The urgent ping from Black Widow's message cut through the city's background noise, making me swear under my breath as I read it. Jewel, bank robbery, coordinates attached.
Of course it was her. My hands gripped Behemoth's handlebars, twisting the throttle hard. The city became a blur of neon and headlights as I wove through traffic, leaning into every turn. Every second Jessica was under that creep's control felt like a failure I couldn't afford.
I roared Behemoth to a stop outside the bank, the tires skidding on cracked pavement. The scene was exactly what I expected—broken windows, a general mess, but no Jessica. My eyes scanned the debris, my gut twisting with a fresh wave of anxiety.
Instead, a small, familiar purple figure was huddled near a broken ATM, clutching his ribs and groaning. Impmon.
"Impmon!"
I slid off Behemoth and rushed over. His eyes were squeezed shut, a low whine escaping him. He looked bad, definitely worse than just a bruised ego. I pulled out my Digivice, tapping the screen quickly.
"Cutemon, I need you! Impmon's hurt!"
Cutemon materialized in a flash of pink light, her ears twitching with alarm.
"Oh my, this looks serious, chu!"
She floated over immediately, her Healing Aura shimmering as she began to mend his injuries. Impmon's groans softened, and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at me. He looked dazed, then surprised, then something close to annoyance.
"Cipher?"
Impmon rasped, pushing himself up a little, wincing. His green eyes narrowed, that little smirk playing on his face even through the pain. Genuine shock. "What are you doing here?"
Right, because I don't usually show up for his street-level pranks. Not enough spectacle, not enough data. Honestly, he wasn't even on my radar for a serious fight.
"Never mind what I'm doing here."
I cut him off, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. No room for his usual quips, not with the empty bank behind him screaming a story I didn't want to hear. "What happened? And where's Jewel? She was supposed to be here."
My gaze swept the alley again, the silence hitting harder than any sound. The urgency came back in a fresh, cold wave. She should be here. Peter saw her come this way.
If she wasn't here, and Impmon was… that math wasn't adding up to anything good.
Impmon grimaced, clutching his ribs.
"That's what I was trying to figure out," he said, the teasing gone from his voice. "She just… walked out of here with a bag of money. And then she hit me. Hard. Like I was trash."
He looked genuinely bewildered, a rare sight for the mischievous Digimon.
"Her eyes were empty, Cipher. Like she wasn't even there."
Empty eyes. A bag of cash. It clicked together with a sickening finality, slotting right over the intel Black Widow had given me.
"Mind control," I muttered, the word a bitter taste in my mouth.
It confirmed everything. This wasn't just a bank robbery; it was Killgrave's twisted game, and Jessica was a pawn. "She's not herself. Killgrave's got her."
I clenched my fists, the anger bubbling just beneath the surface. Every second she was under his control was a violation. A ticking clock.
"I need to go after her," I said, already turning towards Behemoth.
Jessica was still nearby, I knew it. My Digivice wasn't pinging her, but the trail had to be fresh. The city was big, but not that big. I could find her. I had to.
"Woah, hold on, Cipher!"
Impmon cried out, pushing himself to his feet. A flicker of his old fire was in his eyes, but he swayed a little, clearly not fully recovered.
"I'm coming with you! Something's wrong with that Jewel, and I want an explanation!"
You've got to be kidding me. The last thing I needed was a wounded, impulsive Rookie slowing me down. But the determination on his face was real. Annoying, but real.
"You can barely stand," I pointed out, my hand already on Behemoth's ignition. The engine growled to life, a low, hungry rumble. "This isn't a prank, Impmon. It's a rescue mission against a mind-controlling psycho."
"So? She punched me," he shot back, hobbling closer. "I've got a score to settle. And you look like you could use the backup."
Backup. From an injured Impmon. This was a terrible idea. But the clock was ticking, and arguing was just wasting time.
"Fine," I said, swinging a leg over the bike. "But you ride in the Digivice. The second we find her, you stay back and out of the line of fire. Got it?"
He gave a sharp, pained nod. "Just get me close."
I pulled out my Digivice, quickly dialing Black Widow. She picked up on the first ring, her voice tight.
"Report."
"Jessica's gone, and Impmon just confirmed she's under Killgrave's control. She attacked him downtown."
I cut straight to the chase, trying to keep my own panic out of my voice. The image of Jessica punching a Digimon without a flicker of hesitation was stuck in my head, and it was worse than anything I'd imagined.
"Is she still traceable? Any movement?"
"We have a general location, moving north," Black Widow replied, her voice calm and efficient. "Faint, but it's there."
That was all I needed. A faint signal moving north was a trail, and a trail was something I could chase. SHIELD's intel was finally giving me something to grab onto.
"Good. That's enough."
I snapped the Digivice shut, looking at Impmon. He was still rubbing his ribs, a look of genuine confusion on his face.
"Alright, Imp. Let's go find your pink-haired problem."
I kicked off, Behemoth's engine roaring to life as we sped off, leaving the damaged bank behind. The city blurred past, and all I could think was that we had a direction now.
We had to catch her before Killgrave took her somewhere we couldn't follow.
***
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