to tie the wrists of the downed thugs before they woke up, making sure that there were no surprises.

"Yerbol, you're under arrest!" Cillian finally turned to the leader of the thugs and pointed at him threateningly.

"That pink one said you weren't police officers yet." With a sarcastic shrug, Yerbol ridiculed Cillian's professional tone.

"Your goons are down. Come to the station with us quietly, and you won't have to get hurt." But the yellow-skinned man maintained his serious attitude and walked toward the block leader. He showed that he possessed the capabilities of taking armed opponents down with his bare hands. It lent his threat credibility.

"You know what? I don't need them. I'm more than enough for the likes of you." Spreading his arms in a grandstanding gesture, Yerbol challenged Cillian with an aggressive grin.

"Are you really going to do this?" Mari looked at both men with an eyebrow raised.

"You'll be next, Mari Nova." Yerbol's grin turned into a scowl. Then he snapped open his left arm to reveal a gun barrel, which he directed at Cillian. The fact that it had been so well-hidden underneath his fake skin meant that this was a high-quality cybernetic enhancement. His claim that he had become the block leader didn't sound so far-fetched now.

Cillian instantly dropped down on all fours as a barrage of plasma pellets cut through the air where his head had been a split second ago. However, instead of charging forward, his palms began to sink into the seemingly softening pavement.

"What's that?" Pointing his wrist-mounted gun at the yellow-skinned man, Yerbol yelled in confusion. He unleashed another barrage, but its target had already disappeared underground as if diving into a pool of water. Gesturing with his weapon every which way, he turned to glare at Mari. "How the fuck did he do that?!"

"I have no idea." With a genuinely amazed expression, she looked at where Cillian disappeared and then at Yerbol. "But I have a pretty good idea about what's going to happen next."

"Huh?" The block leader blinked his eyes at those words, then turned his barrel toward Memory and Deisha. "Yellow man, come out, or I'm shooting your comrades!"

Mari's carefree expression froze over. Then her eyebrows dropped, and she focused her intense purple irises on Yerbol.

"Big mistake." She snarled while lowering her stance like a spring.

"Stay back!" Pointing the plasma gun at Mari, Yerbol was now visibly terrified by the situation. That's when the ground under his feet rippled, and Cillian emerged from it like a rising shark. One hand grabbed the gun and forced it upward just as it unleashed its deadly payload, while his other connected with the block leader's metal jaw.

The yellow-skinned recruit pushed Yerbol against the wall, upon which it gave way as if it were jelly. Half of his body sank into it before the effect suddenly vanished. Yerbol was now stuck inside the wall, with only his lower body, face, and forearms sticking out.

"What the fuck is this?" He couldn't even move his head anymore and spun his eyes in terror. His weapon was pointed up, far away from being able to hit anybody.

"Why didn't you use this from the start?" Mari walked up to Cillian while looking at the immobilized Yerbol with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I didn't want to mess up this city's streets and buildings." Turning his head to look at the ground where he dove under and reappeared from, he sighed at the ripples left behind by his ability. "And it's hard to explain to local authorities when we hand him over."

"Let me out! This feels really weird!" Moving what limbs he could, Yerbol tried to struggle free. But the wall was made from a plasteel composite alloy, much like most other legitimate buildings on this planet. Not even a bulldozer would be able to break through it.

"Now, to inform the local authorities." Cillian turned around to find a communications device among the downed thugs, only to freeze in shock. "Where are Memory and Deisha?"

"Huh?" Spinning around, Mari looked through the alleyway. Aside from the carnage Cillian and she left behind, it was empty. There was no sign of the two girls in either direction. "They were right here until a moment ago."

"I see. That's what this was all about." Yerbol suddenly gathered his thoughts to chuckle.

"What do you mean?" Mari glared at him in impatience.

"You didn't wonder why I was here? This isn't even my turf." As if reveling in Mari's confusion, Yerbol sneered at her. Being in the know while his hated opponent could only wait for his answer made him feel stronger than he really was. "I got tipped off that you would appear here at this time today."

"Who was it?" Cillian stepped forward and asked with a sideways glance at Mari. He feared that she would use force to get the answer out of Yerbol if he didn't take the initiative to question him.

"He was from the syndicate, black suit, and shades. Never seen him before." Yerbol replied with a grin, but it instantly turned into a frown. He must have tried to shrug but remembered the situation he was in.

"What did he look like?" Slamming his hand against the wall next to Yerbol's face, Cillian continued the interrogation.

"Let me out of here, and I'll tell you." Not in the least intimidated by the yellow-skinned recruit, Yerbol declared in a challenging tone.

Suddenly, Mari pushed Cillian aside and raised a foot. It was at this moment Yerbol knew that he had fucked up. His brain was overcharged to figure out a way out of the situation, but he could only use that adrenaline rush to watch the boot approach him in what felt like slow-motion.

"Wai-" Was all he could say before Mari's heel audibly crushed his family jewels.

A few minutes prior to the high-pitched scream ringing out through the alleyway, Memory and Deisha were squatting among the twitching bodies of the downed thugs. They witnessed Cillian disappear into the ground, then felt scarcely threatened by the plasma gun pointed at them. Finally, they watched Yerbol get fused with the building wall.

Then, black cloth covered their visions, and they felt arms around their waists and lifting them off the ground. Memory was too apathetic to care, and Deisha was curious about where these kidnappers were about to take her. Neither struggled or screamed. As such, they disappeared from the alleyway only a few meters behind Mari and Cillian without a sound.

The next time either of them could see again was after a car ride that took them across what felt like the entire city-planet. They had been placed on a comfortable sofa in a dim room before the black sacks over their heads were removed. When they looked around, they found themselves in a luxurious room with tasteful dark walls and furniture to match. Men in the Goria equivalent of black business suits stood all around them, each one featuring a scar across their faces. Even in the dimness, they wore shades hiding their eyes, and black gloves covered their hands.

"I apologize for the rough handling, ladies." An echoing female voice declared in a level tone, causing Memory and Deisha to look around in wonder. Its owner was nowhere to be seen, and the unmoving men gave no hints as to where she was. "Up here."

Upon those words, the two recruits put their heads back into their necks. Above them floated a pale-skinned woman with silver hair, dressed in a suit just like the men. However, she wore white gloves, and her visible red eyes were glowing in the dim light. The smile of somebody with absolute self-confidence graced her lips. She would have been considered a universal beauty if not for the two scars extending from the corners of her mouth and up her cheeks.

"Why did you kidnap us?" Memory asked with such a visible lack of self-awareness that the woman raised an eyebrow. But she gave a genuine smile as if deciding that she should act magnanimously.

"First things first. Introductions are in orders." Floating down as if to indicate that she wanted to see eye to eye with Memory, the woman spoke. "My name is Galinka Vyrath. Since you came to this planet, you must have at least heard my family name."

"Oh, are you mafia?" Deisha asked with a curious smile. It elicited a response in kind from Galinka, who was now sitting down in midair with her feet just above the carpet.

"Indeed. Now, what are your names?" With a chuckle, she handed the ball to her two captives.

"I'm Deisha!" The bubbly pink girl didn't hesitate for a moment to reveal her real name.

"Nekonya." Memory, despite being apathetic, had the presence of mind to keep her identity hidden and lied with a straight face.

"Deisha and Nekonya, huh?" Unsuspecting, Galinka repeated their names with a mysterious smile. That made the corner of Memory's mouth twitch, but she was able to suppress the urge to laugh. She just made an executive and family member of the Vyrath Syndicate say Nekonya in all seriousness. "Well, I brought you here for a very simple reason. You have a direct line to the beings of the void. I would like that too."

Deisha maintained her vacant smile, but her mind began to race. Most people applying to join the IDPD were in it due to their family tradition. Others had, at one point in their lives, unwittingly made friends with an off-duty officer, who then introduced them to the existence of the multiverse. The very few who found out by any other means were known as Trespassers - those who had the power to cross dimensional barriers and abused it for selfish reasons.

"You seem to know something, cute little Deisha." Leaning forward and looking into the pink girl's purple eyes, Galinka purred in an overly friendly tone.

"Play dumb." Deisha suddenly heard Memory's voice in her head but was able to stop herself from turning around to the sullen-looking girl by her side. This wasn't the first time she had telepathically talked to her, but under the tension, she was surprised by it.

"I don't know any Deisha. You must have mistaken me for someone else, ma'am." With the most innocent smile a humanoid could ever muster, Deisha replied as if convinced about it herself. Galinka blinked her eyes in bewilderment.

"Not that dumb." Memory chastised her bubbly companion in her mind while rolling her eyes.

"Haha. So you want to play coy." With a shrug, the Vyrath executive leaned back in midair. Her scarred smile was hard to read, but her red eyes were all but friendly. "Well, I have my methods to get you talking."

While Memory and Deisha became acquainted with Galinka Vyrath, Vega was sitting in a six-seat cabin of the supertrain across from an elderly lady. She was traveling alone, her eyes narrowed from age staring at the gray-skinned boy in a police uniform. If not for the wrinkled smile on her face, Vega would have changed cabins long ago.

However, when she was still staring at him after an hour into the journey, he couldn't help but grow paranoid. Was she a member of the Vyrath Syndicate? The multiverse was vast, and there were plenty of species that could have the appearance of the elderly of another species. For all he knew, she could be an assassin or just a sexual deviant after his childlike body.

"Wha-" Finally, Vega couldn't hold it in any longer and spoke up, but before he could even say one word, the old lady interrupted him.

"Do you want some candy, boy?" With a beaming smile, she held out a metal box with colorful pieces of confectionery. Not waiting for an answer, she then continued to speak. "Such a brave young boy, traveling across Goria all by yourself."

Vega blinked his eyes a few times, unable to keep up with the situation. Only moments ago, he considered the possibility that she could attack him - in one way or another. But her straightforward attitude and tone of voice left no doubt in him that she was indeed only a friendly old lady.

"You know, when I was your age..." She then began to talk about her past while still holding the box of candies in her hands. Vega's shoulders drooped when he realized that a long train ride awaited him.