6. P R O D I G A L : Redemption

EPILOGUE

It was, of course, the Dark Celestial Nyani, dressed in a sharp crimson suit with black pinstripes. A wisp of smoke floated from the cigarette he held in one hand, and his masked eyes were further enshadowed by the matching fedora he wore.

"You keep brutalizing my men," Nyani said disapprovingly, shaking his head. "Beating them for no reason at all."

"That's not what this guy would say," the Phantom growled as the gambler struggled to his feet.

"Sure it is. Isn't that right, Mr. Yang?" Nyani asked, looking at the man and cocking his head. "My men were simply encouraging you to reimburse me for the money you stole. In any case, you are the criminal here, aren't you?"

Frozen with terror, all Yang could do was nod his head.

Phantom gritted his teeth behind his mask as XXM (Xirxine Militia) soldiers entered the alley, weapons at the ready. "Phantom! Angel! Stay where you are and put your hands in the air!" one of them barked, levelling their weapons at the Protectors. "You're in violation of the Protector Code for assault without prior authorization!"

"Nyani's men were beating this man!" the Phantom retorted, pointing at Yang. "We couldn't just stand by and—"

"That man stole money from me," Nyani interrupted, giving the soldier a disdainful look. "I have records of his theft right here." He held up a computer drive and handed it to the patrol leader.

"And you?" the leader asked, turning to the Phantom and the Angel. "Where's your evidence of this man's beating?"

The Phantom and the Angel remained silent.

The leader sighed. "Thank you, Mr. Nyani. You're free to go."

"Thank you, Commander." Nyani tipped his fedora to the patrol and headed off into the night, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

-

Once Nyani was gone, the commander turned to the Phantom and Angel again. "I'm sorry," he told them, "but I can't do anything about this outside of the law."

"You know what he's doing," the Angel spat. "Letting him get away with it is disgraceful."

"You're one to talk!" the commander shot back. "Besides, what do you want us to do? Arrest him? If we take him to court without proof, he gets away again and the whole thing starts over! You know as well as I do that this has to be done by the book!"

The Phantom glared at the soldiers as they handcuffed Yang, leading him out of the alley. "So the victim is arrested and the mugger goes free," he muttered. "Just like always."

The commander lifted his shoulders in apology. "Like I said: there's nothing we can do. I'm sorry." He glanced at his men and ordered, "Move out, patrol. We're done here."

The Phantom and the Angel watched the patrol walk away, as frustrated as they'd ever been. Then the former disappeared in a burst of flame while the latter pumped her wings and took to the sky.

-

TWO DAYS LATER

On the roof of Tián's bamboo house, Addison finished his martial arts practice and wiped his hands with a towel, heading back down into the house. Expanding his focus (as he had blocked everything out while practicing), he opened up his senses of sight and smell again.

He could hear Tián moving through the house, searching for something. He could smell her familiar scent, one that brought a smile to his face.

Then hers became mingled with more familiar scents—ones he hadn't detected in years.