“Frank, pull over at the gas station,” I said, gesturing to the small building with metal bars on the windows, two scuffed gas pumps, and a group of guys smoking outside.

  “You sure? We already have a full tank, I filled it up last night.”

  “I didn’t eat breakfast, so I’m hoping they have something decent here. Want me to get you anything?”

  “No thank you,” his face soured. “I’ve seen what gas station sushi does to a person.”

  “Your loss,” I chuckled while we pulled into the parking lot.

  As I walked into the gas station, I noticed that the guys out front were harshly whispering to each other. Thankfully, whatever they were pissed about had nothing to do with me. My eyes scanned over the interior of the decrepit gas station, checking out the pathetic half-stocked shelves.

  But standing out like a cold sore on a lip was a giant of a woman. She had flowing purple hair, alongside being barely covered by a maroon crop top. Her tan skin seemed to mix with the light, nearly turning orange.

  Felicity noticed me as I approached, planning to strike up a friendly conversation. But before I could say anything, her hand shot out. She smacked me in the face, knocking my head so far to the side that I could no longer see her.

  “Ow, what the fuck, Felicity?” I asked, turning back in confusion.

  “Don’t give me that shit. You did not mention just how you were going to kill those guys. I had to stay up all night, and we’re still scrubbing chunks of man out of the carpet.”

  “Just saying, deciding to have a carpet in a strip club is not on me.”

  She smacked me again.

  “Okay, damn, I’m sorry,” even if her slaps didn’t do any damage, they still stung. “Things got really out of hand for me. Give me your number, and text me how much more you need for the cleaning.”

  While she typed her number into my phone, she looked up at me. “So, you’re the one fighting the Disciples. It was Taker, right?”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, the two gentlemen you killed last night were bragging about joining the Disciples of Agony. And I remember hearing about a dangerous super that’s wanted by the Disciples. Doesn’t take anything special to connect the dots.”

  “Yeah, I’m the one they want.” My hand slowly moved to my side, where my gun was. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “Just warning you to be more discreet,” she handed back my phone. “If it wasn’t for how much you’ve given me, I might be desperate enough to turn you in.”

  “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.” I pulled my hand back.

  We both reached the counter at the same time. Felicity had grabbed a pack of cigarettes and half a dozen swiss rolls. While she was sliding her items through the opening in the bullet proof glass, I put down my bag of lukewarm fried chicken.

  “Wait for your turn, buddy,” the cashier said through the glass barrier.

  I tossed a hundred dollar bill through the gap. “Don’t worry, I’m paying for both of us.”

  Felicity raised an eyebrow at me, but she didn’t argue. I led us out of the shitty gas station, hoping to stay on her good side. Considering just how popular The Crab Factory was, it wouldn’t hurt to have a friend that could listen in on interesting conversations.

  “Look at you, Mr. Moneybags,” she teased. “Maybe I should let you treat me to dinner. You’ll need to shave that stubble first, though.”

  “I wouldn’t mind taking you somewhere fancy, we could dress up and go to McDonalds. Don’t think about looking past the dollar menu, though.”

  She lightly slapped my shoulder. “Didn’t realize you were carrying McDonald’s money, now that’s a man that can provide.”

  While we were joking, I noticed someone approaching her from behind. The man reached his hand out, but right as he was about to make contact, I pulled her away from his grasp. She stumbled from the sudden pull, forcing me to catch her.

  I ignored her confused gasp as I stared at the guy who was about to put his hands on her. He was one of the guys who were smoking out front. The rest of his group was walking up to us, quickly closing the distance. From what I could see, there were five of them.

  “Why did you just try to put your hands on her? And think your answer through, because you only get one.”

  “Stay out of this, man. It isn’t any of your business,” the smoker said, his gaggle of shitheads now behind him.

  I helped Felicity to her feet, and she was about to say something before I interrupted her. I rushed forward and swung, smashing my fist against his jaw. The man spun around, stumbling before he fell to the ground.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The rest of the group began shouting, and I saw most of them raise up their fists. But in the back, one of the guys pulled out a knife. I had really hoped that I didn’t need to drag this out, but it was clear that a fight would be happening.

  Even though I’d been toughening up over the past month, I still wasn’t strong enough to quickly take out five guys. And if I used my gun, it could draw too much attention, especially with Superheroes patrolling Villain Territory.

  But that didn’t matter, as I heard the crackle of electricity come from my right side. I turned, half expecting to see Surge standing there. Instead, it was Felicity, who lunged forward, jamming a taser into the throat of the nearest man.

  Most of the group took a few steps back as she waved the taser at them, leaving their friends on the ground. Only one of them remained facing us, the man holding a knife. He held it out, as if a single knife was supposed to be intimidating.

  “Oi, Backhand knows that you’re here, so drop your weapon. If you don’t, I’ll slice up you and your mate. It doesn’t matter if I hurt the product, since we can always patch you up later,” He sneered at her.

  “Hey,” Felicity gave me a worried glance. “You should get going. I can handle this on my own.”

  I needed to keep a low cover, especially if these were henchmen working for another Supervillain. Things would only get worse if I got involved, giving us another enemy to deal with. But how could I just leave her on her own? But before I could make my decision, Frank made it for me.

  I hadn’t noticed that Frank had gotten out of the car, let alone that he was silently making his way to us. He closed in on the armed henchman, shoving the muzzle of a rifle against the side of the man’s head.

  “Drop the knife,” Frank ordered.

  The guy hesitated, and Frank cocked the gun in response. I wasn’t certain if Frank would’ve taken the shot, but it didn’t matter. The henchman threw his knife to the ground, and he slinked back to the rest of his group.

  Frank aimed the rifle at them. “Now get out of here before I do something we’ll both regret.”

  The guys grumbled, flicking their cigarettes to the ground. They stomped off, leaving their fellow henchmen lying unconscious on the ground. After they crawled into a beater car and sped off, Frank turned back to us.

  “Are you okay, Taker? Were they working with the Disciples?” Frank asked. While he talked, his eyes briefly glanced over at Felicity.

  “Don’t worry, Frank, we’re okay. They were just some nobodies who had an issue with Felicity.” I gestured towards Frank. “Felicity, this is my good friend, Frank.”

  “Oh, uh, nice to meet you,” Frank extended his hand.

  “Sorry, honey, I don’t shake,” She said. “But thank you kindly for your help.”

  “Don’t worry about it, that’s my job. Not pointing guns at people, I don’t just go around doing that. Well, I try not to do that. If the situation calls for it, then I go pointing guns at people,” Frank stammered out.

  “Well, I’m happy that this situation called for your help,” she chuckled.

  “Alright, we need to get going before backup arrives,” I interrupted them. “Do you need a ride, Felicity?”

  “I drove here, so I have my own way home. I hope you two stay safe out there.” she smiled.

  The three of us went our separate ways after that, heading out before any more problems could arrive. Frank didn’t say anything to me as we drove away, letting me eat my mediocre chicken in peace.

  But once I finished my food, he turned down the jazz. There was only the sound of the road beneath us, filled with cracks and potholes. I waited for a few minutes, quietly cleaning off my hands, expecting him to say something. Right as I moved my hand to the volume on the stereo, he bleated something out.

  “Are you dating her?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Felicity, the girl you were with. Is she a girl that you’re dating?”

  “Don’t say that like I have a harem or something. But no, I’m not dating her, we’ve only met a few times before. What’re you asking for?”

  “Well, I just thought that there was a vibe between me and her.”

  “So what, you want to go on a date with her or something?”

  “I mean,” his eyes were laser-focused on the road. “If that was something she wanted, I wouldn’t mind that. I think it would be nice.”

  “Look, Frank, If you want, I can put in a good word for you. You’re a great guy, dependable, and you’re more than able to provide for her.”

  “Really? That would be gr-”

  “But, not yet. There’s too much going on right now. It would be unfair to Felicity to drag her into the mess we’re in. Not only that, but it would be unfair to the rest of us. We all need to stay focused on our goal, not on distraction.”

  “Yes, of course, I get that. I wouldn’t want to get her involved with our fight.”

  “Good. Once this is all over, when we’re the last group standing, I’ll give her your number. But for now, I need my driver to stay focused.”

  “Alright.”

  I turned up the jazz, letting it join the rhythmic rumbling of the car. Or maybe that was part of the song. Sometimes, it was hard to tell the difference between a song and the world around it.

  We drove for nearly half an hour before reaching the power plant. I made sure that there weren’t any cars tailing us, but that didn’t mean this car was safe. Even if Backhand wasn’t working with Agony, he was still a Supervillain that we just pissed off.

  Frank and I went up to the power plant together. While he was hesitant, it would be more dangerous to have him waiting in the car, alone. We walked past the empty security guard booth, which was practically coated with dust.

  After we walked through the main doors, we stood around waiting for someone to approach us. While I could’ve gone through the hidden entrance, it would be better to do things in a less intrusive way.

  Soon, a man sporting a yellow tie jogged up to us. “Hello gentlemen, sorry, but I’ll need to see your work IDs.”

  “No you don’t, we’re not employees,” I stared him down.

  “Well, then I kindly ask you to leave the premises. Otherwise, I will have to call the police on you for trespassing.”

  “We’re here to see Surge, now hurry up and take us to him.”

  The guy looked flustered for a second, before placing a finger on his headset. “Hey, John, I have a code yellow happening, and I’m not sure what I should do. Who is it?”

  He put a hand over his mic. “Sorry, but who are you?”

  “Taker,” I said.

  “What abou-” he started to speak.

  “Just tell him that Taker is here.”

  He spoke into his headset. “Taker. Yeah, it's a code yellow. What? No, just one other guy. No, I don't know what for. John, what am I supposed to do? Oh. Of course they can’t hear me, I’m not an idiot.” He looked at us with fear in his eyes.

  After another minute of random guy and John’s chatter, he finally addressed us. “Oh, I see that you two are here for the VIP tour. Please, follow me.”