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Tyler's weave is from the dollar store. That is all.

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‘The fuck did a bag of cement come from?’ Ren thought as his face was met with sack of pure solid. It was the best way he could describe it. The pain that followed afterward, that was familiar. Like smacking your face on the pavement familiar. The kid was before him, ripe for the slaughter and in his next breath, the world on its side filled his view, as his face met the actual pavement and slid across it. Ren was certain a smear of blood and flesh now graced the street.

He hadn’t signed up for any of this shit.

Andrew’s tackle was enough to free up Miles, who sprung from the ground, his breathing quick and eyes holding an air of frenzy. Could he have actually died in those moments? That man had seemed so…excited to tower over Miles. That smug sneer was something Miles had seen before.

He was gonna pay for that.

Miles bent down, flexing his legs and narrowed his eyes. He nettled with anger, but pushed past the anger and focused the security he felt from “Fitz”, his source of strength. A compilation of memories and feelings of what a loving Father would feel like; the strength and pride of it all. He mixed it with his defiance. It flooded Miles and he tapped into his Magni arts, the arms of Fitz growing around his own. He looked up just as he heard a grunt from the two entangled men.

The criminal’s hands began to glow as he finally extricated himself from the tangle and stood up, his face contorted with a swell of fury. The hunched shoulders slowly heaving was a clear indicator that things were taking a dangerous turn. The growing crackle of electric energy was just icing on top of it all. He turned to the Not-Purse-Snatcher, a grin of trite anger playing on his face.

Miles bolted forward with fervor, adrenaline sinking more spring in his steps. He dove forward, Fitz’s arms defensively crossed as the would-be bank robber let loose with an arc or electric energy for the other male. Miles intercepted the arc, deflecting it slightly. Unable to fully block or absorb the attack, the lightning wrapped around his Arms. Seeming to have a binding effect, Miles found himself unable to move as he hung in the air, fighting off the energy of the attack. And losing terribly.

’I should probably have a backup plan right about now.’

The thought--an image of him having some way to escape this-- was jutted from his mind as the spring of force from the lightning launched him back. Miles found himself sailing through the air once again this night. His Fitz-encased form sailed over Ventus, just as the second villain's eyes fluttered open.

A sharp intake was the first sound from Ventus. He jolted up as he saw the boy fly across his field of vision-- eyes wild with a confused light. He felt as if he’d been pulled from mass of darkness into full consciousness as he looked around, taking information of his surroundings. ’The heist, that’s right!’ This heist, already on an accelerated timeline. Fuck, this was the last time he’d take a job like this.

The beauty of enhanced speed is the metabolism. Of course, most party drugs required a higher dose for him, and sleeping medication could be popped like candy in his hands. But, sedatives?

“You fucking kidding me with that?” he grumbled to as he sprung to his feet. He didn’t wait for the paramedic to respond as he delivered a swift kick to his side. ”You’re pissing me off now.” However, he was slightly woozy and only just made out the kid crashing into the hood of the ambulance. He took another deep breath, trying to stave off the growing torrent of a headache. ”I’m so over this night!”

Ventus was starving, he was tired, using much more of his powers than he’d been expecting--’Fuck, Brandi was right about carb stocking today’-- and he still couldn’t accept how extra this night had been. A growl issued from him, his only way of expressing his current state. He wanted to end this ASAP. A loud clang got his attention, and he turned to the ambulance to see a girl stumble appear behind it. She was going after what appeared to be a fire extinguisher away, movements sluggish, stumbling.

For some reason, the mundane humor of the scene stood out to him, lighting the circuits of his mind and clearing the residual fog in his mind. It started processing stimuli and information at its enhanced. ’End the night. No survivors. No loose ends. Do it quickly. Hostage? Hostage!’ A grin played on his face as he focused on the girl, leaving the paramedic be for now.

Evelyn looked up as one of the bank robbers began to stare at her. Her fingers had only just closed around the extinguisher as he began to move. He was there, and before she could fully process it, he was already halfway to her, his speed building as he charged her.

Instinct guided her actions and self-preservation took growing hold as the extinguisher floated from her hands and she felt a slight brevity. A leavening of her body, telekinetic energy building in her, focused on the extinguisher as she built up energy--spinning it-- in the precious instants before the bank robber was too close for her to react to. The fire extinguisher launched from the space in between her hands, hurtling with dangerous velocity toward the speedy criminal.

Allen twitched his head slightly to the left, narrowly avoiding the now-airborne and projectile extinguisher. Another hype? That girl was obviously more than met the eye. The extinguisher flew past him, still pinning with purposeful force as it hurtled now toward his heist partner.

Ren looked broke his attention from the individual before him just in time to see the fire extinguisher. His hand jutted up, sending a quick fireball toward the canister. Fire meeting a compressed substance as it does-- with such volatility, the extinguisher exploded, creating a cloud of more confusion as the billow of smoke and foam particles even obscured Ram’s vision.

He ducked down, trying to get some visual. ’I hope that kid is alright? Ay dios mio, please.’ The explosion gave way to a temporary pause in the brawl and Ram took this opportunity to gather his thoughts. ’We gotta regroup. Channel efforts, overwhelm the heavy hitter first.’ Keeping low, he rushed to the ambulance, just as he heard a sound from the hood of the ambulance. Leaving a spiderweb array of cracks on the windshield, the boy was miraculously not dead. Hell, he even seemed to be okay. Ram reached him, just as he felt a distinct rush of wind, of someone speeding by him.

Ventus ignored Ram as he passed him. ’I’ll leave ‘em for now, and cut to the chase.’ That explosion had thrown him off, seeking cover from it initially. But he neared the girl now, his enhanced speed closing the 30 meter gap in a couple of seconds. She let out a squeal as he grabbed her, but her thrashing was no use.

“Nuh-uh,” he chided her, pinning her arms down, and rushing her to the steps of the bank.

Eve cried out in apparent terror, “Let me go!” Her limbs thrashed and the flurry of her hair was a red mess. As she reached the steps and was thrust to the ground, she glared at him, her eyes glazing over a bit. There was a loud groan that pierced the night, of a large amount of metal being moved. The ambulance a few meters away began to rise in the air a few feet as Evelyn raised her hand slowly, guiding it, causing it to narrowly miss Ram.

He darted over to the paramedic, helping him up. This night was getting severely out of hand. Where the hell was the rest of the emergency services. Quickly he ushered the male from harm.

“Are you okay?” He asked. ”Look, we must take out the fire and lightning man if we want to end this fight. The kid is going to get the other guy, I believe I saw him walk through the ambulance. They’ll try to get the speed demon. Do you have any more of those sedatives or something that we can use? I am not certain how much longer we can dodge him.”

”Oh hell no, you won’t even get the chance,” A voice said behind him, flooding him with dread.

Ren stalked forward, his hand alight with small dancing flames going down the length of his arm. They pooled together, growing and swirling in his arm as he neared the newest obstacle in him completing this heist. The girl seemed solely focused on the ambulance, much to her detriment. Ren didn’t have an abundance of patience, but he was practical. He had to be to survive his line of work. This prevented him from getting to a point of rash and bad decisions. That point had been passed near the beginning of the fight.

“Show’s over, Dollface,” Ren stated as he jutted his hand forward and a torrent of flame issued forth, enveloping Evelyn. She screamed out in shock. A loud squeaking and screeching came from the dropped ambulance. The fire dissipated, leaving a searing hole in her hospital gown, bits of charred flesh already visible and sizzling. She dropped to her knees, arms limp at the side, a weak protest issuing from her lips. Falling face first, she moved no more, a slight smolder issuing from her back.

“We’re closing the curtain on this.”

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To say he hadn’t expected his charge to work might have been taking things a little too far. After all, he’d tried it, which had to mean he at least thought there was some slim chance, no matter how slight. Still, Andrew was almost as surprised by the impact of their collision as the man with whom he collided. And this all after expending enough effort to leave him already breathless before any air could be knocked out of him. This was the third time he’d hit the ground today. The third time he cursed all the soft squishy bits of himself that seemed so easily battered. At least this time, it was voluntary… Third time’s the charm, right?

Still, ow.

He grunted as an elbow shoved itself between his ribs and couldn’t help the instinctive desire to roll off the man struggling under him. He wasn’t so much dazed as just really not wanting to move anymore. His head was freaking killing him and there were big black spots floating across his eyes. If he could just lie there for a while, he’d be good with that, seriously, just fine. But that wasn’t in the cards. Or really, common sense. You shouldn’t lie around on hard cement when things were exploding. But despite the glow above him, and the singing hum of electricity that reminded him of telephone wires, Andrew took his time pulling his arms under himself and blinking through the way his vision was swimming. He needed air and slow motion so as not to jar his head too much.

“Oh, fuck me…” It was only once he managed to raise his head, seeing a shadow between him and the light, that he realized the danger he’d been in. Looked like he and the kid were even when it came to saving each other. But why was the kid flying backwards now?

Shaking his head might have cleared it faster, but it would also have sent lovely spikes through it, so Andrew just took a few deep breaths and kept working himself upright. Slow and steady and if the guy fried him before he made it up, then he supposed… Well, he didn’t have much defense against it anyway, but he really didn’t want the guy to electrocute him. Or barbecue him. Or even singe him slightly. It just… he couldn’t move any faster.

His head was screaming and so was that little internal voice that let him know he was up to his neck in shit and liable to drown any time, but he couldn’t get an ounce more speed out of his limbs. And heaven knew, he was trying. Absolutely terrified of the position he’d put himself in and unable to escape it.

So, it was lucky for the young man that time wasn’t standing still, else the fire extinguisher would never have caused enough distraction to drag Sparky’s attention elsewhere. It almost ruined all his efforts in getting up though, making him stagger back and almost lose his balance as one hand raised to hold his head and the other reached out for some support from the air. Loud, concussive, momentarily blinding, he stumbled as well as he could to the side, so he’d at least not be where he was once the air cleared, but he still wasn’t moving fast. Or even in any particular direction.

Covering his mouth and nose with an arm and trying not to breathe even as he gasped for breath and coughed from the sting in his throat (worst situation ever), Andrew started in surprise at a hand on his shoulder and swayed when his instinctive motion to get out of reach and see who it was backfired. Thankfully, he could make out the kid’s worried expression through the extinguishing spray drifting around and was grateful for his support as they started for the steps of the bank. Mostly, just out of instinct and the hope that these two criminals were finished with the place now.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. And Andrew pushed himself forward faster when they saw the girl in Speedy’s arms. “Got any more surprises, kid?” No? But not out for the count either, well, as long as they were both still standing, they might as well try… something…

Hell of a plan, wasn’t it?

Neither of them noticed the floating ambulance or the response it elicited in their fiery tempered not-friend. Miles left him to make his own way closer to the bank, and onward Andrew hobbled, hands up, too slow to be much concern but close enough to garner some attention. Just, not… “No.” His hands dropped of their own accord when fire twisted through the air and curled its soft-sided heat against her chest, pressing close. “No… No…… Now!”

As the girl fell forward, the speedster stood shocked. Hardened criminal or not, it was a violent death too close for comfort, and that moment’s hesitation cost the man when Andrew finally found his breath, already forcing his feet to lift faster. Miles followed through perfectly, and the man was trapped between unforgiving hands for the short time it took the two to reach him, reach her. Andrew practically collapsed on him, dragging him to the ground and they sprawled there, as Miles joined Andrew, putting as much weight as they could on the man to keep him out of the running.

Still, gasping, lying on the guy’s shoulders, Andrew reached for the girl, hoping that it wasn’t as bad as it looked, that she was still alive, that if it was that bad, she wasn’t hanging on. Too much conflicting desires in his head to leave any room for the pain, at least, momentarily… “No, no, no, please. Hey. Hey?” She wasn’t answering. He couldn’t reach from his position. “The fuck you people doing?”

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Maxine cursed through staggered breath, her beating heart bouncing around in her chest as she gasped for air. She was hid behind a parked vehicle, and could feel the chill of the cool metal against the back of her head as her eyes darted anxiously around their sockets. The sounds of the battle were indistinct from another in their levels of terror; mangled together in one fearsome cacophony mere feet away from her hiding place. Something crashed into the other side of the car with sudden force, and Maxine felt her heart stop for a second that seemed eternal. But then, there was movement, and she was once again left alone. She exhaled with relief; her brow gleaming with sweat. She had to make a move. She'd only come to this fucking city to investigate the goings-on at the power plant, maybe stop a few crooks here and there. Sure, she'd chosen to embark on this journey of vigilantism, but this... The sound of metal making contact with flesh interrupted her thoughts only briefly. This wasn't what she signed up for.

Cautiously, she peered upwards; just enough to afford herself a view of the fray in the mirror of the car, without exposing her whereabouts. It was chaos. Maxine could not even begin to count how many individuals were involved, and they didn't make the task seem any easier with the wildness in which they moved and attacked one another. An ambulance nearby creaked and shuddered as it lifted off the ground, and began moving across the street-cum-battlefield. Within seconds, a blast of flame incinerated a petite figure, and though it was too far away to make out any level of detail, the way in which it slumped to the ground told Maxine that it was very much dead. The ambulance crashed to the floor with a similar sense of finality.

Enough was enough.

Spurred on by adrenaline, Maxine shot to her feet. Not pausing to consider her actions, she raised both arms above her head with an air of purpose. The car that had concealed her groaned in protest as it was lifted into the air; a lunge from Maxine's left arm sent the mass of metal hurtling towards the murderer... And, by association, those who were attempting to restrain him. None of that mattered to Maxine; all those present had caused enough damage for one evening.

Not waiting for a retaliation, a determined clenching of her fists ripped the rear doors of the ambulance from their hinges, and Maxine flicked her wrists to launch them at indiscriminate targets. She was going to get out of this alive, whatever it took.

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All he wanted was quiet, a touch of peace. Why was it so much to ask for a smooth run? Which of his ancestral gods had he pissed off this time?

’Apparently all of them. At once,’ The fist met his face again and as enraged as he was--Ren couldn’t summon his inferno. He couldn’t breathe life into this temporary mesh of electricity and fire. Something was blocking his rage, his inferno.

’Fuck this comedown,’ Ren thought. ’Fuck this weakness. But most of all,’

”Fuck." Ren spat. ”You” He heaved once more against the man against him. It was no use, he couldn’t channel his powers, his body was near spent and he felt weak on top of it all. He pushed once more, determined to upheave the bastard pinning him and was surprised when he felt a bit of give.

Ren opened his eyes just in time to see not a paramedic being thrust off of him, but one scrambling from him. Ren only needed a second to process before he heard a ’whoosh!’ of air, a familiar metallic groan, and looked up in time to see a car hurtling toward him. A dive to the side aided by a pitiful spurt of fire from his hands was all that saved him from being crushed an instant later as the metal contraption landed with a deafening crunch and screech of metal.

The throb and rush of blood to Ren’s brain briefly overshadowed the throb and rush of pain emanating from his hand. ‘Fuck that knife chucking asshole!’ He thought, almost in a mantra fashion. A strained set of eyes darted around the battlefield, searching for his target. With the little bit of time he had before he was spent out, he could make sure that Hispanic sonofabitch felt pain. But first, where did that car come from?

He dug his feet in as a wave of nausea hit him, needing a second to gather himself. ’Not now, not now, not now. Don’t lose it just yet.’ He blinked back sinus flare tears, their sting further irritating him. Soldering his resolve. The night wasn’t over, the job wasn’t complete. And unfortunately, this caliber of the heist game didn’t look kindly on botched jobs. Though Ren could feel the jolts ebbing away in his body, the tingling sensation more of a restive buzz now, he refused to relinquish this fight. ’Next time, I’m opting for some gold Apex.’ Sweat kissed his head with numbing passion and Ren tried to ignore the chill-- sat on the top of his spine-- as he jutted his hand forward.

There were the two individuals before him--now it was four. Fuck this vision! He shook his head until the blurred images of his opponents melded into just two individuals once more. ...

The tendrils of electricity were slow to start, but they etched down his arm once more and there was a tightening sensation in his stomach as the heavy smell of nickel washed through his nose.

“I swear this night could have been simple,” he pronounced through gritted teeth. The two before him were weary, he could see that at least. Cutting them down, he could deal with the ‘dunder duo’ that had taken down his partner. ’Get the box, cut the cord and disappear.’ That was all he needed to do, such simple steps. He could do it. He could do it. ’....I think.’ “But you all needed to jump into the dog ring, didntcha?”

A huff of an exhale sent resolve, determination and a little bit of snot flying from Ren’s nose as he pointed at the paramedic of the two individuals. As he set to loose an arc of energy, he noticed a girl. She stood defiantly, and the way she looked at him...well there are some things you just know in life after seeing something.

Like who probably just attempted to flatten you with 3 tonnes of metal.

Ren felt his pupils dilate and the muscles in his neck grew taut. The energy in him was building, and though it was rapidly draining him, all he could do was stare at her in disbelief for a few seconds. ”Are you...fucking kidding me? Another one!?”

His question was answered as a quick motion on her part sent a pair of objects--are those doors?--flying into the fray. The spin of one of the doors pathed it toward Ren’s general direction and used one of the last bits of his precious energy to deflect it, sending the door with a smoldering hole careening a few inches from the pair that had somehow managed to best his speedster.

At the same time he heard the distinct wail of sirens. Far off for now, but rapidly growing closer. Fuck it, he could go down with nothing left or he’d make it out of here before the pigs of Larissa showed up. There was no capture clause in his moral contract.

”Fine, new plan: you can just call me the lady killer,” Ren said. Though his voice held no joy or amusement. There was a chill behind it as tore a bit of cloth his sleeve and proceeded to wrap his hand in it. The hand was numb at this point, and he knew it was out of commission, but he was going to tough it out.

It was one of the last mistakes Ren would make that night, not running when had the chance.

He planted his feet once more--

He knew well the risks of attempting this on a good day, let alone a night like tonight.

But he disregarded that, producing a small syringe and jabbing it into his thigh. Another high for the night. Adrenaline in its simplest form. Just a boost for one last fit of rage.


Jutting out his hands, Ren let loose with two concentrated blasts of fire. Blue sparks of electricity accented them as one rocketed toward the girl and the other aimed at that knife chucking asshole.

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Unforutnately, Joseph would be met with no reply--only silence. Repeated attempts would show no avail, prompting Ram to speak up.

"The electricity from before, it must have burned out the radio." He checked around them, noting the damage. "But maybe that is for the best? How would we explain this?" The door of the bank still smoldered, though the rest of the bank was--miraculously 'or precisely?-- still in tact. The ambulance was in a state of visual shame, it's door strewn this way and that. Even a small spiderweb of cracks puctuated the ground. He turned to rest his eyes on the subdued unidentified girl. "I mean, how would you even begin to--? What the hell are you doing!?"

Ram made a start toward the small masked kid, who was now hovering over the girl, touching her forehead with...something.

"Hey kid, you have to be smart enough to know--"

First off" Miles cut him off, finally taking the time to turn his attention to this newcomer guy. "Don't call me kid, I barely let the Not-purse-snatcher over there call me that and I don't like you half as much as him." Miles gave a large shrug before continuing on. "And secondly, I can bet ya I am smart enough. Smart enough to have learned her name is Maxine and she's scared more than anything. She's fine, just unconscious for now. I'm going to guide her to slumber."

Miles took a deep breath, working to block the night from his mind, to think of the present moment--'actually being alive'--and onward. Hope. The feeling of hope, with tomorrows and seasons and years to look forward to. Hope is what he tapped into to expend more of his magic energy. The ringing in his ears, swim of his sight and sting to his eyes all increased momentarily as he brought the Vis to the forefront and finished his incantation on Maxine.

Warmth, followed by light, left his hands, a gentle pulse of magenta that was absorbed into the symbols Miles had drawn on her forehead. The symbols radiated a flash of sharp light for the briefest instant before fading from her skin. Without the streetlights on, the flash seemed quite brilliant.

Miles looked to the newcomer guy and the paramedic. "There, she'll be fine now."

Ram contined his trek forward, his brows squashed against each other, examining the girl. "What did you do to her?" That flash of light, those marks? What had that been from this kid?

"Don't worry, I just guided her to slumbler with an incantation," Miles shrugged as though this were mundane. "She was unconscious, which made it easier to put her in a magically induced slumber. It's restful and this way she won't wake unexpectedly," he twirled his index finger in the air, "only at my say-so...well at least until the magic runs out in 48 hours."

Before Ram had a chance to question or respond there was a grunt and a strained yell behind him.

Time was all that Ventus had needed to once gain drift back to a state where he could break free. The dutiful efforts of Andrew were quickly bested as Allen Ventus extricated himself swiftly. This night had taken a turn for the worse and even he could now see Ren had gone too far.

'I knew I shouldn't have shot up with him. Thank God I didn't.'

None of the prep for this heist covered what to do in this contingency plan. 'Some Hype hero gang, a drugged up ops lead, and sirens approaching,' Ventus thought as took a moment to breathe. It was almost enticing for Allen to simply lie back down and accept his fate at the hands of police force. He feared the Pigs of Larissa much less than he feared them. Allen also had no idea how He would react to how this night went.

He wasn't back up to full snuff though. His stomach grumbled with more ferocity than usual and his mouth felt like particle board. It would take his body a moment to kick back into gear.

'But, I've still got the container, out of everything else,' Allen thought, touching the pouch he had tucked it into. Their prime objective, and the reason this heist had been labled "By Any Means Necessary". The payout they were supposed to collect also reflected its importance...

"So, I guess I'm about my money over everything else," Ventus muttered, making his decision. "Sorry folks, better luck next time if we ever--"

Ventus' grand exit speech was truncated by the sudden appearance of a syringe in the side of his neck. In his prime, he would have seen it coming with ease. It would have been a laughable attempt, a desperate play. But Allen Ventus, with his hindered reaction time, didn't notice Ram upon him, pressing the remainder of the syring down into the bank robbers neck.

"Yeah, better luck next time," Ram told him as the male slumped in his arms. He turned to the medic, "So, this may be pushing it, but would you happen to have something to keep him down?"

"Oh! I've got something for that too!" Miles perked up, bounding over to him and producing two slips of paper. "Forget-Me-Now slips!" Miles didn't bother to explain, slapping one on the bank robbers forehead. "Lemme hold that knife," he was already taking the knife from Ram's hand before the older male could find it in him to strongly object, transfixed by the kid's process. His sureness.

Ram moved to stop him when he saw the younger male make a small cut on his own hand, but was quickly shushed. The blood dropped on to the paper, followed by another flash of light leaving the paper to crumble with the wind. Ram accepted his knife back while the kid spoke to him.

"Just go and do that with this" he gingerly handed Ram the second slip of paper, it smelled faintly of herbs and habbedashery scents. Printed on it, in what looked to be old ink, was an intricate symbol -- or symbols. Ram couldn't make much sense of it. And put it on him." Ram followed the kids slow pointing finger to the last villain. "I'll be right back, you got it?"

Miles took off without waiting for an answer, giving himself a small chuckle. He hoped his talking down to the newcomer guy had come across enough. Proper belittling sarcasm was essential in a power play. Miles came up to Andrew, helping his new friend to his feet.

"You okay, big guy?" He asked him, trying to dust off his coat a little. He'd seen the speedster land a few hits in before fully freeing himself, as Andrew had put up a fight. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you by yourself, I thought I could help those other guys out and I hope you're okay. But dude...you gotta teach me that running through ambulances trick!"

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Miraculously--and there was no other way to describe it-- Ren was unconscious as Ram neared him.

Ram looked at the would-be bankrobber, narrowing his vision to discern any deception. At close quarters this man was something more than deadly. Ram wouldn't risk it, he looked up toward the amublance.

"Hey since the radio isn't working, would you help me here?," he motioned for the medic to come over. "I want to make sure this one doesn't pounce on me when I get near." Ram waved the slip of paper for emphasis "He seems to be out though..."

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He was done.

Absolutely finished.

Had enough of this shit.

Whatever was going on, and there had to be more than just exploding doors and making a mess of the street, Andrew couldn’t help feeling a bit like some of it was his fault. Not a lot, definitely not all, but the kid had been right to call him out on trying to save the criminals, even if he hadn’t known they were criminals until after they’d started throwing fireballs at him. In retrospect, it should have been obvious, what with the fact that they’d been the only two people not cowering in very rational and smart fear over the giant smoking hole in the bank doors.

Right. How had he missed that?

If he hadn’t spoken up, maybe no one would have been pulled into this… firefight. Stupid, really. When scary things happened, you were supposed to cower in a corner and keep your mouth shut, right? Maybe cover your ears and eyes and not call the wrath of whatever the hell that was, Zeus? down on you. Seriously, wrong move.

Watching a faint line of smoke curl up from the girl’s back as though her soul was visibly escaping her body, Andrew was momentarily blind and deaf to all else. He just lay on top of the man they’d tackled, pinning him with inexpert hands, and tasted bitter smoke on his tongue, caught the sweet sting of burnt and blistered flesh. His ears were ringing, but her scream still echoed between them. She was dead.

Definitively not alive.

Yet he stared at her in terrified fascination, waiting for her back to rise with a strained gasp. To shake and curl with the convulsions of someone remembering how to breathe. She was dead. But she shouldn’t have been.

And part of him couldn’t believe it.

He didn’t have time to be wrestling with reality just then. And a careening door briefly cutting off his view of her as it skidded and bounced, spraying sparks, between them, was a very apt reminder that the fight wasn’t finished, even if he was too tired to deal with it. He flinched, heard the curse beneath him and felt the kid shifting beside him and finally managed to turn his head, though the temptation to keep staring remained.

What he saw didn’t look promising. The other guy was still standing, someone else had joined the fray, and he wasn’t sure whose side she was on. But the driver and the knife thrower were keeping Sparky’s attention, and—when had the kid snuck off?—his newest friend was using that to his advantage, though what any of them planned to do once he got close enough, Andrew didn’t know.

And he wasn’t going to be any help either, as the guy beneath him finally caught his breath and started squirming, not much, but enough that he had to shift focus, force his hands to hold on and try to keep his weight centred squarely on top of him. His head hurt. His face was throbbing with every slow beat of his heart. He needed more air himself and there was apparently more skill involved in pinning someone than flop on them and hope they couldn’t lift you. But at least he wasn’t the only one running on almost empty and for a few minutes, it seemed like he’d won.

Then he let himself get distracted trying to figure out when and how the tables had turned so thoroughly with the two would-be fighters, or at least, one robber and one confused lady, now lying on the ground and the ambulance driver dealing with someone who’d apparently been in the ambulance when it started floating. Turned out, good timing was all it took to get out of his hold. He shouted as the guy heaved up beneath him. But a well-placed elbow plowing into his chest finished the job without fuss. Probably aiming for his stomach, so not actually well-aimed, but it hit his pacemaker and he could feel the jolt running through the wires. It was the finishing touch that put him out of the running for good.

And though a few more elbows—he didn’t know where the guy was growing them out of—jabbed at him, he was already rolling off him, helped along by the slant of his back.

He stayed down as the speedster gathered himself, coughing weakly and wincing every time, with one hand over the implant, silently cursing the damn thing. It wasn’t even working! At least no one wanted him to do anything else, and when the escape proved short-lived, and the hurt eased off, he slumped limp on the ground and considered never moving again, ever. Maybe cutting his head in half and only keeping the nice, quiet half, too.

When he opened his eyes a few minutes later, it was to the unwelcome sight of a helping hand and the unapologetically tired but somehow still peppy voice of the kid whose name he didn’t know. Apparently, sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk wasn’t in the cards for him tonight, which was a pity, really, the cement was pretty comfortable. But yeah, fine, no.

Common-sense won out, annoyingly enough, and since it might not be offered a second time, he accepted the help onto his feet. Slowly. With as little movement and effort as possible. He didn’t feel so great.

“Yeah no, I shoulda-should’ve-“ Should have stayed on the ground. The world skewed fantastically when he was finally standing, and Andrew swayed blearily through the dizzying onslaught, trying to hold his head together with one hand and his stomach down with the other. Just the thought of trying to ghost through anything right then had it heaving. “Watch yo-urgh” He meant to say shoes, but he didn’t talk fast enough, body taking the opportunity his open mouth offered to bend him forward and heave. There wasn’t much in his stomach, but what remained of his dinner left it then and there.

---

---

---

---

The sirens seemed as if they were getting closer and Miles couldn’t willfully ignore them anymore, glancing in the direction of their sound every few seconds. But he looked down it shoes and paled.

”Awwwwwww c’mon dude! My mom’s gonna kill me!” Miles wailed. He jumped back and kicked his feet around, resisting the urge to return the gesture. Though the smell made it hard.

”Um...so guys, any idea on how we’re getting everyone out of here?” He asked.
-
Ram looked up from his work with the final villain, flexing his hand. Both were out of commission for the moment now. ”He’s right, I think” the painstaking hours he’d spent combing through headlines and town meetings to find out what was bothering the ‘good people of Larissa’ flooded his mind. Images rife with hate speech, declarations of abomination, slander and all around curses. All centered on Hypes. ”I don’t think we will be able to explain all of this and be heard fairly. People are scared right now in this city, and we’ve got the makings of media scapegoats.”

”Might I suggest a solution to your current predicament?”

Ram turned, poised for another enemy--he cursed not being prepared for tonight--but was met with a female figure sporting a modern white biker outfit. She stepped from the shadows of the building the kid and other male had come from earlier. Her head was covered by a motorcycle helmet, but a cool voice could be heard. ”Your time is limited and your options even more-so.”

Ram’s eyes weren’t seeing with their usual clarity from so much strain tonight, but the woman’s body looked fine. However, the voice was...detached, in a sense. He couldn’t place it. ”How do we know we can trust you?” 'Woah,' when had this become a “we” occasion? But Ram took a quick huff, squaring himself and taking a step forward, proffering an answer from her with his hand.
-
The woman turned her mask in Miles’ and the medics direction, addressing each in turn. “If you would like Maxine and Travis to survive the night safely, you will follow me.” Miles could see the new guy bristle at being ignored, ”And Andrew,” she said suddenly, mid-turn. ”If you wish a safe place to monitor your condition, you will follow me.” And with that, the woman was engulfed by she shadow of the buildings double doors.

Miles turned to the group, ”I don’t think we have too much of a choice. I mean...you know how cops look at us, and I know you and Mr.Paramedic are one of us,” he pointed at the two in turn, ”I just can’t tell how yet. But if they show up...I’m scared I might not make it home. But…” His voice receded to a cracked whisper and he looked back to the steps of the bank. The body.
-
’The girl,’ Ram thought. The woman had made no mention of her.

”We had nothing to do with that,” Ram’s voice was lower with a soft intent. He himself paused, chewing on his lip painfully for a moment. This didn't feel entirely right, but what could they do? ”I don’t think there’s anything to be done for her by us, so you're right. There's not much of a choice. We have to leave.” He looked to the building again. What else could they do, but enter that dark void, accompanied by mysterious a white light?



Detective Diamond casually swerved to get over to the exit lane, narrowly cutting off a civilian car behind her. She shrugged, noting no scraping metal or overturned vehicles and continued on her exit. She’d been meaning to start her vacation the day after the rolling debacle with the Michael’s power plant--but of course…

’Larissa always has other plans,’ she thought to herself slowing her vehicle in the presence of the blockade of cop cars already on the scene. Their lights flashed with their usual intensity but without the sirens, the entire scene stood muted in their vibrant flashes. The eerie silence of this sector of the city (especially in the wake of the power outage) didn’t aid in the matter.

Detective Laura Diamond’s strides were long as she signaled to the officer nearest her upon exiting her vehicle. He hurried over, meeting the police line tape in time to lift it for her.

”Alright then,” Diamond surveyed the scene, trying to take in it’s bizarre appearance. The vague haze of smoke still hung in the air, slightly acrid in its wafts of burnt metal and the unmistakable scent of Ozone. ”I’m sure you want to get home, I’ve got a set of twins at home expecting to be in Disney World about hmm…” she checked her watch ”56 hours ago. Let’s see if we can make this quick. Whatcha got for me?”

The young officer threw a pep in his step, catching up to the redhead detective, who was already approaching the bank doors--or what was left of them at least. ”Um-uh...weell, it’s a thick situation, yeahyaknow?” he began. Laura heard the quiver in his voice and rolled her eyes. 15 years on the force and her patience for baby officer’s was slightly nonexistent. She turned to him, raised eyebrow evident, and waited. He stammered forward, ”Um-uh yeah! So, first responders on the scene about thirty minutes ago, give or take, yeahyaknow?”

Diamond nodded her head, trying to discern some of the markings on the steps of the bank. The scuffs and scratches. What kind of weapons were involved? Or maybe this had been the work of Hypes.

”Responders weren’t even responding to a call in the area. Didn’t even know nothing was over here,” the baby faced officer told her. He scratched his head, “Just trying to shortcut through the sector when they saw well…this.” The hunch of his shoulders told Diamond he didn’t know what to make of the scene either.

”This area was marked lower priority, right?” Diamond asked, her mind already working. ”And why is it so dark here?”

”Yeah, this sector and a couple others we marked lower priority while the city was a state of emergency, cuz most buildings here had their own security independent of the grid,” the officer told her. ”Not that it did them much good, yeahyaknow? The lights, well that’s one of the odd things. Power’s back on in this area as well, another reason why patrol has been lax in the area. Reports say power went out in the area around 2100 hours. But even with power restored, some of lights won’t come back on. They’re fried yeahyouknow?”

“And I’m willing to bet we’ve got no camera footage? Not even from the bank?,” Laura asked, pointing to the cameras on opposite corners of the building. The more this case opened up, the less she liked the amount of work it looked like she would have to do. And they were only five minutes in.

”Not even a frame,” The baby faced officer informed her. ”Even those bad boys, on their own power, got meddled with. Feed’s been looped.”

Detective Diamond cursed to herself, giving a full sweep around her. No one called it in, which means they likely wouldn’t have any eye witnesses. Nothing in terms of how this all started or played out. The crime scene didn’t tell her much either. The more she looked at it, the more it confused her. With a sigh, she waved her hand toward the center of the scene. ”What’ve we got on the original first responders here. Tell me about the junked ambulance over there.” In the center of the street, amidst twisted metal and strewn medical supplies and debris, stood an ambulance significantly worse for wear. Three of its wheels bent outward and numerous dents along with an impressively cracked--but in tact--window shield, Diamond knew there was a story there.

There was a slight pause from the officer. “We….don’t know actually. None of the ambulances had routes or calls in this area and most of their filing systems aren’t back online yet. As for the ambulance, it’s like someone picked up and tossed it around. Some of the boys and myself are guessing Hype work.”

”Well,” Diamond started, now studying the back of the vehicle closely. ”I’d say that’s probably the most apt guess you’ve had all day, Baby Face.” She righted herself as he opened his mouth to protest, but she continued talking. ”I mean, look at this thing. The doors have been ripped clean off.” She eyed the inside of the vehicle, sticking her hands in the pocket of her overcoat. Her fingers met a plastic object. Pulling it out she saw it was another Mavericks action figure one of her boys had put in her jacket, giving it an eyeroll.

”I just hope there wasn’t a patient in here, yeahyaknow?”

Laura Diamond groaned and rolled her eyes again, walking briskly to some of the other officers, Baby Face in tow. “Look Baby Face, obviously we hope there wasn’t a patient in there. But since we don’t know that for sure, I need you to round up these boys and get me some substantial intel to chew of instead of these breadcrumbs, do I make myself clear?” He nodded his head, turning to hurry off and parrot her message no doubt. But she caught him by the collar. ”Oh, and if I hear you say ‘yeahyaknow’ one more time, I’m going to use this action figure on you in a way that is not suitable for children. Got it?”

He stammered a yes before hurrying off and Laura was left massaging her temples. ”Can someone please give me some type of news I can go off of?” She laid eyes on a pair of officers standing next to the second, functioning ambulance on the scene. They seemed to be finishing up their reports on the two bodies lying on gurneys. ”You two,” her words came out a bit sharper than she meant and there was a jostle among the pair as they looked in her direction. Diamond cleared her throat and ducked her head down apologetically, coming closer to them. These especially brutal hours, the recent stress and now this -- a blatant attack on one of Larissa’s city landmarks. It was all wearing on her. ”I mean, officer’s, how goes it?” As she got closer, Diamond saw handcuffs chained to both gurneys. Her eyes widened and she met both officer’s gazes again. ”Waitasec, these aren’t bodies? But, from the cuffs, I’d bet these aren’t witnesses.” A quick once over--’Combat boots. Those jackets have a ballistic weave to them. They’re both wearing gloves…’-- told her all she needed. ”The bank robbers, I see?.”

”Attempted bank robbers,” The shorter of the two officers told her. He signed a form brought to him by a medic before looking at Laura and offering his hand with a “Officer Berns” to introduce himself, before continuing on. ”The men had nothing on them. No bags, no jewelry, valuables. Nothing,” he shrugged.

”So we’re suspecting at least a third member of the crew?” Laura guessed

”Detective,” Berns gave a heavy sigh. She knew that sigh. That was the sigh of an officer who knew a convoluted case when he saw one. Laura knew what was coming next. ”We don’t even know, to be honest. Evidence isn’t giving us much, prints are turning up nada and we don’t have any witnesses or hard visuals to start from. The footprints we were able to get from the extinguisher residue on the ground puts at least five or six different individuals on the scene.”

Diamond followed his gaze toward a spot where it looked like someone had spattered an entire fire extinguisher in the midst of the road. Scuffs and marks checkered the foamy substance. ”What…?”

”And get this,” Berns told her in a hushed voice, heading back to the gurneys. ”If the reports on those shoe prints are correct, there coulda been a kid involved in this.”

”Fuuuuuuck,” Diamond let out.

”However, we did find this on one of the perps,” the officer produced a small vial and syringe combo held in a plastic baggie. ”You’re a detective, so I betcha can guess what this might be.”

Laura took the bag, eyeing the tiny vival and breathed out the world ”Ichor”. There was almost a sort of reverence to her tone. Ichor, the new drug that’d been making its way onto the streets. Known unofficially as the “Hype Drug”, the D.E.A. had been trying to get their hands on a sample of the stuff for months, to no avail. ”So, we can almost be certain these guys are Hypes.”

Berns nodded and Laura addressed the second officer. He examined one of the perps, though his focus didn’t seem quite there. ”Whatcha got?”. The officer gave a surprised look, stammering and looking around for a couple of seconds. ”Well?”

”Yes, of course,” he responded hurriedly, Nodding focusing on the perp again. He leaned in and clicked on light of his pen sized flashlight, examining the man’s eye. ”Both of them are sedated, but we aren’t sure why.” Laura leaned in with him, getting a good look at the man. This one seemed to be older of the two and his face, even sedated, seemed intense.

”Isn’t that the new protocol being put into place for insubordinate and dangerous Hypes?” Diamond asked.

”Yes,” Berns cut in, ”but the first ones on the scene found the men in this state. Someone else did this.”

The second officer produced a chart, showing their heart rates. He leaned in, showing it to Detective Diamond. ”The effects are wearing off, so we have sedatives at the ready.”

”So, we’ve potentially got a criminal on the loose, with stolen goods? And there’s a chance that he or she may have turned on the rest of the group, and let’s throw in a minor to add something spicy to it huh?” Detective Diamond rolled her eyes, following it up with an exaggerated groan. ”But hey, at least we smell good and have sedatives, right?”

She waved off his stammering, ”Already sedated…” She paused and graced each perp with a detailed look. ’That hand--that wound. Scrapes, scuffs. Dried blood, fresher blood.’ ”Berns!” Once again, that shrill tone crept into her voice and she chided herself. ”I think we might have a situation on our hands. Those marks and dings on them, those are signs of a fight. So either we’ve got a rogue or we’ve got someone doing our work for us.” She eyed him for a moment and let the words hang.

A slump met Officer Berns’ shoulders as he began to speak. ”Oh God, you’re talking--”

”NooO,” Diamond cut him off, playing with the pitch of her voice to add emphasis. ”I’m not and neither are you, and we’re both going to think it, pray that it isn’t it, but we will keep an eye on it.” Laura looked around her, noting their relative space from others on the crime scene. ”I only say this so you can keep me informed if you see anything suspicious, okay? You know how to get in touch with me,” she told him with a parting shoulder pat and moved on.

Diamond turned back once more, speaking to the second officer. ”God, that fragrance does smell good. Good enough, I think my husband would actually use this if I got it for him. Where’d you get it?”

The second officer began to stammer before she waved him off once again. ”Oh never mind, I’ll just ask my secretary. He's got a knack for that stuff” And she made over to the Medical Examiners.

”Alright guys, what’s the news and body count? Tell me something good,” she announced as she came up to some familiar fied faces: Kazinsky and Rosch.

”Great news: there aren’t any,” Kazinsky replied with a shrug. ”We’re semi just hanging around right now, not gunnalie.”

”Y’know, for once,” Diamond told him, leaning against their vehicle, ”hearing you got to be lazy makes me feel good.”



”So what now?” Miles asked, looking before him. The young hero and the rest of the unlikely group from that night stood in the basement of that Nondescript building across from Larissa City Bank. After collectively (some, begrudgingly) making the decision to follow the mysterious woman, the group found themselves standing before an offshoot door in the spacious yet low setting basement of that Nondescript building. A section of metal shelf had already been moved and the biker woman shone a green light from her wrist on the wall. The silhouette of a rectangle appeared in the wall, glowing brilliantly before it died down to a gently pulsing array of lines interwove at angular intervals--a spiderweb of them all making the framework of a door.

”Woah,” he breathed.

”After the Mavericks,” the woman began as the space in between the network of lines -- that used to just be brick -- now began to depict a warping and swirling green mass. ”There were others who tried to take the mantle of hero. None held the same weight the Mavericks did, but there were gems in the darkness. A duo of heroes came up during the turn of the century: Archimedes and Jackal. They held approximately an 18 month run before Jackal disappeared. Three months later, Archimedes disappeared as well. The interesting thing to note about the pair was Archimedes’ method for traveling the city. A brilliant mind and Hype, he used his ability to steal plans from Michael’s industry. With it, he built a network spanning the entirety of Larissa in a pattern only known to him at the time. The beauty of this network is that none of the entrances to it lead you directly to the tunnels.”

Miles shook his head in an exaggerated fashion. ”How does that even work? Is this a riddle? Are you the Greek guide to our final challenge before we can finally go home and get some sleep? A huff left his nostrils and he folded his arms.

The woman didn’t answer him, but instead, held up her wrist, prompting a gentle tone to sound. A light flashed, situated at the top of the doorframe and the space in between its borders--once normal concrete--began to shift and warp, swirling into itself it became a light blue swirling mass, contained within the doorframe.

”Short range teleportation and a constantly shifting algorithm that randomizes which adjoining Door this one will link to,” the woman told them, as if she’d just reported the sunrise and sunset times for the week. It was followed by an equally level announcement of “Gentlemen: welcome to the Labyrinth.”



What followed next, Ram wasn’t aptly certain how to describe. All he remembered was a whoop of joy from the kid, a brief explanation from the woman, warning them to “make sure you are a maximum of 4 seconds behind me.” At that point, she’d waved her arm again, showing a metallic bracelet that pulsed with a blue light in its center. From her explanation, Ram understood the signal to the door would only last for 4 seconds after the recevier passed through it.

But he was still gawking at the aspect of teleportation. How had one man built an entire network of tunnels---well, perhaps portals was the better word--around the entirety of a city? ’With no one noticing?’

But he ran through. Namely because the kid had barrelled through the portal after the woman with one final exclamation of joy--’Seriously, how did he have energy still?’--but there was also a draw. Something he felt he could see and pick up. This talk of destiny, fate, heroes and dreams. It called to him on a level he veered from delving too deeply in.

Instead, he just decided to follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole.

The best way he could describe it was walking through a frigid amalgamation of water vapor and gel. An instant of feeling like he was being pulled back and all of a sudden, a wave of darkness. Rapid blinks and he could see again, but the smell that met his nose wouldn’t leave. Layers of a light stench and sharp odor of must seemed to fill his entire body.

They now stood in the middle of a tunnel, a light trickling of water running its center. The curvature of the tunnel, the smell and the old brick told him they were underground. At the far end of the tunnel, a football fields length away, he could make out another door. This one seemed permanently set into the all, a black metal frame and white light shone from it--unlike the swirling mass of blue that…

He turned to look behind him, but found himself flailing his arms to find a door that was no longer there. ’Didn’t we just?..’ However, the woman was already walking again.

”Direct routes to this location aren’t common through the Doors,” she explained as if that was all she needed to explain. ”They require more energy and time.” She neared the black metal door.

”By the way,” the kid who led the group behind the biker woman, turned to them all ”I guess I’ll just go ahead and say it--I’m Miles.” He took off his mask and hood, revealing a smiling face. ”I figured--well, we’ve already saved each other’s lives tonight, might as well know who we’re thanking the universe for.” He shrugged and turned, adding ”All forms of payment accepted, make all checks payable to PsycheOut Inc. I also accept precious jewels!.”

He looked around, and gave everyone a gentle wave--as well as he could while carrying Maxine--and smiled “Ram, short for Hiram, it’s good to put a name to the mighty hero,” he told Miles playfully.

The visual suddenly struck Ram as they neared the door--a door of light, set inside an underground tunnel of darkness. An angel -- or devil, guarding the door. Such a beautiful motif.

”But once you get to this tunnel, you’ll have no further to travel.” The woman continued her speech, almost as if completely heedless of their transpired conversation.

”Travel for--”

”And the entrance here will be the same as the Doors. Just a bracelet, and your admission is granted.” She raised her wrist and gestured to the door once more, beckoning them entrance. ”The decision will be difficult to make, but it is our hope that you whatever choice you make will be done with a clear mind.”

”We? Who is we? Mamacita, you need to start explaining and quickly.” He bristled at this new twist. This night was already long enough, what else did they have to put up with?

But the woman offered no answer, only proffered her hand toward the door of light. Ram eyed her before stepping into the light, feeling he had no choice.

There was a gentle hum he heard as he stepped into a small antechamber, leading to a larger room. It was dark, but he could see one section of the room was all windows, revealing a brilliant night and vibrant moon.

He looked around to find the source of the sound--expecting some machine or technology-- unable to make out many more details of the room. It was large and there was a circular indentation in the middle of the floor. The kid stood there, looking at the view, seeming heedless of the hum. The others followed in tow, a range of expressions playing on their face.

”Hello,” A voice spoke. He spun to meet the source, but found no one new in the room. However, the voice didn’t care, and persisted anyway. He turned, trying to find its source yet again. He noticed now the dark paneled floor leading up to the circular indentation which seemed to some type of metal. The room was rather large, and Ram got the impression it had been someone home at one point--it had the feel of being deliberately built for comfort, but also something else he couldn’t identify just yet.

”I apologize for the events thus far. Especially those bringing you here,” the voice continued. “However, it seemed the safest way to do so.”

Light bathed Ram and he turned to see one of the windows now lit up with a face on it. Well, a geometric array of light blue lines that formed a female face. Its lips moved in time with the voice. “And I do apologize for Kat. She’s a prototype I’ve been working and I haven’t fully programmed her functions yet. She’s only set to perform minimal and specific tasks--no artificial intelligence.”

Ram didn’t have a chance to question what she meant before the face disappeared from the window screen and a blue light shone above, bringing with a holographic array of pixels that fell into the shape of a woman. As the pixels finished their form, the head looked up, the same face from before.

”I’ve been so rude without introductions. Hello,” she said with a slight wave, ”I’m Glitch.”