Svetlana was most likely right. There was likely no reason there had to be an original, but it was more likely that there was. Sam knew well about changing one person to another and it was hard enough to accomplish. Changing several to all match… Needless to say, having a living template would simplify everything.

At the call for the knife, Sam swept the knife through the air to force one of the duplicates to back off. Sam turned, stepped closer, used the knife on the duplicate’s clothes, and then Sparta kicked him off Svetlana as he flailed uncontrollably before his clothes restrained him.

At that moment Sam wished he had made a second of the knives. ”Here.” Sam held the blade of the knife and held the hilt to Svetlana. His other hand was reaching to claim the bracelet from the duplicate.

With the bracelet removed, the man changed to what was most likely his normal face. This, like when Svetlana removed the first, served to only further anger the remaining duplicates.

One less duplicate was good, but Sam knew the magic in the blade was waning. He didn’t know exactly how many more it would work on, but it would be close if it managed all the rest. On a hunch Sam said, ”Might know why they don’t like us taking the bracelets. Keep them back.”

Sam drew his pistol again and swapped magazines back to one loaded with the more vanilla Gold Dots and mag dumped the closest duplicate in the leg.

The man was kicked off her back and Sveta rolled to get up, feeling worse for the wear. Travis handed her the knife and she took it. This time, she caught a glance of the symbols carved around the hilt.
It definitely wasn't tech.

>>”Might know why they don’t like us taking the bracelets. Keep them back.”

Sveta took up a defensive position, armed with a knife... but the brawl never continued. The moment the detective shot one of the duplicates - multiple times, with great precision - suddenly all of them went down with cries of pain, and bloodstains blooming on their legs.

Divided injuries.

"That's freaky" Sveta noted, looking around. All attackers were down, some constrained by their clothes, and the rest grasping at their legs. "You definitely don't have enough handcuffs for all of them."

The gunshots did their magic. The first few didn’t seem to have much of an effect beyond tearing holes in pants and causing pain. As more bullets followed, the leg turned red and then began to bleed. As the final few struck the wound became a gnarly mess. The damage had been divided but the math of dividing the damage from 16 bullets was not in the duplicates’ favor.

Sam instinctively reloaded his sidearm as he scanned the duplicates who were all dealing with equally and identically damaged legs. ”Very.” Sam said in agreement with Svetlana as he pulled out a pair of hinge cuffs. ”I have one pair.”

It was not an ideal situation. Arresting all the men and then having to explain, why he was there, why Svetlana was there, why do the men all have the same story about a knife that made their clothes restrain them. ”I can get backup here if you want them brought in. My brothers in arms might have some questions though.”

One set of handcuffs for... Sveta did a quick headcount. Nine people. That was not going to work, even though all of them were down. She went around, taking off the rest of the bracelets with minimal resistance from the goons; some were passed out from pain. All of them changed with their bracelets off.

>> ”I can get backup here if you want them brought in. My brothers in arms might have some questions though.”

"I have some questions" Sveta clarified, kneeling by one of the restrained men, and pointing the knife at his throat. "None of you are the original. Where is he?"

The man gave her a stubborn glare. Sveta sighed.

"Again. Either you answer my question, or he calls his cop buddies and then you answer a whole lot of questions."

Svetlana made it clear that she had questions. Which only made sense and was a good reason for Sam to not call for backup, yet. Sam gestured for Svetlana to carry on. She was pointing the knife at the man’s throat, it couldn’t slide the man’s throat but they didn’t need to know that.

Sam sat on the edge of a table with the bracelet he had taken in hand. Svetlana could handle the interrogation, they were after her afterall. What interested Sam the bracelets. He had yet to run into an object empowered by magic. It was normal for him but clearly less common among other mystics.

It was an opportunity to learn. Especially considering it might be related to the same school of magic Sam was most competent in.

The goon formerly known as duplicate seemed to feel that glares were sufficient answers to Svetlana’s questions. ”Look, friend. You know what my knife was doing, you don’t want me digging deeper into my bag of tricks now do you? It really would be easier for everyone if you just talked.” Sam pocketed the bracelet. He could investigate it later in more detail.

More glare, but this time it was directed at Sam.

”The hard way it is.” Sam stood up and walked toward Svetlana and the goon, reaching into his pocket.

“W-wait.” The goon said.

Sam stopped and waited. Maybe his use of a magic item gave the man a clue as to what was going on with the knife. Sam could play off any fear the man had of the things his patron could do.

The man was not really in a talkative mood. Sveta didn't like to torture people on principle, but she really wanted to know how her mob friends had suddenly leveled up to goddamn wizarding.

Detective Travis joined in on the fun.

>>”Look, friend. You know what my knife was doing, you don’t want me digging deeper into my bag of tricks now do you? It really would be easier for everyone if you just talked.”

He didn't talk. Which almost made Sveta want to see what other tricks he actually had. Sadly, the goon changed his mind the last minute.

"So. The original. The one I'm assuming is a magician or whatever. Where is he?" Sveta reiterated. The man glared past her at Travis. "You should be on our side not theirs." Sveta poked his cheek with the knife. "Hey. Buddy. Eyes on me. Talk." "You already know who sent us, why do you care?" "Because mob goons is one thing, mob goons with magic toys is a whole other game." Sveta sighed, poking at him again. "Now talk, before I stab this magic knife in your underpants."

The goon was willing to talk, but wasn’t so interested in answering questions. He seemed to think Sam belonged on their side, whatever side that was. The side of goonery? No thanks.

Poking the goon with the knife seemed to provoke an answer, just not a good one. This left Svetlana threatening to stab it into the man’s underwear. This had Sam smiling, he had never done that nor considered it.

”Oh, that doesn’t sound pleasant. I’d tell her what she wants to know. I can’t guarantee you’ll still be the same after that… I guess reconstructive surgery has come a long way. You might be fine, what’s a little loss of sensation when you can proudly tell your boss you kept your mouth shut?”

And the goon’s face paled.

”Don’t talk now, I’m curious.”

Sveta smirked a little at Travis' comments. They seemed to hit the mark, as the goon suddenly looked a lot less likely to stay quiet, and risk the family jewels.

"Look, lady, we are not the ones you want. He just... gives us these bracelets, with magic in them, to make us stronger. I don't know what his deal is with the boss." Sveta frowned, and the man hurriedly continued. "You know what he looks like, we all looked like him. His name is Joseph... something. They called him a mystic. Many... not that. Um. Multi... Multiple? Mystic?"

Sveta groaned. "Seriously?" "Hey lady I'm telling the truth! I don't make this s*** up!"

"Oh, for f*** sake." Sveta stood up, looking back at Travis. "Let's go. The boys can call dad to pick them up. Unless you want to book them?"

Threatening the man’s manhood did the trick. He spilled all the beans, or at least as many beans as he had. He didn’t strike Sam as the sharpest bulb in the box. Regardless he gave them a possible name, ‘Multiple,’ while also confirming they already knew what the guy looked like.

Done with the goon interrogation, Svetlana was ready to move on unless Sam wanted to book them.

”We can go. We took their toys away and a cell would likely be a safer place for them. I don’t think their boss’ll be too happy with what happened today.” Sam said, turning to leave before turning his head back to Svetlana and holding out a hand, ”My knife, please.”

Lucky for Sveta, the detective was not a straight-laced as he could have been. Proven by the fact that they had made a deal at all, and also currently by him not calling the cops on the many goons who were down. Shady. Sveta knew they would be better off arrested. But it was not her problem, and she did not have the bandwidth to deal with it anyway.

Travis asked for his knife, and Sveta smirked, shaking her head as she walked away, stepping over the goons.

"Ah-ah, detective. I'm not done asking questions yet. You hungry?"

Sam sighed and withdrew his hand. Svetlana was going to make things difficult. No good deed goes unpunished and saving the woman from the nine assailants was a very good deed.

It wasn’t paramount that Sam got the knife back. After so much use the blade was likely very close to depleted. Entropy would leave it merely a blade before long. It was simply easier to re-enchant the knife than to prepare another. It also meant there wasn’t an object in the world that bore his work in sigils.

”I… could use a bite.” Sam said as he followed Svetlana out. She likely assumed that she had leverage over Sam. Perhaps there was a way to use that? He’d have to see what the woman wanted first. ”What were you thinking?”

"Well, I'm not taking you back to Haven" Sveta noted, tucking the knife away into her belt. The two of them walking in, battle worn as they were, would raise a lot of eyebrows at headquarters. "I have an... apartment nearby. Fridge stocked."

It was a safehouse. Not one of the safehouses Haven regularly used; she had rented the tiny studio recently. For cases like this one. Travis did not need to know the locations of the others, if she could help it.

It was a short walk from the diner, down an alley and around a corner or two. Luckily, they did not really run into people who would have inquired why Sveta had blood on her face and tears in her clothes and gloves. She took stock as they went; she would have bruises, not nothing hurt too bad. She glanced at Travis over her shoulder. "You injured?"

”Not going to Haven is a good call. The boss walking in looking like she just got in a street fight would raise a few questions.” Sam agreed, ”A stocked fridge’ll work.”

It was clear Svetlana wanted to talk about what had happened and what was the story with Sam’s knife… and how that fit in with muting mutant powers. Doing that without prying eyes and ears was best.

Svetlana asked if Sam was injured.

Sam patted himself on the torso a few times, ”Scuffed up a little. Nothing serious. I’ve had worse from training.”

They were in agreement about the apartment. Good. The conversation was going to take some time.

>> ”Scuffed up a little. Nothing serious. I’ve had worse from training.”

"Ah" Sveta smirked, pulling some keys from her pocket and opening the back door of the apartment building. The apartment was two floors up, but she never trusted the clunky elevator, so she headed for the stairs. "And was that in detective training, or wizarding school?"

Sam rolled his eyes. ”Muy thai. They didn’t beat us up at Armadillo House.” Sam deflected with a mention of the Perry Hotter series.

On the stairs, Sam added, ”No owl is bringing me a letter, I don’t have some wand to swish and flick around. I have a magic knife. A knife that makes apprehending criminals easier.”