There was a lot of urgency in Dynamo’s movements, springing forward again the second one of her feet pressed to a rooftop. I didn’t know how long she’d been transformed, math was the last thing on my mind, but she probably had less time than any of us would like.

  It was as we were making the final leap, partway across, that a drone came surging toward us. It slammed into us like a bowling ball striking pins, and all four of us were flung apart. All of a sudden I was tumbling through open air, trying to scream but unable to make any sound come out.

  I came to a crashing, skidding halt across the roof, scrambling to cover behind some AC units. The impact left the side of my body aching. It would look well with the bruise on my right shoulder.

  Looking up I could see that the others had managed to land safely, though Foresight and Stretch were struggling to rise. Dynamo was on one knee, firing streams of electricity from her fingertips. Enough to keep the drones at bay, but even the steel-scorching heat of her blasts wasn’t doing much to damage the hull.

  And then, all of a sudden, Cheshire was beside me. I only barely heard the rush of displaced air from her teleportation, over the crackling din of Dynamo’s powers.

  “You got any smoke?” Cheshire asked.

  “Uh...” I fumble for my utility belt and pulled out the two marbles I had left.

  “Drop ‘em. Now.”

  I did so, an obscuring fog rapidly unfurling across the rootop. I glimpsed Cheshire grab Foresight with one hand through the smog, a pair of binoculars in her other hand. She turned westward... and then they were both gone, vanished in swirls of black smoke.

  Cheshire came and went, grabbing Stretch as she was pulling herself back together. Then they were gone too. Then Dynamo was puffed away mid attack, leaving me briefly alone in the smoke.

  “Gotcha!” Cheshire huffed, appearing behind me and clapping a hand onto my shoulder.

  “Wait, what’re you-”

  Before I knew it we were gone. I felt space lurch around me, like an elevator coming to a sudden stop, and an ashen scent briefly flooded my nose. Suddenly, in a single instant, the Argent Realty building was over a dozen blocks away, distinguished only by the fast fading clouds of smoke. The drones shifted about the rooftop in a desperate search for us.

  In seconds Cheshire had grabbed all of us, yoinking us to some distant block of apartments. The roof rose in two arches, and we sat in a shaded trench between them. Cheshire dropped her binoculars and raised her mask, suddenly throwing up sprays of chunky vomit onto the brick. She coughed and retched, doubled over with one hand pressed to her stomach.

  “Fuck...” she wheezed.

  “You... you good?” I asked warily.

  “’m good...” She sounded very far from good.

  Stretch settled a hand on her back, giving her a pat. “Chesh can teleport to wherever she can see. But... the more distance she travels, the more it strains her. Fuck, girl, going back and forth like that? You’re nuts...”

  “Fire escape,” Cheshire mumbled, pulling her mask back into place. She gestured to the area behind us, a metal staircase just barely visible from where I stood. “Van’s in the... the alley below. Gotta move, the... drones’ll be... looking,”

  Stretch let Cheshire lean on her for support, and we hastily hurried down the staircase. Sure enough the van was in the alley, and several of us bundled into the back while Foresight took the driver’s seat. He was cursing and muttering under his breath all the while as he keyed the ignition.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  To my surprise, we had a guest waiting for us in the back of the van. Wares was trussed like a prize pig, his mask tossed aside to reveal a gaunt and sweaty face with dark skin and panicked eyes. Cheshire had even gagged him.

  “You keep rope and a gag handy?” I asked, glancing from him to Cheshire.

  She shrugged, leaning into the far wall of the van. “Like they teach in the girl scouts, you gotta always be prepared.”

  Stretch snorted. “Your ass was not in the scouts.”

  “Nah. But I knew a girl who was.”

  Dynamo punched her fists together, transforming back to normal. Sam had seemed a little reluctant at first, but had followed through eventually. Once the flash faded, he let out a small sigh and sagged into the wall. The adhesion gel, fortunately, had not followed him to his normal body.

  “You did good,” I said.

  “Huh? Oh, uh, you too Toymaker. She actually took a drone down, Chesh.”

  “Shiiiit...” I saw Cheshire raise her brows. “Nice work, Toys.”

  “It was partially luck,” I said, patting my raygun. “But... it’s not like we could stick around to take the others out. The longer that went on, the greater the risk of more drones popping up. Or cops, or masks. Plus... Well I didn’t like the idea of the other drones getting a shot on me.”

  Cheshire flashed me a thumbs up. “Well, good work all the same.”

  And so we drove on, while Wares cursed and spat into his gag.

  It didn’t take too long to get back to the office, even with Foresight driving like a paranoid grandmother. I kept my ears peeled, expecting to hear the whining of drones overhead. Or for Trailblazer to run us clean off the road. But that didn’t happen. All was peaceful.

  We pulled in, had Sam check for anyone in the immediate area, and then Stretch carried Wares into the building for us, one hand wrapped around his eyes as a makeshift blindfold. I was the last in, closing and locking the door.

  I guess I could add kidnapping to my inevitable rap sheet. Oh well.

  We drew the blinds and dumped Wares in a plastic chair of our kitchen. “You fuckers!” he barked the second the gag was out of his mouth. “You can’t do this to me, I’m a respected-”

  Cheshire buried her fist in his gut, Wares’ eyes bulging out of his head. He folded over, letting out a wretched gagging sound. “That’s for making me run for you. Mouth off again, and I’ll hit you harder for making me blow chunks in front of my crew.”

  “Impact,” I said, crossing my arms. “We want in on her fighting ring.”

  “Don’t know... what you’re talking about...” Wares wheezed.

  “Come on now. Speak up and save yourself some hospitality from the Devils,” said Stretch.

  “Christ.” Wares wrinkled his nose. “You’re seriously still calling yourselves that?”

  I sighed, strolling over to the kettle Cheshire usually used for coffee. “We don’t have time for this.” I flicked it on, the white machine hissing as the water slowly began to heat from within. “Tell us where to find it,” I said, my back to him.

  “I’m not a snitch!” he barked.

  “Uh huh.” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “You ever been doused with boiling water?”

  He paled a bit, and I could see Stretch and Foresight tense a bit. Cheshire watched me curiously, one eyebrow raised. “What are you-”

  “Hurts like a bitch, but... you’ll live. Maybe need a skin graft or two.” I reached into the cabinet above me, pulling out a fat bag of sugar. “But, boiling water mixed with sugar? That’s a different beast entirely. Forms into this type of... I dunno, paste I guess would be the word. Sticks to your skin, still boiling hot. Suddenly the scalding burn gets worse because it has nowhere else to go. You get me?”

  Steam rose in thin streams from the lip of the kettle, the roiling bubbles making it rumble on the base. Wares looked at it wide-eyed, his jaw going slack.

  Come on you fucker, I thought to myself. Break like the bitch I know you are. Don’t make me do this.

  “I’m gonna start simple. Douse one foot. Then the other. Then your legs. Then your hands, your arms... if you’re still holding out on me? I’ll douse your face.” I pulled out a large glass jug and filled the bottom of it with a thick serving of sugar. I turned, glancing at him over my shoulder. “Impact’s fight club. Where?”

  The room was silent for some time, save for Wares’ heavy breathing.

  I glanced to Foresight, who flinched a bit. “Take his boots off.”

  “W-wait!” Wares barked. “Just... wait for fuck’s sake! I’ll talk...” He paused, looking over at Cheshire. “You mind untying my hands? I uh... need a drink.”

  “Foresight if he pulls out anything that isn’t a can, blast him. Any hostile moves, you’ll have a limp for the rest of your damn life.” She unwound the bindings on his wrists, his ankles still bound tight. He was smart enough not to see this as an opportunity.

  Slowly, Wares raised one hand. Blue light flickered at his fingertips, widening into a disc-shaped portal marginally thinner than the span of his shoulders. From the look of effort on his face, it seemed he couldn’t make them much bigger. Doubtless why he didn’t just run into a portal when faced with danger. He fished inside, slowly pulling out a frosty can of Vanta Black energy drink. Black Blur’s sleek, sprinting form was printed on the can. Cheshire kept a hand on him all the while, set to deck him at the first sign of trouble.

  The can hissed as he cracked it open. “Alright,” he huffed, taking a long and soothing sip. “I know where her crew is setting up for next week. Listen up, I’m only gonna tell you once...”