In the dimly lit alley of 27th Avenue, the flickering police lights cast an eerie kaleidoscope of colors. The air hung heavy with the scent of dampness, and the typical yellow tape crisscrossed the scene, marking the boundaries of the crime scene. The place buzzed with activity as investigators and medics moved about.
Two police officers stood before a covered corpse, their expressions tense. After a brief pause, the atmosphere shifted as a group of medics approached a plain-clothed, dark-skinned woman in a grey coat, likely a civilian.
One of the medics, towering over her, spoke up. "Ma'am, this is a crime scene. You can't be here..." The protest died on his lips as she flashed her silver ID—a telltale sign of an Inspector.
Ducking under the yellow tape, Marline approached the waiting officers, her steps revealing a slightly drunken gait. Fatigue clung to her features, accentuated by dark circles under her eyes.
She presented her ID with a wearied sigh. "I'm Marline Heckler from the SCD. You said this is a supernatural incident?"
The first officer, John, visibly relaxed. "I'm John, and here's my partner Finn. We made sure to carry out SE readings before calling you here."
The SCD had equipped the police department with Spiritual Energy detection devices to prevent false alarms. Of course it wasn't foolproof as there were unique instances.
Marline, with a skeptical frown, checked her watch. "It just had to be during my shift." Kneeling down, she unzipped the tarp covering the corpse.
"Whoa. That's one clean cut." She zipped it back, expressing annoyance. "That unreliable partner of mine should have been here by now."
"I am." A voice called out from behind, startling all three individuals.
"Harry, can you stop doing that?!" Marline scowled at the new arrival.
Harry, a man in a dancing suit with tanned skin, slicked-back hair, and sunglasses, chuckled while licking a lollipop. "Your reaction is never not funny."
"Whatever, what's with the lolly?"
"Oh, this? I'm trying to quit smoking."
Marline sneered, "This is the fourth 'I'm trying to quit' this month, Harry. I think pigs would fly before you quit permanently."
He shot back, "Then fate must be on my side, a Vanishing Isle rife with flying pigs was discovered in the Caribbean yesterday."
Finn, the younger policeman, turned to John with skepticism. "Are you sure they aren't quacks?"
John shrugged. "They may be weird, but they're the real deal, junior."
Ceasing their banter, Marline knelt down again, pointing to the headless neck. "While this cut is not clean enough to be a sword, the bisection point is too smooth to be simply twisted off, unless the strength difference was overwhelming."
Marline asked Harry, "What do you think, a Werewolf? Or a Therianthropic Mutant?"
He shrugged. "I'm not too sure yet. Besides, didn't they say there was an eyewitness?"
Struggling to stand, Marline replied, "She's currently receiving medical attention, so I haven't gotten a testimony. How are the Spiritual Energy traces? Is it enough to reenact the scene?"
Harry frowned, crunching the sweet between his teeth. "Most of it's faded, but it's still enough for me to try. Strangely enough, there are no SE traces of the attacker, only the victim. Has he been identified?"
"Paul Lachlan, 43 years old, recently unemployed and diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The readings indicate he's an Abnormal-Class Supernatural, but there are no records of him in the Underside and the Office, meaning he recently became a Supernatural."
The Office was a moniker for the SCD as a whole.
The classification system for Supernaturals—Abnormal, Extraordinary, Genesis, Awakened, Transcendent, Disaster, Cataclysm, and Apocalypse—had been established to accommodate the diverse methods of gaining supernatural powers.
"Let's get to work," Marline said, her gaze lingering on the covered body. The alley, though shrouded in darkness, held an ominous air, and the pulsating police lights heightened the eerie atmosphere.
She stepped back, and told Harry. "The stage is yours, do your mojo."
Stretching, Harry took off his sunglasses, revealing alluring hazel eyes that seemed too feminine for a man. Yet, they harmonized with the rest of his masculine features, creating a paradoxical beauty. His movements were both confident and laid-back, an odd combination that defined his personality.
As he prepared to reenact the scene using the lingering Spiritual Energy traces, Marline's mind raced with questions. The supernatural incident had unfolded with a precision that puzzled even the seasoned Inspector. A clean cut, a victim with no apparent ties to the Underside, and an attacker leaving no trace—these elements defied the conventional patterns she had encountered in her years with the SCD.
Besides, Opal City was a very peaceful place.
Marline, with her curly hair slightly disheveled, exuded an air of both authority and weariness. The dark circles under her eyes hinted at the toll her job had taken on her, and her posture suggested a certain level of skepticism, a trait that had developed over countless investigations.
Finn, the young police officer, glanced around nervously. "Do you think it's safe here, Inspector? I mean, considering the supernatural stuff."
Marline shot him a reassuring look. "As long we're here, you should be fine."
Harry, now focused on the task at hand, closed his eyes in concentration. As he moved through the alley, Marline and the police officers kept a watchful eye on the surroundings. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and the alley's eerie stillness seemed to amplify it. Each passing moment was laden with the anticipation of uncovering the truth.
Harry abruptly opened his eyes, stopping the reenactment, his brow furrowing. "Something's off. The Spiritual Energy traces are behaving strangely."
Marline's instincts went on high alert. "What do you mean, strange?"
He looked around, his demeanor more serious now. "It's like there's an interference, a disturbance in the Spiritual Energy flow. I've only encountered this twice before."
Marline's expression turned somber, she knew exactly what he was talking about, it was two previous cases where the strength difference between him and the individual involved in the scene was overwhelming.
Scratching her curly hair in frustration, she told him in a skeptical tone. "Try again, it may be a fluke."
Though doubtful, he made a second attempt.
One of his abilities was Retrocognition, a process that relied on the Record Theorem propositioning that Spiritual Energy was not just a particle but an entity that had memories and remembered things that had happened in the past.
Closing his eye, he made the same movements again, and to his surprise, it worked this time.
The alley's atmosphere came alive with sensory details. The flickering police lights cast erratic shadows, the distant sounds of the city created a dissonant melody, and the pungent smell of garbage wafted through the air.
A formless mist seemed to seep from Harry's being, swirling into different shapes and sizes, until it settled down, showing them a reenactment of the scene that had taken place nearly an hour ago.
The mist formed a young woman, hurrying on the road, with an anxious expression on her face, turning to look left and right every now and then. The tension in the air became palpable.
Reaching a turn, she was suddenly dragged into the alley, her mouth covered. She was about to scream in protest when she discovered a strangely gleaming blade suddenly appear on her neck.
Marline frowned at the sight; the new discovery somewhat complicated things further. "So he was the aggressor?"
Perhaps too shocked by the unnatural sight of the glowing blade, she barely struggled as she was dragged further into the alley. By the time she had recovered, she found herself on the floor, her clothes torn, her eyes widened in horror, realizing what her assailant was about to do.
All four spectators were completely disgusted, and if not for work ethics, Marline herself might have spoken out loud that his death was well deserved.
They watched the futility of her struggle, and just when Harry was about to cancel the reenactment to prevent them from watching a young woman violated, another figure was gradually outlined in the mist, except that they remained a blurry silhouette, their only distinguishing feature being intense green eyes that glowed in the dark.
"Um, Harry, why is the third person like this?"
He frowned. "I'm not sure; this has never happened before."
The blurry figure seemed to have just been passing by and was attracted by the cries of the woman.
It proceeded to kick the man away and knelt to the woman, in an attempt to help her—the spectators assumed.
That was when the man, Paul Lachlan, blurted out some words, created the same energy blade, and lunged at the figure, only to back away in fear when he saw how useless his attack was.
Appearing before him, the figure took him by the neck and lifted him off the floor.
Both Inspectors and police officers visibly tensed up, as this moment seemed to be the focal point of the incident.
At that moment, the blurry figure suddenly turned back, seeming to look at them with curiosity.
The moment froze, and a weird chill ran down the spines of the four. The blurry figure, now a bit clearer, gazed intently, like it knew they were there. Its green eyes locked onto Marline, Harry, John, and Finn.