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"But I wasn't trying to make a joke..." Whitney's cheeks turned red out of slight embarrassment.

Agatha chuckled. "Well, it kind of is funny given recent events.... But that's to be expected though. They wouldn't want to save anyone in Los Demonios because, well, they probably think we don't deserve the same rights afforded to any other citizen in Empire State."

Whitney was about to object but closed her mouth when she remembered what they said on the news cast and didn't want to bring it up to her grandmother. She remembered how kind Gravity Girl was to her, conflicted about what to say. "Hm..."

"Either way, I feel like their decision will come back to bite them later. It's still quite strange though because if any of the youngsters there were planning to break out, I would've heard about it." She pressed the button to open the elevator doors after passing through the guards. "My memory gets a little foggy lately but I get a sense of deja-vu from when I was in my younger years. But you have the right idea about a change of outfits, so let's do that first and then get some of that delicious food I hear is so famous around here!"

===============

"Hm..." the security man took a thorough look at Edge-Man's identification before examining the drawing. He tilted his head in slight surprise because the young woman in the drawing didn't look like she had the eyes of a criminal. "Well, I usually don't remember every face that comes through the casino since it's so popular..." If she came in earlier, he probably missed it since he was breaking up a fight over at one of the poker tables. "I'm afraid I can't personally accompany you myself since I'm helping this young lady locate someone she lost. I'd normally redirect you to the guys working the surveillance cameras, but those are under maintenance, and there are 5 floors above this one open to the public."
 
Sounds like he means business with that girl... But she looks so sweet and innocent. Hard to believe she made a crime. If anything, he looks like a dude who would commit a crime. So mean looking and angry...

Kiki continued to look around until she noticed something floating in the air. Upon getting a closer look, she noticed that it was her missing hat, traveling and disappearing within the crowd. Kiki gasped before quickly following her hat within the crowd, leaving the security with Edge Man. Kiki lost sight of her hat thanks to the flashing lights of the casino and trying her best to not bump onto other people. She frantically peaked behind slot machines, looked under tables, and jumped to get a better view, but as quickly as she spotted Hatty, she lost him.

"Oooh, fudge sticks! I lost him again! How hard is it to find a magical floating hat?" Kiki groaned in annoyance, desperately looking for her partner.

While Hatty floated across the casino, he peered over the shoulders of some people, curious to see if they won anything. When he found nothing of interest, he floated on top of a random slot machine and scratched the tip of his head (or hat in this case). 

"Man, where is Kiki? Someone like her is bound to get lost in a huge city like this. Well, she'll probably never make it out of this casino. I'm kinda getting worried..."

As Hatty talked to himself, he noticed an elevator. He had no idea where it leads to. Casually floating across the casino grounds, Hatty rapidly pressed the button with his ribbon-like arm. 

"Maybe this leads to the manager's officer or security cameras. I could ask someone there to help me, shouldn't be too hard to find that airhead." Hatty continued to press the button in his vain attempt to make the elevator come down faster.
 
“I did sense a massive amount of energy building up when I got there. I was eager to check it out, but she wanted to save you before things get rowdy. That place always had a strong ruler or some sort?” Broly asked. “Change of outfit, huh? I prefer the attire I’m wearing right now.” Broly thought to himself. “I am rather starved for meats and sweets, though.” He felt a strange pulse on the right side of his body. He didn’t pay too much attention, since it didn’t stop him from moving.

====

“Damn.” Edge-Man scratch his head, his nails scrapping the skins off. “I’ll just do it myself and scout the area—” He cut his sentence short when the young witch left both of them to follow something. “Guess your schedule is free now. Let's go look for that girl please. It's important that I need to find her."
 
The security guard looked behind him in bewilderment, realizing that the girl he was helping out vanished from his line of sight as quickly as she. "Wha- she was just here!... Kids these days have no patience, I tells ya..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Alright, then we may as well start looking by the slot machines. Youngsters tend to go right to those."

============
"Eh, something like that. But I don't recall ever seeing something on that scale before. Then again, I'm just a crazy old bat!" Agatha laughed.

"Running around without a shirt on will make you catch a cold." Whitney scolded Broly, waggling her finger towards him in objection. "It's also indecent to be shirtless all the time, you know! At the very least, you should wear a tank top."

The elevator doors before Hatty opened.

"... What the heck is that?" She pointed at Hatty. "Someone left their hat on the floor?"

"In front of the elevators?" Agatha chimed in. "Should we turn it in to Lost and Found, I wonder..."
 
Broly scratch the side of his head after Whitney scolded him. “Um, sure.” He turned to see the hat on the elevator floor. “Don’t approach it… I sense immense energy coming out of it.” He had a sinister smile on his face—he wasn’t aware that he was doing it, it came naturally. “I’ll dispose of it…” He raised his hands, gathering energy to blast it.

===

Edge-Man nodded. “Good. Brats like to toss away their earnings at those gambling machines instead of using it to better themselves.” He looked around and followed the security guard to the slot machines. “Damn, where is that girl…?” His nails pierce his skins as he clenches his fists.
 
"Dispose of..? Hey, hey! Hold on big guy! Wait!" Hatty sprung up and waved his ribbon arms around to try and reason with them before quickly latching on to Broly's face, hoping he would not get attacked. "Hold your horses! I'm not gonna do anything! I'm just looking for someone! Hey, girly, tell your boyfriend to cool it before he kills me!"

The magical hat spoke to Whitney in a panic as he kept his grip to cover Broly's face. It was hard to tell emotion from a hat, but it was apparent that Hatty was frantic. 

Kiki groaned slightly a she scratched the top of her head, missing her companion. She turned around the corner and from between the machines, not too far off, she saw Hatty hugging a muscular man's face and causing a scene. Kiki gasped before running towards Hatty and Whitney's group. As she ran, she tripped over her own feet, cartoonishly skidding to a stop right before the group, face on the ground. 

"Ouch..."

She shook her head before moving up to her feet and dusting her dress off until she saw Hatty wrapped around Broly's face. She immediately gripped Hatty by the tip of his hat and tried to yank him off, no doubt having a sort of comedic tug-of-war with Hatty who was refusing to let go of Broly.

"Hatty, what are you doing?! Let go of this man right now!"

"No way! He's trying to kill me!"

"Hatty!" Kiki turned to finally notice Whitney and her grandmother standing right next to Broly. "Oh my! I'm terribly sorry Ma'am! H-He's usually not this wild, honest! I'll be out of your hair like lice! J-Just a second!"

"Lice stays on human hair, you dolt!" Hatty remarked.

"Hatty, let go, now!"

"I will when he refuses to blast me to bits!"
 
Broly grabbed onto Hatty in attempt to get him off. He was firing energy blasts all over the place, but no matter what he did, nothing was working. He slammed onto slot machines, poor tables and bar stands, but Hatty's gripe was tight. "Release me!"

===

Edge-Man narrowed his eyes. "Did you hear that?"
 
"N-no, I'm sorry! He's not usually like this, I swear! I mean, I also just met him, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't normally do this kind of hand blast thing you see in the cartoons!" Whitney tried to quickly explain to Kiki as an apology before attempting to console Broly's panic. "L-let it go! It's just a girl's hat! ...that happens to be a living creature." Whitney sweated profusely and became nervous that so much attention was getting drawn to them now. "What should I do?! He's going to destroy everything in his sight! I thought he was just good at flying!"

Agatha handed Whitney her cane as people began to run away from the machines and pool tables in a panic. "It would look bad if an old woman like me were scolding some kids, so go on and do it. Remember that technique I taught you long ago? I think it's a good time to use it."

"But granny... that's pretty risky to do on a guy like Broly!"

Her grandmother gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I won't be paying Chaz for any more than I already owe him. Think fast, dearie, or else the damage payments might come out of your paycheck."

Whitney paled for a moment before she stared at Broly's back and gained a hardened glare. "Okay! Here goes nothin'! The secret technique!" Using one end of the cane, she swiftly jabbed it into Broly's backside, just barely below the small of his back where his tailbone should be. "One Thousand Years of Pain! You put down the hat and take a nap!"

======

"What's with all those laser things!? It's going to wreck the place! Oh no, Mr. Aznabel will have my head if he finds out I let this much damage happen on my shift!" The security guard struggled to make a beeline for the ruckus because unsuspecting patrons began to run every which way, impeding his ability to get to the elevators quickly. "It's all coming from over there! What the heck is going on!? We don't have any robots manning the slot machines today! Much less ones that can fire energy beams!"
 
Broly narrowed his eyes after Whitney struck him in the back, causing him to pass out. He collapsed on the floor, leaving a crack beneath him.

===

Edge-Man narrowed his eyes. “Rest assure, I am a hero.” He turned to the running crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Everyone! Remain calm! I am come to stop this mess.” After seeing a bunch of lasers being toss around in that area, he knows exactly where they at. “You don’t want to get involved… they have a dangerous mysterious figure in their hands.” He rushes towards the elevator.
 
Hatty refused to let go of Broly and Kiki refused to let go of Hatty either. When Broly moved around and flung his body, Kiki was tossed around with him like a weightless ragdoll. She yelped, holding as tight as she can to Hatty. 

"Hatty! Let him go! His girlfriend is handling him right now!" Kiki yelped. "I'm sure she'll make him understand!"

"But he's going nuts!"

"Hatty! Just let him go!"

After a short pause, Hatty released Broly's face, but thanks to the force behind Broly's swinging body, both Hatty and Kiki were flung a few feet away and landed by Agatha's feet. Kiki groaned slightly with Hatty struggling under her body since she landed on top of him. Hatty slipped out from under Kiki and appeared to dust himself off and fix the top of his head(or hat, in this case).

"You should learn to control that guy, old lady!" Hatty scolded Agatha, assuming she was his guardian or something. "You're lucky that girlie is good at taming that guy! You should just stick back to retirement, grandma!"

"Hatty, don't be so rude!" Kiki said while she grabbed Hatty and hugged him close to shut his mouth. She was intimidated by Agatha. "I-I'm so sorry, Ma'am! He's usually not this rude!"
 
Agatha stared at Kiki and Hatty bickering on the floor. Her eyes actually opened once Hatty began to throw insults at her even though they've been shut this entire time. In one move, she snatched her cane back from Whitney and pressed the button on the handle, which made a smooth-edged blade eject outwards at the wooden end. 

"You old wrinkled excuse for a haaaat!" Agatha exclaimed in a gruff voice. "I ought to cut you into scraps and fashion you into boots fit for a farm! I'll even drag you through every single pile of manuuuure!" She hissed.

"Granny, you cut it out too!" Whitney got between Agatha and Kiki. "You're not a street punk anymore, so lay off! And all cause of a talking hat. Honestly! You and Broly are such a handful!" She scolded tersely before turning around to help Kiki off the ground with a softer look on her features. "Please don't mind Granny, she really is a nice lady. She just doesn't like being reminded of her age. I guess he's your hat and was looking for you! Is it really just a hat or is it an animatronic?" Curiously she tugged at different parts of the hat looking for any indication of a mechanical endoskeleton. "What a strange thing! But you guys aren't from around here, are you?" Whitney noticed Kiki's clothes weren't the kind an average Empirican would wear. She also didn't give off the air of a costumed hero.
========

The security guard stepped back to let Edge Man handle the situation. He began to try and calm down the patrons of the casino and took out his walkie talkie to round up other guards on the floor. Together, the men in suits started redirecting people away from damaged machines and unplugging any cords to stop potential sparks from striking anyone. "Send in a cleanup crew for all the messes."
 
Kiki and Hatty hugged each other, yelling at the mercy of Agatha.

"Waaaah! Please don't kill us!" Both cried in unison. 

When Whitney scolded her grandmother, Kiki and Hatty seemed to let out a sigh of relief, allowing Whitney to help them up. Kiki pinched Hatty, being disappointed at how he spoke to an elder. Both Witch and Hat dusted themselves off, Hatty floating himself to rest on top of Kiki's head and wrap his ribbon arms around to form a cute little bow over Kiki's dress. Kiki felt much safer around Whitney but thought it was odd she would hang out with a big man like Broly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about Hatty, he's usually not this rude." Kiki flicked the hem of her hat. "Yes! I'm not from here! I was looking for some special herbs to make a potion back in the Sisterhood, but I got lost... But I think I'm getting close!"

"Hey!" Hatty swatted at Whitney's hand gently. "I'm a 100% pure magical hat! When's the last time you saw a cool hat like me?"

"Oh, my name is Kiki! I'm a witch-in-training! It's a pleasure to meet you, your grandma, and your boyfriend." Kiki eyed Whitney, remembering the picture Edge-Man showed the security guard. She tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, but there was a man looking for you. He drew a picture of you and said you were a criminal of some sort. But... you sure don't look like a criminal. His name was Edge... Edge something."

"A criminal? Maybe she looks super innocent but in reality, she's a killer! You can't trust strangers, Kiki." Hatty said.

"Awww, but look at her, Hatty, she looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Did you see what she did to her boyfriend?"

"It was probably a pressure point she hit!" Kiki shook her head. "Besides, she's too nice to be a criminal."
 
"Is that true, Whitney?" Agatha pulled on Whitney's ear. "I thought your mother raised you better than to follow the footsteps of ruffians!"

"A criminal? Nonono! W-wait a second here!" Whitney waved her arms around, flustered at the accusation. "I didn't do anything wrong! I came here after picking up my grandma when I came home from the hospital in Hero City City. Broly's not my boyfriend either, I swear!" Rubbing her ear, her face turned bright red in embarrassment. "This is probably just a big misunderstanding and he's got me mixed up with someone else!"

I wonder if it's because they figured out a few people might have gotten out of Los Demonios... Agatha thought to herself. They hadn't updated my mugshot since they first locked me up in there... maybe they mistook my old photo for my granddaughter? 

"Then we'll just explain it to him like you just did. Surely they don't arrest innocent people on looks alone, right?" She asked, patting Whitney's back. "Though, he sounds kind of scary with a title like that... what a pickle you're in, dear!"
 
The elevator arrived at the destination to the floor, just where Whitey, Agatha, Kiki and unconscious Broly resided in. The door could not open all the way, so Edge-Man kicked the door out, flinging it to the ground. 

He took one step, his eyes burning with rage and his hands clenched so hard, he made it bleed. “Found you…” He slowly walked to the group—heading for Whitney herself. “Do you have any idea, the distance I have to crossed to hunt you down?”

He looked over to the unconscious Broly on the floor. “What the hell did you do to him?”
 
"That's the guy! He sure looks angry..." Kiki said, frowning. "What's his problem anyway? I think he's mistaken this poor girl for someone else."

"Or maybe he's just really adamant about getting this girl. He looks like trouble to me. Prepare yourself for anything, Kiki."

"Right!"

Kiki pulled her wand from the strap around her hip and prepared for a battle. She took a step back towards Agatha, making sure to keep the older woman safe, assuming Whitney had her own tricks.

"Don't worry Ma'am, I'll keep you safe!"

"Do we have to protect her..?" Hatty grumbled. 

"Of course we do, Hatty! Maybe if you respect the poor lady, she won't chop you to bits next time!"

"Alright, alright!" Hatty pointed a ribbon arm at Agatha. "Stick close Granny, things might get ugly with that guy thinking your granddaughter is a criminal."
 
Whitney stared at Edge Man with even more confusion than before. "Well, I guess I wouldn't know. I've never seen you before in my life! I remember almost every face that I come across but yours doesn't ring a bell to me." She looked down at Broly. "I just had him take a nap since he was getting rowdy and scaring people by swinging his big muscly arms around and making a mess. He'll wake up when he wants to since he probably got tired from all the traveling we did today. Sorry for the trouble, I'm gonna take him out to eat anyway..." she seemed completely unaware of why he gave off such a menacing aura.

I've got a bad feeling about this... things might get ugly if he tries to hurt her. Agatha thought, staying behind Kiki while keeping her eyes trained on Edge-Man. "We promise to pay for the damages if that's what you're concerned about."
 
“No, this isn’t about the damage.” Edge-Man answered. “Well, I mean, considering that you let this thing go on a rampage and causing all these damages, that’s even more reason to arrest you.” 

He dig through his pockets, pulling them out. “I am Edge-Man, A Class Hero of the Heroes Organization. You’re under arrest for stealing a Mysterious Figurine and operating one without a license.”

He turned to Kiki and her strange, talking hat. “Stand down, unless you want the taste of my blade. Stick your nose out of this, this does not concern you. If you interfere, you will be arrested for obstructing justice.”
 
"Arrested? But my record is clean! That's not far at all!" Kiki frowned. "You're a hero? More like a bully!"

"Mysterious figures?" Hatty questioned. "Aren't those the little toys that can turn to other beings? What's this girl doing with one of those?"

"Maybe she found it by accident." Kiki shrugged. "She shouldn't be held accountable for that. Anyway, Edge-Man, was it? Go on and shoo! I think you're mistaken!"

If this girl has a mysterious figure, how is she able to control it? I thought the figures lose control or ignore their owners if they are too weak or unfit? Huh, I guess this girl has some hidden potential. ...Or she found it by accident, either one is a coincidence.
 
Whitney raised her hands defensively, starting to sweat anxiously at how hostile Edge-Man was acting towards her.

"I don't even know what a Mysterious Figure is! The only license I have is to drive and I'm too poor to own a car..." She said with a quivering voice. "It wasn't like we were doing it on purpose really! I don't have any toys on me! Why would I steal a kid's toy?"

"I don't see any justice being done if you ask me. All I see is a deranged man accosting a poor girl." Agatha remarked with a scowl.

"H-heroes are supposed to be kind to civilians! Would a criminal be friends with a hero like Gravity Girl?" Whitney said. "You can even call her up! Just ask and she'll know who I am!" As she talked, she tried her best to maintain eye contact while nudging Broly in the ribs with her foot, trying to wake him.

This guy is really scary! I'm scared he'll try and hurt Granny and Kiki just for looking at him funny! Her heart was pounding in her chest and sweat was rolling down her forehead. Broly, please get up!
 
"Kiki, I don't think that big bulky boyfriend of hers is a normal guy..." Hatty whispered. "That Edge Boy said something about a mysterious figure."

"So?"

"You dolt! Don't you know what a Mysterious Figure is?!" Hatty smacked a ribbon hand on to Kiki's forehead. "Mysterious Figures are super powerful creatures that only very strong people can wield! Stealing one from The Big Apple is a serious crime!"

"Well... she looks really scared. We can't just leave her alone to fight that guy. Besides, her Granny will get hurt too."

"Yeah, well, I can live with that..."

"Hatty!"

"Okay, okay! But what do you suppose we do?"

Kiki bit her lip before waving her wand around slightly. Thin transparent ribbons appeared and were seen slowly slithering to Edge-Man, trying to wrap around his ankles. She was careful not to make any sudden movements, but Hatty took notice of her little sneak attack.

"What are you doing?!" Hatty whispered. 

"We're going to help out this girl and her Granny so that we can get to the bottom of this! Besides, if she's as strong as you think she is, then maybe she can help us out."
 
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