The standoff could've exploded at any moment.

  "Kid, we work together, and this whole thing gets cleaned up nice."

  Weaver nodded to Umbra's whispers. "But watch your strings. Your fighting style is gonna get someone hurt." He didn't care for Umbra's commentary, but an understanding passed between the two.

  "That ain't yours to take," Vanguard hissed.

  "Nope. Not yours either, it's the government's." Umbra replied.

  "You're a damn vigilante. You don't work for the government, and they hate you. Stop sucking up to them."

  "I'm sorry, we're talking now?"

  Vanguard's hands shook, and his face twisted into a smirk. "Dimitri. They ain't gonna hand it over, it seems." But that wasn't an issue for the villains. They didn't plan on a simple battle. Valkyrie wings flexed, and he launched upwards. With a slingshot upwards, Weaver followed.

  The rooftop one-on-one started with Valkyrie's dive towards Weaver. He dropped, just in time, and Valkyrie soared past him. Strings wrapped themselves around Valkyrie's legs; With a violent yank, he was slammed back against the roof.

  Each time Weaver tried to run at Valkyrie, his wings would block the attacks. Using string from both hands, Weaver spread the wings forcefully, opening the door for a headbutt. The strain on Weaver's body was immense, forcing him to let go. Valkyrie could've taken the chance to dive, but didn't. Couldn't. Both their breathing slowed.

  Four stories below them, Vanguard blocked an attack from a shadow tendril. Umbra slammed into him, taking the battle outside the vault. Vanguard slash — missed. Umbra's punch — blocked. Both their breaths were heavy, the fight was lasting longer than it should've.

  "I've been chasing you for three years. I'm gonna bring you in." Umbra's shaken voice failed to match the threat.

  "You'll be as old as me and still be struggling to take me in." Vanguard laughed.

  Umbra's left arm swung down, Vanguard's right arm shot up. Forearm met forearm with a crack. The knife in Vanguard's other hand almost ripped into Umbra's skin, but with a step back, it fell short. The ground introduced another tendril, this one wrapped around Vanguard's torso and forcing him back down ground now dyed red.

  The tendril unwrapped Vanguard and speared towards a Crimson Order goon blocking people from leaving.

  "Make no mistake," Umbra growled, walking as the tendril hovered at the lackey’s throat. "I don’t play by ‘no-kill’ rules. Last chance."

  The grunt’s rifle dropped to the ground. A nod from Umbra, and the hostages raced past him, their footsteps echoing in the empty lobby.

  Vanguard's gaze remained on the floating cocoon that followed Umbra around, still holding the Obsidiorite. "Why help Kitora out when they'll take the first chance given to arrest you?"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "I don't care what the government thinks. I care about bringing scum like you in."

  "You saved the mayor three years ago, and she still wants you locked up. You don't have many friends in high places."

  "I don't need friends. I have powers. You have weak powers and no friends in high places."

  "You'd be surprised."

  With a sudden but violent crash — Weaver and Valkyrie joined the chaos on the first floor.

  The moment of confusion is just what the villains needed. With a quick throw to Weaver's shoulder, Vanguard used his power to bring Weaver over to him. Valkyrie shot to Vanguard's side. "You're alone now, shadow child."

  Umbra's tendril twitched like an irritated snake. "All you had to do was keep him on the roof, kid."

  "He has wings! You got a better shot at fighting him with your weird long shadow limbs." Weaver shot back.

  "Doesn't matter." The tendril pointed at the cocoon. "All the cards are still in my hand."

  With a huff, Valkyrie was back in the air. Umbra, nervous at first, felt a wave of calm wash over him. He saw what Valkyrie didn't. As he dove towards Umbra, string wrapped around his body like a fly caught in a web. He was an easy target for the tendril to smack him to the ground.

  The same tendril smacked Vanguard, and Weaver escaped from his grasp. String tightened around Vanguard, and without a moment to react, he found himself tied on top of Valkyrie.

  Umbra's neck cracked as he examined himself. Bruised? Yes. But not yet taken out of the fight. His healing factor already took care of most harm; His blood had already dried. "Nice going on that trap. You okay?"

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Weaver wheezed, readjusting himself. An outsider wouldn't be able to tell that Weaver was in the fight for less time than Umbra — not with the way he looked.

  They both turned to face the cocoon that still held the glowing black crystal, the pressure growing stronger by the minute. With a knock from Umbra, the cocoon ripped open, revealing the humming and unstable Obsidiorite.

  "Any idea on what it is?" Weaver asked. Rising energy caused any remaining lights to flicker.

  "Don't know. Don't care."

  The bank was wrecked, and all it took was a glance to see that. The floor was cracked, the ceiling riddled with holes, the vault busted open, and merchandise lay in ruin. In the epicenter, the crystal’s energy pulsed stronger.

  "The point is, they were stopped. That's all that matters." The tendril shot into Umbra's back, which swallowed it with a ripple.

  "You think Kitora's gonna try to pin the rebuilding costs on us?" Weaver asked — half joking, half genuinely concerned.

  "Well-"

  BOOM!

  The explosion was catastrophic. A deafening boom swallowed the lobby in fire and dark energy. Walls crumbled, glass shattered, and a shockwave tore through everything in its path.

  "Shadow!?" Weaver shouted, but even if Umbra had answered, the ringing in his ears drowned out the world. Anything left standing in the lobby was flattened. Streetlamps outside the bank burst into sparks, car alarms screamed from blocks away, and the air was thick with dust and static.

  Weaver struggled to get to his feet, each inhale laced with ash and the taste of fire. His head spun, his balance crashed; he kept stumbling over his own feet. His eyes scanned the wreckage, desperate to find even a flicker of hope in the aftermath. A flicker of something he can cling to.

  The tendril swatted away smoke, creating a clearing for the two heroes to find each other in what was left of the broken lobby. The cocoon that once housed the crystal was gone; The string that once bound the villains was gone.

  "We lost it..." Umbra's voice, a mixture of angry dread and disappointment. "We failed."

  Weaver shook his head. "We tried!"

  Umbra's head snapped towards Weaver. "They got away. They took the crystal with them. We can try all we want, but this mess isn't over."

  Right on cue, the sound of helicopters could be heard. A lot of helicopters. Sirens joined them. Umbra couldn't help but laugh. "Just like Kitora... showing up when everything's over," Umbra said as he looked up into the ash-filled sky.

  Weaver didn't respond. He couldn't respond. His vision began to blur. His stomach turned violently. "I need to... Get out of here..."

  Umbra's tendril shot over to Weaver. It handed him something, a piece of shadow with an address written on it. "Tomorrow. There." As soon as the instruction was given, Umbra dropped into a shadow on the floor. Umbra latched his strings on a building. They were weak, but enough for him to slingshot his own escape.